Our founder was born and raised in Costa Rica, where she was exposed to a culture of peace and care for the natural world. Estefanía became engaged since a very young age in marine conservation projects, where she performed as a field assistant, interpreter, and nature guide.
Throughout her undergraduate studies she worked in conservation of coral reefs and leatherback sea turtles with prestigious organizations such as CIMAR and EARTHWATCH. Estefanía’s journey in conservation taught her about the intrinsic connection between social injustices and environmental degradation with lack of quality education. As a response to this realization, she founded at 25 years old a private bilingual K-12 devoted to providing a quality education that merged social and environmental agency.
Through 8 years, the school benefited hundreds of local students from low income families who learned along international students through a curriculum that was designed to deliver an education that empowered learners to be agents of change. This curriculum and the teaching practices that were incorporated at the school under Estefanía’s guidance have been published by distinguished institutions like IBE and UNESCO.
With the vast expertise from developing and directing a K-12 sustainable school, Estefanía has continued her journey in transformative education as a researcher and education consultant. Her work has taken her to remote rural areas in Costa Rica, Panamá and Indonesia, as well as urban communities in the United States. Estefanía has collaborated with and supported hundreds of teachers, principals, academic directors, and students of education projects and schools that provide extracurricular programs, community development efforts, and formal K-12 education under the principles of sustainable development.
Her expertise includes development of nationally accredited curricula, construction of bilingual lesson plans for all core subjects ranging from K-12 grade, professional development for K-12 teachers, scholarly research in progressive teaching strategies and curricular content, design of social enterprises, and delivery of international experiential learning trips.
Estefanía’s deep commitment for creating quality educational opportunities for all stems from her belief that education is the key for evolving the ways we interact with one another and nature, and consequently, for creating a more just and fair world.
- Bachelor’s in Biology focused in marine conservation, University of Costa Rica
- MBA in Social Entrepreneurship, Colorado State University
- MA in Education, University of California Santa Barbara
- PhD Candidate in Education, University of California Santa Barbara