Teachers
Meet Our Teachers
- Maia Fajerman
- Maia Fajerman graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Latin American studies, and has worked extensively with children around the East Bay. Her roles at Habitot Children's Museum and the Chabot Space and Science Center, as well as her graduate work in early childhood education prepared her for her current work at the Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, where she is a much-loved preschool teacher!
close - Tania Figueroa
- Tania Figueroa is a native of Chile and has been living in the U.S. for nearly three 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 around the Bay Area, primarily to children ages 2-6. She is a creative, passionate person, and we're lucky to have her bringing her passion to our classes!
close - Xochitl Guzman
- Xochitl Guzman was born in Peru, and grew up in Mexico and San Francisco.
She earned a B.A. in performing arts from San Francisco State University and has been teaching Visual Arts, Theater and Spanish to kids for many years in the U.S. and Latin America. She brings her creativity to the classroom and also to producing a travel program for television that focuses on green lifestyles in the major cities of the world.
close - Brigette Iarrusso
- Brigette Iarrusso learned Spanish from her Puerto Rican grandmother while growing up in New York City. Since then, she has studied Spanish extensively, traveled throughout Spain and Latin America and taught Spanish to various levels of children. Her work has taken her to Lima, Peru, where she served as an International Development Fellow with Catholic Relief Services, and to El Salvador, where she served as a consultant to USAID. She serves as Director of Curriculum and Training as well as a teacher of all of our age levels, and has the energy and dedication to do so!
close - Alma Jurado
- Alma Jurado grew up in Mexico City and earned a B.A. in performing arts from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, and she brings that background to her teaching. A dramatic person by nature and training, Alma's students and coworkers consistently remark about her boundless energy and the emotion she brings to teaching Spanish. In addition to teaching Spanish to kids for years, Alma has written and performed in numerous plays and currently teaches theater at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts.
close - Lorena Schoch
- Lorena Schoch, a native of Santiago, Chile, draws on years of experience as a languaged educator and as a mother raising four bilingual children. Educated in Chile and the United States, Lorena has pursued courses in Communications, Linguistics and Drama, and combines these areas in the classroom. She has taught in Spanish at bilingual preschools, and in English in an ESL program at La Familia Community Center in San Rafael. All told, her experience and her passion for teaching children makes her a dynamic Lango teacher.
close - Indira Urrutia
- Indira Urrutia, another native Chilena, is a teacher, an artist and a performer. She combined these interests in founding and organizing the Mission Art Performance Project, an art and cultural community event for adults and children in San Francisco. She has also worked as an art teacher and a conflict mediator—and draws on both experiences in teaching toddlers in Lango's Tot-and-Parent classes!
close - Robertha Hernandez
- Robertha Hernandez is a native of Chile and has been living in the U.S. for the past year. She received her degree in Fashion Design while in Chile, and has spent the past year teaching Spanish to both children and adults. Robertha is extremely charismatic and brings incredible creativity and energy to every Lango class she teaches. She is an invaluable resource to both our San Mateo County and East Bay regions.
close - Maria Rivera
- Maria Rivera is a native of Peru and has been living in the U.S. for the past seven years. Prior to leaving Peru, Maria worked as a teaching assistant in a Kindergarten classroom. Since arriving in the U.S., Maria has worked in the customer service field but is very excited to be back working with children in the field of education. Maria brings her energy, enthusiasm, and passion for her native language to every Lango class she teaches.
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