Stephanie has lived in Playa Tambor for 26 years, with only 6 years spent between home and San Jose. Having studied at the Universidad Latina of Costa Rica and achieved the degree of bilingual preschool teacher, Stephanie has just finished her licentiate degree from Castro Carazo University. Stephanie has worked as a substitute teacher in San Jose and as a preschool teacher in Panica and now enthusiastically joins Futuro Verde as a Spanish preschool teacher for all three preschool department levels: prekinder, kinder and prepa. What Stephanie finds most interesting about Futuro Verde is the opportunity to work with students from different cultures, which is a challenge, but is also a unique experience and an opportunity to grow professionally and to value personally the different cultures present at the school. During her free time, Stephanie likes to spend time with her husband and her family. Stephanie loves to stay active playing all kinds of sports and is committed to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Stephanie also enjoys camping at the beach and in the mountains.
Evelyn Vargas has lived in Cóbano for around the past 15 years. Having studied at the Metropolitan University Castro Carazo (UMCA) her licentiate degree in preschool education, Evelyn is now finishing an additional bachelor’s degree in elementary education. In years past, Evelyn has previous years of teaching experience, having worked at several different schools in the area. In her free time, she loves to listen to people, especially children, to spend her free time with her family and to have fun experiences with her children. Evelyn is very happy for the opportunity to join Futuro Verde as a member of the teaching staff as the Spanish 5th and 6th grade teacher.
Shahnaz comes to us from Oregon in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. She has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and International Affairs with a minor in Latin American Studies and a masters degree in education with endorsements in Bilingual/ESOL teaching and reading. Together with Lural, she designed and implemented the dual immersion program at her school 14 years ago and has been there ever since. She spent four years as a middle-grades classroom teacher before becoming the literacy coach and then reading specialist, academic intervention specialist and instructional coach for her school. Her passion in education is student-centered multicultural education through a social justice lens. Shahnaz spent 4 months in New Zealand in 2015 as the recipient of a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching where she researched NZ’s education system and designed a model for aligning early education services with primary schools in a holistic and child-centered manner. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to join our staff as well as to have her two sons attend Futuro Verde! In her spare time, Shahnaz–along with her husband, Brady–spends most of her time watching her two sons, Owen and Quincy, play sports. She also loves traveling, exploring and being active outside, reading, and photography.
Originally from Southern California in the United States, Samantha is an early childhood elementary teacher with a Bachelors Degree in Liberal Studies from California State University, Long Beach. She started her professional career in a private elementary school in Southern California working as a 1st and 2nd grade teacher. In 2015 she moved to Montezuma, Costa Rica and worked for Futuro Verde as a 1st and 2nd grade teacher. Most recently, Samantha has experience working as a kindergarten teacher in Mal Pais, Costa Rica. She is honored to rejoin the Futuro Verde team and share her knowledge while collaborating with others. She is looking forward to opening the minds of young learners and watching them grow as individuals. In her free time she enjoys exploring new places, relaxing on the beach, hiking to the waterfall, arts and craft projects, and exercising.
Originally from Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Javier is a biologist with a masters degree in biology from the University of Costa Rica, with a specialization in water resources. Javier has four years of previous experience as a science teacher in Costa Rica and in Spain. During the past eight years, Javier has worked on conservation projects and water resource restoration projects in Puerto Rico, the United States and in Costa Rica. The projects Javier develops are not only scientific, but also have a strong community involvement component with the communities located around the rivers and streams being studied. In this way, Javier is able to lead projects that develop community awareness and environmental education at the same time. Javier is very excited to join the Futuro Verde community and to share his enthusiasm and dedication in the areas of environmental education, integrated science (biology, physics and chemistry) and sustainability in Futuro Verde. Javier is excited to be joining such a multicultural community at Futuro Verde and to be able to enrich the school environment with different perspectives, not only about nature but also about life and our planet in general.
Izaura is from Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic. She boasts a licentiate degree in Education, with an emphasis in humanities, specifically focusing on language and literature. Izaura has taught classes in Spanish language and math in the primary grades and language and literature at the secondary level. Izaura came to Costa Rica with her husband and son in 2014. In 2015, she returned to her home country to finish her degree and then moved back to Costa Rica permanently. Izaura is very excited to be a part of Futuro Verde as the secondary Spanish language and literature teacher and the school librarian. For her, teaching is more than the passing on of knowledge, it is the educating of a person. She loves her work as an educator and she works hard to achieve a successful teaching and learning process with students. In her free time, Izaura like to spend time with her son and her husband, to read, to go the beach and to look at the stars.
Hailing from the desert of Phoenix, Arizona, Danie Lenz spent her life there learning to thrive in a harsh climate while gaining her Secondary Education English degree at Arizona State University. It was at this university that she began her work with the Young Adult Writing Project, a program where young writers learn to hone their craft. This program influenced not only her writing but impacted her teaching philosophy centering on students claiming language and writing as their birthright. After leaving ASU, she worked at inner city schools teaching 9th, 10th, and 11th grade Language Arts, Creative Writing, Poetry, AVID, as well as sponsoring the Hip Hop dance team. Currently, much of her time as a teacher focuses on supporting students as they learn to critically think so they may communicate their thoughts, feelings, and ideas to the world around them through a variety of writing genres. Danielle has four children ranging from age twenty to age one year old. In her free time she loves to journal, explore the natural world, dance, and study social justice. Danie is excited to become part of the Futuro Verde family as the secondary English language and literature teacher and to learn about the culture of Costa Rica.
Camille joins us from Montreal, Canada. She graduated from Université de Montréal in 2014, where she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in psychology. Camille has always loved working with children. During her studies, she spent over six years teaching swimming to kids of all ages. In the past three years, she has been working in developmental and child psychology as a research assistant. During this time she substantially contributed to a study on child development in Montreal’s most vulnerable neighborhoods. This experience has allowed her to have a deeper understanding of child development and the impact of external factors on a child’s development.Camille also has a passion for languages, as well as discovering new countries and cultures. She is very excited to embark on a new journey and is thrilled to be part of the Futuro Verde family as the school’s swim instructor and French teacher.
Dylan was born and raised on nature reserves all around South Africa. He is a very active person and has a passion for adventure. He was recently the first person to cycle a BMX across the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan in Asia and also completed a cycle around Costa Rica on a Banana Bike with his wife and their dog Charlie. Dylan has been working as a professional sports, travel and wildlife photographer for the past 5 years and has had work published by National Geographic Online, FIFA, Red Bull, Lonely Planet, Runners World and many other publications. Dylan is the husband of our first and second grade english teacher, Megan. He has a background in IT as well, and will be helping us out this year with our IT needs.
Aaron is from Montezuma, our neighboring village. This is the first time Aaron has a full-time job. Before working at our office he was an 11th-grade student of Futuro Verde. He is completing a final subject in order to graduate from high school. Aaron enjoys surfing very much and he has been working as a surf instructor with people from all ages since he was very young. In his free time, when the waves are good, you will find Aaron out at sea, surfing the waves. When the surf is not good, he enjoys watching the marvellous sunsets here at Nicoya Peninsula.
And, in a slightly different role this year,…
Angie Briceño is from San José. She has extensive experience working at Montessori and international schools for the past 5 years and lived overseas as an au pair in the Netherlands for a year. She is also a yoga instructor for kids and volunteered as a computer teacher for various non-profit organizations.. Angie has a Bachelor´s degree in Early Childhood Education and she is currently finishing a master´s degree in Project Management at ULACIT and is excited to use her expertise and wisdom here at Futuro Verde. She is excited to bring her various skills to Futuro Verde and to keep learning from her colleagues while supporting kids in their holistic health and academics. Angie works as the school’s Director of Development and Admissions Manager, managing fundraising related to major donors and small school projects along with the new role of helping families throughout the admissions process. This new responsibility is an exciting addition to Angie’s strong connection with the Futuro Verde community in Costa Rica and abroad. In her spare time, Angie loves to spend time at the beach, she likes to run, practice yoga and to read.
Khalida is originally from New Jersey, USA. After graduating from William Smith College with High Honors in Studio Art and her teaching qualification, she came to Cóbano for the year of 1993 to work as a volunteer teacher with WorldTeach. Here she met her husband, Alexander Jiménez. When Khalida returned to the USA, she pursued her Master’s of Fine Arts degree in Computer Graphics and Interactive Media from Pratt Institute. After graduating, Khalida worked at Nick Jr. on the children’s television program Blue’s Clues as well as doing freelance work on the programs Little Bill, The Wonder Pets, Creative Galaxy, and The Monster News. After the birth of their second daughter in 2006, and after 9 years living in NYC, Khalida and Alex decided to move back to Costa Rica where they run Agua Vista Vacation Rentals in Montezuma. Khalida’s work with Futuro Verde began in 2009 with the creation of a website for the school. After undertaking various roles at Futuro Verde, including Board President from 2010-2013, Khalida is thrilled to be focusing on the work that she most enjoys and to continue to collaborate in the growth of this important educational project for a community she loves. If Khalida has any free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and painting in her studio.
Originally from Scotland, Stuart and his family arrived in Montezuma and Futuro Verde in 2010 after being successfully self employed in the UK and USA. Since then he has been continuously involved with the school, as father to four students, volunteer and school treasurer. After volunteer substitute teaching at Futuro Verde, Stuart felt inspired by his experience to have a change in career and enter the world of education. With master’s degrees in history, business administration and education, Stuart is very excited to keep learning, while applying his blend of education and real life experience to the roles of IB Coordinator (designate) and Special Programs Coordinator. This year he is looking forward to introducing a project-based elective to 10th grade, as they take on solving real-world problems by planning, launching, and managing a business at school. In his spare time Stuart enjoys spending time with friends and trying new sports and activities, like volleyball.
