Our Team

As the Area Director for San Francisco and Alameda, my goal is to bring quality classes to parents in convenient locations. Our classes are truly successful because of our devoted, passionate, and tireless teachers.

LANGO's teachers make our classes exceptional. In our selection process, we look for five distinct qualities: native/bilingual fluency, limitless positive energy, creativity, teaching experience with relevant age groups, and outstanding communication skills with both children and caregivers. Beyond these qualities, our teachers bring unique cultural perspectives and professional backgrounds that enable them to create rich, engaging experiences in the classroom.

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Cheryl Haga, Bay Area Director

Cheryl has worked in the field of education for over a decade in various capacities and settings: she taught high school special education in Oakland, managed the operations of a national intensive summer teacher training program across the country, and was recently the campus director for a post-secondary vocational school in the East Bay. Cheryl's passion for languages developed over multiple cultural exchanges in Italy, during which time she also realized the importance of cross-cultural communication. As a result of her time abroad, Cheryl decided to pursue (and ultimately obtained) a Bachelor's Degree Italian Language and Literature from San Francisco State University. She then went on to obtain a Masters Certification from Villanova and a California Teaching Credential. Cheryl is thrilled to bring her passions for education, languages, and cultural understanding to children in the Bay Area.

Abraham Urbina, Spanish Teacher

Abraham is originally from El Salvador and enjoys everything from computers, to soccer. He has taught basic English to street youth in El Salvador, which is where he passion for teaching stems. As a native Spanish speaker, learning English was a great opportunity to open doors for Abraham. "I want to share and spread this privilege to others so that they can have the opportunity to learn about other languages, cultures, and people."

Anna Lee, Mandarin Teacher

Anna is Chinese and grew up in Korea, moving to Taiwan to study Fine Art at Taiwan University a teaching college. In 1984, Anna moved to Chicago and worked as a Licensed Cosmetologist. In San Francisco, she teaches Mandarin at Lango and works with private clients as well. Anna is finishing her teacher training in Yoga and regards yoga philosophy a way of life. She uses her artistic talent and energy as a way to communicate to the children.

Kelly Numerov, Spanish Teacher

Kelly is a certified California teacher with a Bachelor's degree in language teaching from the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia. She loves teaching and has worked with children and adults since she was 16, constantly acquiring more training in the field of education. Her first teaching experience was volunteering to teach reading, writing, chess and volleyball to elementary school children in rural areas of her country. Later, while in College, she participated in several exchange programs and internships teaching foreign language to children and adults in both Colombia and the US, which gave her profound understanding of many cultures. After settling in the US she has volunteered in a public school as a teacher's aide and has given some private Spanish lessons. Kelly is delighted to be part of the LANGO team and give her best to her students. She proudly says: “I have seen first hand that giving kids the chance to learn foreign languages and introducing them to other cultures improves their awareness and confidence, and that benefits them greatly as human beings”.

Robertha Hernandez, Spanish Teacher

Robertha is a native Spanish speaker of Chile and has been living in the US for the past two years. She received her degree in Fashion Design while in Chile, and has spent the past two years teaching Spanish to both children and adults. Robertha is extremely charismatic and brings her incredible creativity and energy to every Lango class she teaches.

Sebastian Pulgar, Spanish Teacher

Sebastian grew up in the south of Chile, then moved to Santiago to study philosophy at Jesuit Unversity Alberto Hurtado de Chile when he was 18. During his studies, he worked as a teacher assistant for a variety of classes. After college, Sebastian moved to the Bay Area when he began teaching Spanish to adults and children. Upon joining LANGO, Sebastian found that our method was as exciting to him as it was to the kids!

Simone Bioch, French Teacher

Simone is a certified teacher from France who has taught French and German in French middle/ high schools for ten years. In 2001, she moved to the Bay Area and began working with young children and became a certified Somatic Movement Educator. Simone enjoys teaching with LANGO because of her believe in language acquisition as a whole body experience...and she just loves sharing her silliness!

Tania Figueroa, Spanish Teacher

Tania Figueroa is a native of Chile and has been living in the U.S. for nearly five years. Educated at Universidad Católica de Chile, she has a background in art and design, which she enjoys putting to work with her Spanish students. She has taught Spanish for LANGO since the start of the program and is our lead instructor. Tania has also been instrumental in testing and refining the LANGO Method which relies on music, movement, physical challenges and tactile play. She is a creative, passionate instructor, and we're lucky to have her bringing her energy to our classes!

Tichia “Judy” Wu, Mandarin Teacher

Judy has been taught languages and trained language teachers throughout the country. She designed and taught language programs for such programs as 100 Families Programs Oakland: Art & Social Change, ABC Language Exchange and the Silkroad Institute. Judy began her career as an ESL teacher in New York in 2000. A native of Taiwan, Judy holds a BA in Studio Arts and Anthropology from CUNY Hunter College and an MFA in Ceramics from California College of the Arts, and she brings her artistic flair and passion to every class she teaches.