Santiago Gustin
PRESIDENT
Santiago is a language teacher with experience teaching English and Spanish as foreign languages. He graduated from Universidad de Nariño with a BA in English and French and holds an MA in TESOL from Portland State University. He was a recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship for Colombian English Teachers in 2015.
Apart from teaching and engaging in research projects, he enjoys discovering new music, cooking, and traveling.
"As the president of Nariño Tesol Network, I intend to work for the benefit of underrepresented English language teachers in my region, and to connect professionals with the right resources, programs, and opportunities to advance in their careers."
Cristina Tobar
VICE-PRESIDENT
Cristina is an EFL educator with teaching experience in the public and private sectors. She holds a BA in English and French from Universidad de Nariño and an MA in Pedagogy from Universidad Mariana.
Her interests are languages and foreign cultures.
"As the vice-president of Nariño TESOL Network, I aim to work towards network opportunities and professional development in the field of English Language Teaching in order to contribute to the teaching practices and future educators in our region."
J. Gabriel Bastidas
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Gabriel is an EFL educator from Pasto, Nariño. He holds a BA in English and French from Universidad de Nariño, an MA in Bilingual Education from Universidad Pablo de Olavide, and a diploma in Amazonian languages and cultures from Instituto Caro y Cuervo. He has been teaching English since 2014 in private language schools and as a freelancer.
He enjoys language teaching and learning, researching, and art making.
"Nariño TESOL Network is an interesting, ambitious project that benefits local teachers and researchers in our field. That is why I joined the team, it is a great opportunity to make a small contribution in the formation or the recovery of an English language teacher community in the region."
Edward Enriquez
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Edward graduated from Universidad de Nariño with a BA in English and French. He has been teaching English for more than 10 years in public and private institutions in Nariño and Putumayo. This experience is enriched by some research projects which have been presented in different national and international TEFL seminars.
He currently works at Universidad de Nariño where students fuel his passion for teaching.
"Being part of this team, I aim to provide former and novice English teachers with spaces where they would discuss the latest teaching trends with a selected group of speakers while they share their own teaching experiences. I want to offer participants some opportunities to develop in their professional fields by giving them tools to face the current issues in teaching English as a Foreign Language in Colombia."
Araly Rodríguez
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Araly is a language teacher graduated from Universidad de Nariño. She holds a BA in English and French, and she is finishing her MA in English Didactics from Universidad de Caldas. She has been teaching English for more than seven years in public and private institutions. Currently, she is working as an English teacher in Centro Colombo Americano in Manizales.
Apart from teaching, she enjoys dancing and travelling.
"As one of the program coordinators, I intend to help this team organize different events where teachers can share their knowledge and learn new things from each other. Additionally, my goal is to enhance the professional development opportunities in our region in order to get better professionals."
Jessica Pantoja
COMMUNITY MANAGER
Jessica is a foreign language teacher with teaching experience of more than 5 years in public and private institutions and online platforms. She holds a BA in English and French from the University of Nariño and she has been part of different exchange programs in the United States. Currently, she is working as an ESL teacher with adults in Minnesota, United States.
Apart from languages she enjoys learning about other cultures, trying new food, arts and crafts, sports, and hiking.
Being part of the Nariño TESOL Network is an opportunity to grow professionally and especially to help novice teachers with tools in their professional careers. As the community manager of this organization, I will ensure to connect through social media, professionals who wish to be part of this network as mentors to share their experience and knowledge.
Angie Ramirez
COMMUNITY MANAGER
Angie is a language teacher who holds a BA in English and French from Universidad de Nariño. She is finishing her MA in English Didactics at Universidad de Caldas. She has been teaching at private institutions for 11 years in Pasto, Ipiales and Manizales.
Besides teaching, she enjoys content creation for social media, videogames, cooking and managing her virtual shop on Instagram.
Being part of Nariño TESOL Network is a great opportunity to me as I feel I found partners to work towards the development of Language teaching professionals in my region, strengthen the bonds of our community and finding ways to share experiences and improve together. I strongly believe that we all have found and learned different things in the different paths we took after graduation and we can all benefit from those experiences when shared.