Teachers

Paola Almeida Guerra is from Guayaquil, Ecuador.  She is an avid teacher and researcher and enjoys interacting with students and colleagues at all levels.  Paola holds a PhD in Environmental Science and is a professor at ESPOL in her home country as well as at CU as a visitor scholar.  In addition to her zeal for the environment, Paola is very passionate about teaching Spanish and guiding Spanish learners on their way to acquiring the necessary skills to practice this beautiful language in their personal and professional lives.  Paola enjoys traveling and has found intercultural experiences gained from international travel to be some of the most enriching of her life.

Ana Jurado is from Spain. She holds a bachelor´s degree in Modern Languages and a master´s in Finance and Management.  She teaches English and Spanish in her native country and also does it online.  Ana lived in the United Kingdom and Germany where she had the opportunity to teach Spanish to a wide range of people. She is passionate about teaching languages and always encourages students to stay positive and motivated towards learning. She is currently learning French and hopes she will be able to teach this beautiful language in the future. Ana likes, among other things, reading, swimming and having a glass of wine with her friends at a “tapas” bar.

Andrea Pauw is from Louisville, Kentucky. She recently completed her graduate studies at the University of Virginia, where she taught Spanish for three years. Before graduate school, Andrea lived in the Yucatán, where she taught English and organized music programs for children and youth. She has spent extended periods of time in Perú and Spain. In addition to speaking and teaching Spanish, Andrea has been studying Arabic for the past three years. She is committed to cultivating meaningful and authentic learning experiences for all students and hopes to have you in one of her classes soon!  

Miriam Himes is from Winston-Salem, North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina at Wilmington where she earned both her Bachelors and Masters in Spanish Language and Literature. During her academic career, Miriam worked as a Teaching Assistant in the Spanish department as well as a tutor for students of all ages. She taught at her university for a year before moving out west to Colorado this fall. She has also had the opportunity to travel to a myriad of Spanish-speaking countries for extended periods of time including Costa Rica, Ecuador, Perú, the Dominican Republic, and completed her study abroad in Spain. Miriam enjoys teaching with a culture and social justice focused methodology and works hard to stay educated on current political issues facing the Spanish-speaking community and is constantly working to become a better ally to marginalized groups here in the U.S. When she isn’t working, Miriam loves to read feminist theory and poetry, go on long walks and hikes with her two dogs, and listen to music.

Jose Useche was born in Venezuela. For many  years, he worked as a professor and researcher at two universities in  Caracas. His main goal is to encourage students and ensure they speak and write excellent Spanish. He believes that a strong language foundation  introduces students to a new body of learning. Because of this, Jose has  dedicated his career to teaching and learning. Jose’s experience in teaching Spanish includes tutoring undergraduate  and graduate students, training teachers at the  elementary, secondary and university levels, and helping professionals improve their Spanish. Jose has also worked as a curriculum consultant for  a number of years to help improve training and academic programs. Jose holds a Master’s Degree in Administration and Curriculum from Gonzaga University  (Spokane, WA) and a Doctorate in Education from the Pedagogical University (UPEL) of  Caracas, Venezuela. He was a Fulbright Fellow at Gonzaga University. He has written a number  of books including El Salmón del Pacífico que Retornó al Océano, el Ciclo de la Vida. Jose moved to Boulder in 2016, relocating from Seattle. He enjoys traveling, hiking and  swimming. He has a passion for education and helping others.

Boulder Spanish teacher and director Varón Osorio is from Mérida, Yucatán, México. He is a bilingual educator, artist, and entrepreneur who has mastered the art of teaching both the English and Spanish languages. ​At a young age, he was initiated in Latin and classical Greek etymology and followed a career in teaching both Spanish and English. He has now accumulated twenty years of experience and has taught thousands of students from over forty nations in elementary schools, junior and senior high schools, universities, and many private language schools in both the United States and Mexico.