Tania Rodríguez was born in San José to a family of business owners. After graduating from high school, she entered the University of Costa Rica to study Business Administration and a year later she began to work at the BCR, where she worked for 11 years. She finished her Bachelors in Business Administration from the University of Costa Rica in 2011 and, when she fell in love with Mal País, decided to work as the treasurer of the new Mal País office in Playa Carmen. After a year, she had to return to San José. However, the quality of life she had experienced here compared to the hustle and bustle of life in San José made her decide to quit her job at the bank and build a new life for herself in Mal País. Tania started working at the Hotel Tropico Latino in 2011 as Operations Manager and later took charge of the reservations department. She was employed there for 8 years, until she took on this new opportunity of sharing her workplace with her 4 year old daughter, a Futuro Verde preschool student, and returning to her passion working within finance. Tania is thrilled to now be part of the Futuro Verde team as the Financial Manager and hopes to contribute immensely.

Hannia Granados was born in San Jose, Costa Rica, where she lived for many years until, due to work and family reasons, she decided to move to Paquera, Puntarenas. Hannia studied at the University of Costa Rica, holds a degree in Environmental Health and worked for 9 years in the commercial department of ​​a transnational company where she gained experience in customer service and sales, although not related to her university career. When she came to live in Paquera she began working in the field of education as an administrative assistant in a small private school, where she worked for 2 years. Hannia collaborated with Futuro Verde as a volunteer in the main office during 2018, so she is very excited to continue collaborating with students, parents and staff in general. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family; she likes to read and listen to music.

Jennifer was born in Haiti and raised in British Columbia, Canada. Her love of travel began at an early age: as a kid her world globe was her prized possession and she covered her bedroom walls in posters of all the places she would go one day. This love of all things international prompted her to complete a BA in International Studies with a minor in Sociocultural Anthropology, and then to travel extensively. During her travels her jobs included: Special Education Facilitator, Summer Camp Coordinator and Climate Change Researcher. She came to Costa Rica for work in 2010-that year she completed her certification as a Yoga teacher and fell in love both with her partner Julio and with the Nicoya Peninsula. While managing Casa Zen Guesthouse and Yoga Center in Santa Teresa, Jennifer began to specialize in Kids Yoga and to work with the Only Love Education Center in Malpais. She has recently completed her Masters in Education with a focus on Early Childhood Education. Off campus, Jennifer enjoys a cup of hot tea, a good book, and time at the beach with her three children.

Hileyn was born in San José, Costa Rica. Since she was a teenager she felt interest in working with different populations, such as children, adolescents and older adults; which led her to enter, in 2014, the career of Librarianship with emphasis in Educational Libraries at the University of Costa Rica. Subsequently, she worked in a children’s home, where she increased her passion for the area of Education. At the same time, she worked as a volunteer at the Carlos María Ulloa Home for the Elderly, where she had the opportunity to participate in different workshops. On the other hand, in 2018, she decided to complement her academic training, so she entered the Bachelor’s Degree in Library Science with emphasis in Information Sciences. During the same year, she performed student hours at the Eugenio Fonseca Tortós Library, an information unit specialized in Social Sciences. For her part, in 2019, she obtained the degrees that certify her as a librarian in both School Libraries and Information Sciences. In addition, she began the Bachelor’s Degree in Library Science with emphasis in Educational Libraries. Meanwhile, in 2020, motivated by learning with children, she decided to enter the Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education at the UCR. In this regard, in this career she awoke her admiration for pedagogues such as Carmen Lyra and Paulo Freire, being “Cuentos de mi Tía Panchita” and “Cartas a quien pretende enseñar” her favorite books. Thus, for Hileyn, Education is the most powerful tool to change the world; while Librarianship is the one that guarantees access to information and knowledge, critical thinking and love for working with different populations. Finally, in her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, listening to music and going for walks.

Francine was born in San José, Costa Rica, but moved with her family when she was very young to Pérez Zeledón, a beautiful rural area in the south of the country. In 2018 she began her studies at the National University in Education with a focus on primary school. Before working at Futuro Verde, Francine completed her professional practical at a small school in Liberia, Guanacaste. She is very excited and appreciative for the opportunity to work professionally in what she loves best, to teach. She is also very happy to be living so close to the beach and to be surrounded by so much nature.

Diana was born in San José, Costa Rica. She moved to Nicaragua to live in a farm for a couple of years and then came back to Costa Rica to live in Mal País. She studied in CTP of Cóbano and during that time she became pregnant with her daughter Floriella. With the birth of her daughter, she decided to stop studying to take care of her baby. In 2009, she started working at Little People Kindergarten, as a Spanish Teacher for a group of lovely little beings. Feeling grateful for the amazing opportunity, she decided to finished her high school studies in CINDEA Cóbano. Diana later combined her prior experiences and her desire to work with elementary students to obtain her degree in Primary School Education from the UMCA Puntarenas. She worked at Only Love Early Learning Center until September 2018. Another projects she engaged with was opening the Sun and Moon Kids Camp for school holidays since 2012. She loves being a teacher, although, in her experience, she has found that kids are the best teachers and they have given her so many lessons on life. She feels that being a teacher is a very rewarding job and that kids are pure beings, giving pure love at all times. Diana feels very excited and grateful for the opportunity to become part of the Futuro Verde school team. She feels open about learn from this new experience and wants to do her best and try to teach and guide the children in the best way possible. She loves going on hikes in the jungle with her family and she enjoys watching the sunset, the stars, the sun and the moon, snorkeling, exploring, appreciating all the flora and fauna on this beautiful planet, singing, listening to music and taking pictures. One day, she hopes to learn to play the piano and other musical instruments.

Originally from Scotland, Fiona moved here from France, with her partner in 2012.She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Animal behavior, ecology and conservation as well as a Master’s in Wildlife biology, ecology and conservation. Before coming to Costa Rica she had carried out research, education and conservation based projects in Scotland, South Africa and Madagascar. Fiona is excited to join the Futuro Verde team and is enthusiastic to share her wonder for science. She is also keen to bring her practical and technical experiences to the classroom. A fan of nature, travel and sports, Fiona also likes to spend free time with family and friends.

Tatiana was born in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, but did not grow up in the area. She studied Spanish Language and Literature and Spanish Philology at the University of Costa Rica. Her life experience has allowed her to move from one place to another, so she has had the opportunity to live in different parts of the country. After acquiring more than 4 years of teaching experience, she has the opportunity to be part of Futuro Verde.Her adventurous and challenging spirit drives her to make the drastic and sudden decision to leave her beautiful Puriscal to move to Cóbano with Aslan (her kitten) and in this way, open her way to new opportunities and continue on a challenging path. She is very excited to be part of our institution.Tatiana is a resilient person, who believes in the power of transformation, exigency and faith; she loves nature, the beach and truly supportive communities.

 Roberto Quirós Araya, after obtaining the degree of Bachelors in Biology in the University of Costa Rica, has worked as environmental tourism guide and was professor of Ecology, Zoology, Environmental Awareness, Sustainable Development and Ecotourism in Véritas University (2007-2016). In 2007 he founded NTV, a small business dedicated to selling trees of native species for various purposes.  In 2009 he accepted the position of Academic Producer in the Cognition, Creativity and Digital Media Area of the Omar Dengo Foundation, in charge of academic production in the field of science and the coordination in Costa Rica of the international GLOBE Program. He managed the Nosara Biological Reserve from Lagarta Lodge, Nosara Costa Rica, guiding its conservation, ecotourism, research and environmental education and also managed general tour operation for hotel guests and other tourists through LAYMA Tours.  His most common fields of research have been herpetology and mastozoology. He has most recently also taught Primary and Secondary School-level Mathematics and Science in both English and Spanish for over 4 years, using different strategies to nurture a passion for learning, including scientific citizenship through the iNaturalist app and trail camera usage to monitor local wildlife. For 7 years he led the committee in charge of the Bandera Azul program for Nosara beach, promoting beach cleanups, environmental education, etc. to keep the Bandera Azul award continuously throughout this time. Today his biggest passions are his family, promoting scientific and mathematical thinking, playing the drums, music, enjoying nature and the outdoors and transmitting a passion for nature. 

Debbie was born in Belgium, she has been in education for over 15 years now and began by teaching English and Spanish as a second/third language specializing in public service translating and interpreting. After which, she had the opportunity to dive into sports education. With this opportunity, she found herself organizing summer camps and teaching yearlong general sports classes for children.

Debbie and her family moved to Costa Rica 10 years ago, where she soon started to work as a language specialist for Futuro Verde from 2014 to 2019, after this she became President of Academia Torogoz which is a sports and recreational center that partners with Futuro Verde. Debbie’s favorite part of teaching is the interaction with the students. She is motivated and encouraged day to day by the opportunity to know each student’s unique way of learning and engaging and allowing those aspects to feed into and diversify the group´s dynamic. Debbie will be our Spanish B teacher for the upper secondary grades.

 

 Javier was born in San José, where he received his primary and secondary education. He graduated from the University of Costa Rica with a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and an Honors degree in Pictorial Design. He is passionate about music, which he plays on the violin in his spare time, and enjoys hiking and camping in order to find landscapes for plain air painting. During his university period he has published papers in Revista de Filosofía de la Universidad de Costa Rica and he has done solo and group shows including La toma de ingeniería (2019), Antes de que sea tarde (2019) and Hilecinesis (2022). He very much enjoys portrait art, with Alice Neel as his favorite artist and charcoal as his preferred medium. He hopes to learn in Futuro Verde and share his experience and passion for artistic expression. 

Alys was born and raised in the Paquera area, and moved to Cóbano 23 years ago. She acquired a technical degree in business administration at Boston University College and during this time in the area she has worked in supermarkets as a cashier, receptionist and for several years in administration. In her free time she loves to enjoy the beaches of the area with her son. She enjoys spending time with her family and going out with her friends. She has enjoyed the experience of being part of the Futuro Verde family, being surrounded by so many children and learning about different cultures.