Ecuador Staff Bios & CVS

Director of Education, Professor

• Biology 100: Introduction to Biological Principles and Lab

Master’s Science Education

Janelle is a TCK (Third Culture Kid) who has a passion for developing young adults and who has a love for nature and Science and what they can teach about God’s redemptive work.

Director of Spiritual Life, Professor

• Christian Spiritual Formation & Transformation 320

• Biblical Worldview & Global Religions 340

Master’s in Theological Studies; Master’s of Divinity

A TCK (Third Culture Kid) from Ecuador, Loren is passionate about teaching the Bible within the context of Ancient Near East studies. He loves Chealsea FC, woodworking, naps, and hiking.

Professor

• Intercultural Communication 300

• CD 100: Community Development

Master’s of Education in Adult Ed, Community Development and Youth Work (University of Glasgow)

Master’s of Theology (currently) (Edinburgh Theological Seminary)

With years of experience including with refugees in Rwanda, asylum seekers in Scotland, and youth in the US, Robbie has been working in Community Development in Quito since 2020. He plays guitar and other stringed instruments, enjoys the outdoors, and such activities as hiking and biking, and is a life-long learner who reads voraciously. He is a husband and father of three.

Professor

• Ecuador 250/350: History, Art and Culture of Ecuador

Masters of Arts in Education Management

Iván is an Ecuadorian whose wife is from the US, and has many diverse intercultural experiences both personally and professionally. Having been inspired by the notion that history is, in essence, "His Story," Iván is deeply committed to exploring the intersection of Christian philosophy, education, and world history. Recognizing the divine presence in historical events, his aim is to portray God's redemptive work with reverence and awe.

Resident Director & Professor

• Social Entrepreneurship and Leadership

B.A. Vanguard University (Costa Mesa, CA)

M.A. Outdoor and Adventure Leadership, Wheaton College (Three Lakes, WI)

Professor

• SPA 101: Elementary Spanish 1

• SPA 102: Elementary Spanish 2

• SPA 320: Advanced Grammar and Conversation

Master’s of Education Science

Ruth has been teaching with Living and Learning International since Fall 2018. She is an avid reader on varied topics, including literature, history, psychology and spirituality. She loves to walk and hike in nature, to travel and to get acquianted with different cultures.

Professor

• SPA 102: Elementary Spanish 2

• SPA 201: Intermediate Spanish 1

Master’s in advanced studies in Literature from the University of Barcelona

Focused degrees in Human Rights and Memory (CLACSO & FLACSO Brazil)

From Quito, Ecuador, María Fernanda is a clinical psychologist with a focus in women’s issues, a poet, an author especially in children’s literature, a workshop presenter with collaborative research and presentations in humanities, psychology, pedagogy, and human rights, a social/human rights activist, and an avid reader and writer of literature. She was one of the first to teach in Living and Learning’s Ecuador semester Spanish department, faithfully working with L&LI since 2016.

Professor

• SPA 201: Intermediate Spanish 1

• SPA 250: Readings and Advanced Grammar

Master’s of Pedagogy in Spanish Literature and Language

María José has been teaching Spanish to foreigners since 2014, and has been teaching with Living and Learning since 2017. She is a mathematician, a photographer and a social/human rights activist. She is a life learner who is currently seeking a degree in law. She lives with her husband and enjoys life with her little dogs.

Professor

• SPA 250: Readings and Advanced Grammar

• SPA 310: Conversation and Advanced Grammar

Licensed in Education Science

María Alejandra brings many years of experience working with NGO’s, training management teams, working with individuals with disabilities and teaching Spanish to North American adults. She loves to read, play games and sports, cook and laugh. She enjoys her time with family which includes grandchildren! She is passionate about walking with and caring for students as they learn a new language and culture, and as they deepen their relationship with the Lord, helping them to be assured of His care as they are far from home.

Professor

• SPA 310: Advanced Grammar and Conversation

• SPA 320: Advanced Grammar and Conversation

Master’s of Education Management

Teaching since 1980, Aura brings invaluable experience to Living and Learning upper-division Spanish students. She enjoys being a mother and grandmother. Her love of literature, archeology, museums and cultural heritage comes through her passion for teaching young people, even as she enjoys her retirement.

Professor

• SPA 330: Voces de Ecuador: Select topics in Ecuadorian Perspectives

Masters in New Applied Technologies in Education

Teaching in many capacities since 1995, Viviana has invaluable experience with students from different backgrounds and levels. She is the wife of a pastor/counselor and a mother of two young adult children. Other than teaching with Living and Learning (since 2022), she works with young adults who grew up in an orphangage training them in life skills, and she helped to establish a hybrid online homeschool program. She loves to read and teach.

Professor

• Spanish 400: Vision General de Literatura Latinoamérica y Cultura

Postgraduate studies and Licensure in Higher Education Science

A seasoned teacher, missionary, wife of a pastor, mother, and grandmother, Susana is passionate about reading, teaching, and discipling, especially in the church. She has been teaching for Living and Learning since 2014, with a holistic approach in intercultural experience in her teaching of upper-division Spanish in literature and culture.