A dedicated, passionate, and socially responsible educator with over 20 years of experience in education. An extraordinary mix of in-depth knowledge of pedagogy, leadership skills, and a highly effective, mindful, and organized professional.María José has over 20 years of professional experience in many different areas of communication, including, among others, curriculum design, technology integration for language learning, mindfulness applied to education, social-emotional learning, and teaching English and Spanish language as a second language.She has a Master's Degree in advanced studies in giftedness and talent development from Universidad Nebrija and a certificate from Teachers College - Columbia University. She also has a B.A. degree from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Quito with a major in Social Communications, a minor in Comparative Literature, and a Diploma from Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar in Communications and New Technologies. In 2004 she co-founded Easy Espanol, a Spanish Learning center in Manhattan. Maria Jose is also the creator of Easy Espanol4Kids, a pioneering total immersion Spanish program for children in the New York Metropolitan area. Since 2016 Maria Jose has worked at the Speyer School, the only independent K-8 school in New York City for gifted learners taking on different roles as a faculty member and administrator.Maria Jose is a certified Mindfulness coach of the U.K.'s leading mindfulness curriculum for 11-18-year-olds in schools called ".b." She combines her second language teaching abilities with Mindfulness techniques to promote a successful learning experience.