Liza Sánchez was born and raised in Berkeley, California by her German mother and New Yorker father. Liza received her MA in Education from UC Berkeley, specializing in development and second language acquisition and has taught at many grade levels from preschool to high school and just about everything in between. Her love of teaching and language led her to start EBI. She served as EBI’s founding Board Chair from 2005 to 2008. She is happy to be in her role as Director of Admissions doing her favorite thing; talking to prospective parents about EBI, bilingual education and international learning. She lives with her husband, who is from El Salvador, and her four daughters.

María Luisa Offermann, from Santiago Chile, teaches second grade at EBI. María Luisa is passionate about her teaching and has taught for the last 28 years. She has dedicated a great part of her career to teaching swimming to pre-school and school-aged children. She has studied Interior Architecture and has a degree in education from the University of Chile in Santiago. In addition to her work with children, María Luisa has worked as a personal trainer. She is also a massage therapist and a reflexologist. From 2005 to 2008 María Luisa served as a primary school teacher at the Farmland School in Chile in the areas of natural sciences, social studies, and technology and applied sciences. She has developed a strong understanding of the teaching and learning process that gives her an enormous amount of satisfaction in her current role at EBI.

Prior to moving to the United States in 2013, Hongyu taught world history in middle and high schools in China for 25 years and is the author of numerous papers regarding the teaching of history. She also achieved certification as a national level psychological counselor. Since moving to the United States Hongyu has been employed as a Mandarin language teacher and has provided tutoring in Chinese.

Yésica Perea was born in the city of Celaya, in Guanajuato, Mexico. She studied Tourism Administration obtaining her BA at the University of Guanajuato. Yesica lives in Fremont, California, with her husband. In 2007 she began her studies in Early Childhood Education at Chabot College and has a Site Supervisor Permit. She feels very lucky to have the opportunity to start a new career in the area of early childhood education and to do it in her native language. Her hobbies are painting, cooking, singing and watching suspense movies. Yésica has been working with children for seven years and she feels very proud of belonging to the staff of EBI.

Miriam was born in the city of Torreón, México. After finishing her studies as an accountant and secretary she came to the US and decided to study Early Childhood Education at American College in San Francisco. She loves her job as a teacher and everything that relates to child development.

Patricia Sánchez came to the Bay Area from Mexico City, with the idea of expanding her education and skills in the field of education. Before coming to the United States she was a teacher in her country at the elementary and secondary levels. In recent years she has been interested in teaching in early childhood classrooms. She believes that learning should never end, so she enjoys keeping up with her studies. For her, being a teacher is about transmitting and encouraging her students to explore, discover, and experience new and wonderful things. She appreciates, admires and respects the sensitivity, feelings and ideas of children. She is proud to have the privilege of being part of the EBI te

Norma is from Puerto Rico. She came to Oakland, CA in 2000 and has been a member of the EBI faculty since August, 2007. Norma received her degree in education from the University of Puerto Rico. She has worked as a special education teacher, in regular school programs and as a tutor. She loves to share her energy, her talents and knowledge with children and the EBI community. Norma has two children and a granddaughter. Besides her passion for working with children, she also enjoys sewing, designing and cooking.

Paulina is originally from Mexico City, Mexico. Paulina holds a bacherlor’s degree in pedagogy and another in early childhood education. Paulina has been working with kindergarten-aged students for seven years and with the IB Primary Years Programme since 2009.

Merly Vicente was born in Lima, Peru and has a degree in Law and Political Science. Five years ago, she arrived to the Bay Area with the goal of working in the bilingual educational system. Working with children has given her a different perspective on life and changed her values and feelings in a way that causes her to feel more creative and productive within the community. Merly believes the multiculturalism in EBI is very important in a child’s life. Merly completed studies for teacher in early childhood education. She continues studying to remain current in the area of education and to enrich her work with children.

Sandra was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela where she earned her degree in Computer Science at Intituto Universitario de Tecnología Venezuela. She has over five years of experience teaching Spanish as a Second Language. She worked as a Spanish Instructor and Director Assistant in Houston, Texas where she lived for 5 years. Sandra also has over 10 years of expertise in networking technology. Sandra has been part of the EBI family since 2006. Sandra has managed the operations and technology of the school over the last three years. Sandra is married and the mother of one son.

Marina is originally from Guanajuato, Mexico where she received a bachelor’s degree in education. She is currently studying for a master’s degree in innovation in education. Marina has worked with kindergarten-aged students in a school with the IB Primary Years Programme for the last three years.

Gloria Costas was born in Barcelona, Spain and has lived in the Bay Area since 1993. Gloria has a degree from the Tourism and Business college of Barcelona and a Certificate in Translation from the University of Manoa, Hawaii. She speaks fluent English, Spanish, French and Catalan, her native language, and understands Portuguese and German. Gloria brings enthusiasm and experience to EBI. She is married to Rob, a Berkeley native, and they have two sons.

Jon Fulk has been Head of School for Escuela Bilingüe Internacional since 2008. Under Jon’s leadership, EBI became authorized by the International Baccalaureate (IB) to deliver the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and attained candidate status for the Middle Years Programme (MYP). Jon has extensive experience with the IB and in bilingual education. Since Jon’s arrival, the school also expanded its physical space through the acquisition of our San Pablo Campus in Emeryville, opening its doors there in the fall of 2011. Jon has led EBI through a period of rapid growth, from a school of 119 students in 2008 to our current community population of 370 students and nearly 80 faculty and staff.

Jon joined EBI after spending 11 years living in Mexico City, Mexico where he worked at The American School Foundation (ASF), first as a teacher, then as Assistant Head and finally as Head of the Lower School, overseeing approximately 940 students, 700 families and 98 full-time faculty and staff.

Originally from Ohio, Jon holds a B.A. in history from The University of Toledo, an M.A. in Educational Administration from Michigan State University, an M.A. in Elementary Education from The University of Alabama and has completed his doctoral coursework in Education Policy and Administration at the University of Minnesota.

José Antonio Galloso has more than thirteen years of experience as a teacher and has worked at the school and university level. He considers that one can only be an educator if you understand that you are responding to a profound professional call. He is Peruvian and has studies in Audiovisual Communication, Spanish and Creative Writing.

Besides being a teacher he is a writer and photographer. He has published three novels and a collection of short stories for young adults with Alfaguara publishing house. These books are required readings in many Peruvian schools as part of their reading plan. Also has published a poetry book and a visual poetry book in collaboration with the Chilean artist Franz Fischer, Peskador. Jose Antonio’s literary work has been included in several anthologies and has obtained awards. As a photographer he has published in different printed means and on the web; besides having participated in many collective exhibitions.

Jose Antonio feels very lucky to be part of the EBI community since he has found not only a great group of people that has received him with open arms, but also has a great affinity between his vision of education and the philosophy of the school and the International Baccalaureate Organization.

Karen Hayes spent the first 18 years of her career in Sales & Marketing at a global consumer products firm. As an executive, Karen traveled extensively both nationally and internationally
creating and executing strategic selling platforms, re-launching billion dollar brands and developing retention work processes for top talent. 

After giving birth to her son in 2012, Karen decided that she wanted to embark on a new professional journey in life as well.

In 2014, Karen founded and launched Bounce Blowdry Bar. Her goal was to create an environment where women of all backgrounds could come together and celebrate their beauty- both inside and out. Bounce quickly became a success and was recognized by national media powerhouses such as Good Morning America and the New York Times for unique contributions in the community.

Karen received her B.S. in Marketing from Howard University and her MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. In the community, Karen has been an active member of the Big Brother, Big Sister program, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and has served as a volunteer tutor. She also contributed to the development of those pursuing a higher education by working as a college instructor for Business Management courses.

Karen loves spending time with her family, exploring new cuisines, traveling and volunteering in the community. What excites Karen most about joining the EBI team is having the opportunity to be a positive force in a changing world where our children are the future.

 

Victoria Ladew was born in the Bay Area, but she was raised in sunny El Paso, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso, and moved back to the Bay Area to work in child welfare for the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office. She also worked with Family Builders, a Bay Area nonprofit organization where she worked to help match children in care with adoptive families.Victoria received her teaching education at Mills College in Oakland, where she earned her Masters of Education degree with an emphasis in teaching, as well as a California Teaching Credential. Victoria is thrilled to be part of the EBI community, where she can teach children in a constructivist and inquiry-based way, using each child’s own curiosity as the driving force. Her guiding philosophy is simple: treat children with respect – as people who can help us all learn about the world.Victoria loves to travel with her husband, and has traveled through Europe, the UK, China, and into Mexico. She believes that there is true value in being a global citizen – one who can adapt and appreciate differences.

Adwoa was born in Berkeley and has lived almost every place in the Bay Area except San Francisco. She has been working with children since she was a child. Adwoa began work as a Multicultural Education Specialist. Since then she has worked as an aide, Director of an After-School program, a P.E. Teacher, a trainer of English Language Teachers, a first, second, and third grade teacher, and a science, math and English teacher. Adwoa has taught science to students kindergarten through high school, math to students from pre-school to college, and all other subjects, including English, from pre-school through elementary school.
Adwoa graduated from Mills College with a degree in Biology. She did graduate work in physiological psychology. She obtained her teaching credential from Chapman University. Outside of education Adwoa’s passions are baseball and blues, being a mom to Shannon Kofi, and making the world a better place, not necessarily in that order. She loves working and playing with children. Adwoa is thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to teach at a wonderful school.