Founders

Carmenza and Gil Ramirez have dedicated their lives to Spanish and Early Childhood Education. With extensive education backgrounds and combined 40+ years of teaching experience, it was important for Carmenza and Gil to raise their sons Marlon and Cesar bilingual. They raised their children through active learning, individualized attention, and cultural themes; the same methodology implemented at BrightSteps today. Carmenza and Gil strongly believe their methodology helped Marlon and Cesar’s educational, professional, and social development.

Cesar graduated from Brandeis University, Marlon graduated from Brown University and today are working with their parents as a team to bring you BrightSteps - Languages for Little Ones.

 

Instructor Biographies

Deisy - Spanish Instructor

Deisy Del Real was born in Mexico and moved to Los Angeles, CA when she was 6 years old. She always loved her native language -Spanish- and continued taking Spanish classes from kindergarten to college. Deisy was awarded a leadership-based scholarship by the Posse Foundation to attend Grinnell College and completed her degree in Sociology with a focus in Latin American Studies. Throughout her academic career, she worked in several Spanish films and is now writing a novel. Deisy has taught Spanish classes to kids as young as 10 months, teenagers and adults. She has been teaching for 6 years in CA, Iowa, NY and Cambodia! She loves using her creativity to teach children Spanish and offers her insight into the Latin culture. Deisy believes every child has their own interests and she makes sure the each child is always enjoying themselves so that learning remains fun, inspiring and something to look forward to.

Gil - Co-Founder & Spanish Instructor

Gil was born and raised in Colombia, where he quickly learned about his passion for teaching and found a true joy in working with children. He attended Pamplona University and after many years of teaching in Colombia he Co-Founded Ionar Institute for Language Learning. After approximately 5 years of professional experience he decided to transition into the USA, where he worked multiple jobs in order to continue his teaching career in America. Gil obtained a Masters Degree in Education from Adelphi University and exercised various roles ranging from Early Childhood through High School. Gil knew the importance of foreign languages and noticed language acquisition took place best in the earlier years of life and he knew he wanted to have an impact in the field. After gaining some experience through the Board of Education and implementing various teaching methods, Gil and his family decided to open up BrightSteps - Languages for Little Ones! At BrightSteps Gil actively plays a dual role in Training Instructors and Teaching Spanish classes.

Sophia - Mandarin Instructor

Sophia is originally from China. She grew up in a seaside city in the Fujian Province and received her bachelor's degree in Economics from Xiamen University. When she was an undergraduate student in China, she started to teach Mandarin to foreign students from Southeast Asia. Five years ago, she came to the United States for graduate school at SUNY Binghamton. At Binghamton, she worked as a Teaching Assistant for more than three years. She also worked as an English and Mandarin Interpreter/Translator for clients such as elementary schools, law firms and real estate agencies. Sophia is passionate about kids and teaching; this is why she is at BrightSteps! She strongly believes Mandarin is one of the most beautiful languages in the world. In a fun and interesting way, her Mandarin teaching style will bring your children a broad range of experiences while learning the language such as developing teamwork skills, strengthening motor skills, creative learning, exposure to the Chinese culture and more!