Our Board

Luis Vanegas

Luis Vanegas is our Founder and Director and the developer of the “Avancemos” curriculum. He is originally from Nicaragua and came to the U.S. in 1981. He and many others like himself are proof that when someone is proficient in their primary language they are able to learn English. He is proficient in Spanish, English and Italian and truly believes that all students can learn, that teachers and the relationship they build with their students has a direct impact in their learning, that being Multilingual is an Asset, and that where there is a will there is a way.

Luis Vanegas has his Bachelors in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Math and English Language Arts, his Masters in Education Administration and received his Certificate in Dual Language and Immersion. He is a Linguist and is certified by Berlitz to teach and instruct in Spanish, Italian and English. He was not always in education. Prior to teaching he helped IDS open it’s first bilingual call center in retirement services and has worked as a leader for Wells Fargo, State Street Bank, and Cendant. He was a Premier Performer at American Express, and served in the Charities Review Council board and the Walker Art Center Community Advisory Committee.

Carol Vanegas

Carol Vanegas grew up in a farm in the small town of Stanley Wisconsin, and like many, despite taking a foreign language in High School, she graduated speaking only English.  Since she married, she has traveled the world and has seen firsthand the benefits of being bilingual and how other countries value multilingualism.  She became fluent in Spanish and has twin daughters that were raised in a Dual Language home.  Through the use of the Avancemos curriculum which is used in the Language Focused Parent Engagement and Literacy program her granddaughter is being raised bilingual and is learning English and Spanish simultaneously.

Carol has her bachelor in Information Technology from Capella University and is nearly completed with her master in the same.  Though she is not an educator, she married one, and has seen how literacy in one’s native language is essential to learning English and how the skills learned in Spanish (the easier of the two languages), are transferable to English.  Through her husband she has witnessed that every child can learn and that race, family dynamics, gender identification or socio-economic status are not determining factors of what you can learn or achieve.  She supports the work her husband does and believes that the achievement gap can be eliminated though Bi-Literacy.

Andrea Cortes

Andrea Cortes is from Colombia and earned her degree in Psychology in Bogotá. She moved to Minneapolis in 1997 and earned her teaching degree in K-6 education and 6-8 Social Studies at St Thomas University. Due to her bilingual abilities and interest in bilingual Education, she worked for Minneapolis Public Schools at Emerson Spanish Immersion school in grades 4-6 while earning her Masters in Science Education. She was the Minneapolis Public school’s teacher in residence at the Bakken Museum in 2003 and taught Middle School Science at Anwatin. She has done staff development for teachers of different schools in Minneapolis, promoting Science education and hands on learning. 

She has been working as a 4th grade teacher at Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion since 2012. She believes that the educational experience of a child is a continuous negotiation of meaning, where experiences improve comprehension, interest of learning and promotion of literacy. Bilingual education is crucial for learners so that those worlds interact mentally and increase their ability to interpret the world.  Most of her free time is dedicated to her daughters, and the folkloric dance group (“Grupo de Danzas Colombianas en Minnesota”) which they belong to.

Mercedes Charles

Mercedes Charles is from a small town in Oaxaca, Mexico. She studied Social Work in Mexico, and has her Associate in Applied Science Degree in Interpreting and Translation from Century College.  For the past 15 years she been working for the Robbinsdale School District executing two equally vital roles. 

The first, as an educational assistant working specifically with English Language Learners. From working with English Language Learners, she has confirmed how vital it is for students to have a strong foundation of literacy in their native language, as well as the importance of being a bilingual individual. She knows that when a student is strong in his first language, learning the second language is easier, which is why she has always encouraged her students to continue to practice their native language.  Being bilingual not only provides students with more opportunities, but more importantly, it reaffirms and validates who we are as individuals.

The second as the school parent liaison where not only did she give voice to Latino parents, but also worked with them on the best way for them to get involved in school and support their children in their education.  That is the reason why she joined and worked for Soy Lector the first year that it was implemented at Meadow Lake Elementary, it engages parents in home language literacy as they teach their children to read and write in Spanish.  

Kate Flores

Kate Flores is a mother of two children and participated in the Soy Lector program for one year at her children’s school where she was the PTO’s Vice-President and President. She understands and values the importance of Parent Engagement and how student academic performance can be impacted when parents are involved in their children’s school.

Kate is a Senior Marketing Manager at Honeywell. She joined the Board of Directors to continue her passion of raising bi-lingual children and increasing literacy in children and adults knowing the benefits of bilingualism and bi-literacy. She continues to serve her mission of contributing to society.

Maribel Garcia

Maribel Garcia has been a full time Realtor^® for over 16 years.  Originally from Colombia, she attended Universidad de la Sabaña in Bogota, Colombia studying journalism. She moved to the United States in 1991, moved to Minnesota in 1994 and became an American Citizen in 2004. She spent one year serving with the City Volunteer Corps in NYC helping the homeless find shelter and food.

Recently, she was honored to be voted a member of the Board of Directors for the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors^®. She has achieved the Coldwell Banker Burnet Diamond, Sterling, and president Circle Society designations, top producer, listing and seller for 2008 & 2009, and top producer for 2011-2018 and is a Preferred Realtor^® for MFHA.