Teresa Giral, JD, PhD

Executive Director & Founder

A Washingtonian, Dr. Teresa Giral attended Georgetown University and the Georgetown Law Center. After practicing law for 6 years, she earned a doctorate in clinical psychology from Columbia University, obtaining her Maryland psychology license in 2010. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, Dr. Giral started Academia Española in order to pass her language and heritage to her daughter. In addition to managing Academia Española, Dr. Giral heads a private group mental health practice in Bethesda, Maryland. Services are provided in both English and Spanish.

Silvia Holman

Curriculum/Testing Director

Silvia Holman is a native of Peru has worked for over 10 years as a Spanish immersion teacher in Montgomery County and the District. She has earned certificates in Spanish Early Childhood Education and English as a Second Language. Currently, she supervises curriculum for Academia Española will head our advanced student classes in the fall of 2016 at our Sangmore Road location.

Mariela Alarcon-Yohe

Program Director

Mariela Alarcon-Yohe is a native of Peru. She is the Program Director of La Academia and supervises and teaches all levels of Spanish. With her Master’s in International Public Health, she has worked extensively with community-based organizations along the U.S. – Mexico border providing educational workshops. She has authored low-literacy public health educational guides in Spanish in chronic and infectious diseases. At La Academia, she created the curriculum for the Book Club’s Caperucita Roja (Little Red Riding Hood) and El Gato con Botas (Puss in Boots).

Gelo Gomez

Teacher

Gelo Gomez is a native of Mexico, she is the lead teacher for Academia Española’s Beginner 1 and 2 Intensive courses and the Book Club at Kensington Parkwood in Kensington, Maryland. In addition, she teaches Spanish at day care centers and tutors children in Spanish. She has 30 years of experience teaching in the Public Elementary School System in Jalisco, Mexico and the United States. Gelo also had a career in broadcast journalism as Press Director of the Association of Amateur Sports in Jalisco, Mexico.

Pati Gomez

Teacher

Pati Gomez is a native of Mexico who has taught in various local Spanish programs at schools in DC and Montgomery Country, Maryland. She teaches the Beginner 1 and Beginner 2 Intensive classes as well as the Book Club at Westbrook Elementary School in Bethesda, Maryland. She has more than 18 years of experience teaching Spanish to children ages 3-12.