Co-founders and Directors Pilar O’Leary and Alexandra Migoya run the management and day-to day operations of Isabella & Ferdinand™ Spanish Language Adventures™. They are on-site every day. A dedicated, dynamic and accredited teaching staff conducts our classes. All teachers are native speakers of the Spanish language.
ABOUT THE FOUNDERS
For Alexandra Migoya and Pilar O’Leary, creating Isabella & Ferdinand™ Spanish Language Adventures™ grew out of a desire to have high-quality Spanish classes for their children, whom they are raising bilingually. “We desperately wanted our children to be in an environment where they were engaged learning in Spanish—proper Spanish—as well as learning about Spanish and Latin American culture, every single week. We didn’t feel like they would truly master the language otherwise, even with speaking it at home.” For them, Isabella & Ferdinand is very much a labor of love.
Pilar O’Leary, Co-Founder & Principal
Pilar is an honors graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Languages and Linguistics and Georgetown University Law Center. She is fluent in Spanish, French, Italian and English and has extensive experience working with and in Spanish and Latin American cultures. A former lawyer and not-for-profit director, Pilar has worked at the United Nations, Goldman Sachs & Co, JP Morgan, Fannie Mae and the Smithsonian Institution, where she was director of the Smithsonian Latino Center. In addition to being a founder of Isabella & Ferdinand Spanish Language Adventures™, Pilar runs Paloma Blanca Creative Enterprises, which focuses on Hispanic media, cultural and entertainment projects. She co-produced the award-winning documentary, “The Accordion Kings: The Story of Colombian Vallenato Music” which features Grammy-award winning artist Carlos Vives and aired on the Smithsonian Channel of Showtime Television (CBS) in August 2010. A dual US/Colombian citizen and a native Washingtonian, Pilar is a member of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, the Georgetown University Entertainment and Media Alliance and the National French Honor Society. Pilar has been a speaker at many national forums on Latino culture, education and entertainment and was the 2008 commencement speaker for the New World School of the Arts at Miami-Dade College. Pilar is the mother of three children, Carolina (8), Paloma (5) and Nicolas (14).
Alexandra Migoya, Co-Founder & Principal
Alexandra received her BA in Spanish and English Literature from Cornell University, magna cum laude, and is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center. Previously, Alexandra Migoya worked for over 10 years as a corporate lawyer with firms in New York and Washington, D.C. as well as in-house counsel to Verisign Inc. Alexandra is a prize-winning author of short-fiction related to Latin American culture and her recent publication credits include a comparative article on French and American feminism published with Palgrave McMillan. Her poetry translations from Spanish to English have been published in Twentieth Century Latin American Poetry: A Bilingual Anthology. Alexandra is an adjunct professor of English Literature at Montgomery College in Takoma Park, Maryland and a member of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. She has served on the Board of Directors of CityDance Ensemble Inc. and the Blue Igloo Playgroup, an early childhood educational cooperative. Alexandra is of Spanish and Dominican heritage and was born in New York City. She is the mother of two daughters, Sofia (8) and Natalia (4).
OUR TEACHERS
Patricia M. Rodriguez, Teacher
An incredibly dynamic and talented young teacher, Patricia Rodriguez is from the Dominican Republic. She received her B.A. in Elementary Education from the Universidad Católica in Santo Domingo, graduating magna cum laude. Patricia also has a certificate in ESL/EFL Teaching from Duke University where she completed coursework in elementary school teaching methods and in teaching cross-cultural understanding. In addition, Patricia received a Certificate in Instructional Technology from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Santo Domingo. Prior to joining Isabella & Ferdinand, Patricia taught 2nd and 4th English immersion at The Community for Learning in Santo Domingo. Prior to that position she was a bilingual classroom teacher at West Greene Elementary School in Snow Hill, North Carolina, where she was a participant in the school’s Visiting International Faculty Program. She taught Spanish and English in an innovative two-way immersion language program, winning an Honorable Mention in the State of North Carolina’s “International Educator of the Year Awards”. During her time at West Greene, Patricia was also a Young Scholar Group Leader and planned Hispanic cultural activities for elementary students to deepen their appreciation of the Spanish-speaking world. Before teaching at West Greene, Patricia was an EFL Teacher at Communidad Educativa Luz Mundi in Santo Domingo, teaching English to grades 1 and 2, always integrating cultural activities and performances in her teaching. As a teaching assistant at Communidad Educativa Lux Mundi, Patricia helped students with their Spanish literacy and grammatical skills. She won a special award for her service to the school. Patricia comes to Isabella &Ferdinand with an incredible vocation for teaching Spanish language to children.
Jessica Espinosa de Ferreyra, Teacher
Originally from Mexico City, Jessica has bachelors degree in Hispanic Literature from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City and a masters degree in Spanish from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She has worked extensively as a private Spanish tutor and translator in Mexico, Miami, New York and Washington, D.C. and has taught Spanish as USC, F.E. Bellows Elementary School, Club-Z! In-Home Tutoring and the Little Language League In-School Program in New York. She also taught Hispanic Literature at the Instituto Luis Vives in Mexico. Previously, Jessica was a freelancer reporter in Los Angeles for the well-known Mexican newspaper “El Universal” and the wire service NOTIMEX in Mexico City. She is fluent in Spanish, French and English and is a devoted Spanish language educator for children.
Alicia Mathó, Teacher
Of Peruvian heritage, Alicia has M.A. in Bilingual and Multicultural Education from the Universidad de Alcala Henares in Madrid, Spain where she was a merit scholar. She received her B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh where she majored in Political Science and Spanish, graduating with honors, with a minor in Latin American Studies. At the University of Pittsburgh she was also a Center for Latin American Studies Ambassadors Fellow and received a full-tuition merit scholarship. At the elementary school Gredos San Diego El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain Alicia worked as an English teacher for first-sixth grade students, adapting teaching methods and instructional materials to meet the diverse needs of her students and performing evaluations by assessing students’ work and oral ability. Previously, Alicia worked as a research assistant at the University of Pittsburgh’s Hispanic Language and Literature where she collaborated with professors to integrate aspects of Hispanic culture in language acquisition lesson plans, also incorporating technology and other multi-media forms. She also worked as a research assistant at the University’s Political Science Department and as a fellow at the Center for Latin American Studies. Alicia interned at Save the Children in Guatemala City, Guatemala where she aided in third-stage health presentations to local community leaders in the Department of Nevaj, assisted in bilingual teaching methodology workshops for local teachers and helped in the establishment of an education center for children and teens displaced as a result of natural disaster. She fully shares our passion for teaching children Spanish and the culture of Spain and Latin America and we are delighted to have her as part of our teaching staff.
Francisco Revert (Teacher and Director of Music Programming)
Hailing from Andalusia, Spain, edcator, composer, pianist and guitarist Francisco (Fran) Revert brings a wonderful set of musical talents to Isabella and Ferdinand™ Spanish Language Adventures™. Fran has a Bachelor’s degree in Music Language and Theory from the Professional Conservatory of Music in Jaen, Spain. He also has done significant coursework in Piano Interpretation, studying with some of the best master teachers in Spain. For the last 10 years Fran has been being teaching music in private and classroom settings both abroad and in the U.S. including piano, vocals, composition and arrangement, production, mixing and recording instruction. He has taught at iMUTE (Music and Technology Institute) and at the ECAM School of Cinema in Spain. Fran is a gifted music producer and has created music for a number of films, TV programs and well-known artists in the U.S. and Europe. He is a winner of the Joan Baptista Cabrera award in Spain for Best Music Composition (1992, 1996) and published “Music Resources for the Classroom” (Volumes 1 and 2, Ed. MAD, 1997, Spain). Aside from his many activities and accomplishments, teaching children remains Fran’s primary passion.
Alex Iraheta (Music Teacher) Alex was born in San Salvador, El Salvador. He is a guitarist, composer and actor. Alex first settled in Washington with his family when he was 11 and completed his secondary education at Bell Multicultural Highschool where he studied music with one of the best Spanish musicians in the Washington area, Alfredo Mojica. He studied voice and music at the Latin American Youth Center with Lilo Gonzáles y Héctor Larin and began giving public concerts and participating in local music festivals. Alex returned to al El Salvador in 1992 where he continued his studies in Music and Communication and in 1996 he formed his own “rock en español” band, Sentimientos Ocultos, recording his first album. En 1999, Alex returned to Washington DC at the invitation of Quique Avilez y Pedro Avilez to become a member of the Grupo Teatro Callejero del Barrio as a musician and actor. In 2003 Alex founded Nómadas with whom he performs presently. In addition to teaching at Isabella & Ferdinand, Alex teaches classes at the GALita Theatre program, part of GALA Hispanic Theatre, which teaches children music and theatre in Spanish.
Carla Molina (Office Manager/Teaching Assistant)
Carla Molina, a native of Colombia, is a bilingual professional with extensive administrative, analytical and clerical experience as well as significant childcare experience. She is a graduate of Los Libertadores University in Bogota where she earned a BA in Economics and International Business. Most recently, Carla was a teaching assistant/coordinator at Sugar Plums Daycare Center in Rockville, Maryland and she currently provides clerical and accounting services to private clients. Previously, Carla was a senior event manager at the University of Maryland. In Colombia, Carla worked for Comcel S.A., the country’s largest cellular company, as a marketing representative, customer service supervisor and billing analyst. She was also a manager in the Human Resources division of Vincomer Ltda. Among her professional certifications she has a certificate in Early Childhood Education from the Childhood Education Institute in Maryland and a certificate in Adult/Pediatric CPR and Universal First Aid from the American Safety & Health Institute.
