I was born and raised in Guatemala City, Central America. I live in Lakewood with my husband and three rescued dogs, two of them are puppies. I love plants, music, cooking and smiling.
My teaching experience began in Guatemala when I was nineteen years old as an Elementary School Teacher. I noticed that a few students presented learning difficulties. This encouraged me to improve my education, and I became a special education teacher. I got a job as a director in a public daycare in a rural city in the Mayan community. I facilitated early childhood education with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. I coached teachers who worked in rural areas outside of Guatemala City, sharing writing and reading tools and techniques to support their teaching practice.
After nearly two decades of teaching, I noticed that early detection of child development delays was not especially important in our teaching community, and many children with visual and hearing delays were labeled as children who misbehave or children with learning difficulties. This led me to learn and take audiology classes which allowed me to work in a public children's clinic, conducting hearing screenings for newborns. Also, this job opened another opportunity to coach other teachers on the importance of early intervention.
I met the love of my life, and I moved to the United States eighteen years ago. During this transition, I felt discouraged because I could not speak English, and I couldn't understand the system. However, I took ESL classes, I enrolled in the IBEST program, which was the open door to pursuing my dream of working in early learning and completing a Master’s on ECE Inclusive Education and Infant Toddler Mental Health certification. I worked as a infant/toddler teacher, home visitor for Early Head Start, and Education coach for ECEAP and HS teachers.
I believe that Early childhood experiences are the keys to supporting and developing a successful human being.