Our Team
Beth
An educator with a graduate degree in play-based learning, Beth was our first pedagogical coordinator, and today we are very happy to have her as our ever-present Head of Pedagogy. With a solid track record of more than 16 years at schools such as Beacon, Concept and Vera Cruz, and mother of Estella and Sophie, Beth brings to the school great competence and energy, and a rare combination of lightness and depth.
Letícia
Letícia specialized in Social-Emotional Learning and Curriculum Design at Columbia University in New York, where she taught for many years. She coordinates the graduate program in Social-Emotional Learning at Instituto Singularidades and is the mother of two. In 2017 she received Columbia University's Early Career Award for her career dedicated to education.
Marcelo
Marcelo is the father of four and worked for 10 years at Abril Educação, where he was Sales and Marketing Director. He holds an MBA from York University and a Master's in Education from Stanford University in the United States. He worked directly with the São Paulo State Secretary of Education before founding AfterSchool and Hiboo with Bruno and Letícia. Marcelo practices meditation and yoga, and is great at spinning kids around.
Bruno
Father of three (so far), Bruno spent almost 15 years at Grupo Abril in a range of areas and businesses, and has worked in education for more than 10 years. He was Marketing Director at Somos Educação before founding AfterSchool with Marcelo and Letícia. Besides a dog, a cat and a guinea pig, he still finds time to look after a vegetable garden and a chicken coop at home. Bruno has run the São Silvestre race twice and is training for a half marathon.
%2011_51_edited.jpg)
Jéssica
Jéssica is from Pará, and half of her personality comes from being paraense. She holds a degree in English Language and Literature from UEPA and specialized in Early Childhood and Bilingual Education. She began her journey in education in 2012 at bilingual schools and has taught children from 2 to 15 years old. She was pedagogical coordinator at the Funtastic English language school. A teacher at Hiboo, in 2022 she took on the challenge of coordinating the Early Years and Elementary School, and in 2024 she began sharing the coordination role with Carol. She dances and sings all day, and loves colorful socks and sparkly makeup.
Carol
Carolina graduated in Communications from ESPM, but found in education a more human, transformative and challenging world. She then earned a degree in Education and worked at several bilingual schools in São Paulo. Seeking new inspiration and influences, she went to Italy to take part in the Segni Mossi dance-drawing lab, which sparked her interest in creating learning experiences that invite children to experiment, discover and engage more with their bodily, emotional and artistic expression (and her own).
Alexandra
Alê is creative, good-humored and always ready to help. She holds degrees in Languages, Translation and Interpreting, and Education, plus a graduate degree in Neuropsychopedagogy. She has worked at bilingual schools for more than 20 years and firmly believes that respect and empathy are the most important tools for a better world. Married for 24 years, she has a lovely son and daughter and a little dog. She enjoys road running, rows at the USP Olympic Rowing Course and takes functional training classes. She loves cooking and watching series (Friends, Vikings, Star Trek, The Mandalorian, TWD, Criminal Minds and The Mentalist are among her favorites).
Amanda Leite
Amanda is an educator who graduated from the University of São Paulo. Before becoming a teacher, she worked in the communications team at Instituto Alana. She joined Hiboo in 2021 and, after a season in the Early Years, became an Elementary School teacher. She loves reading, cooking new dishes and discovering new places, especially beaches!
Amanda Lima
Amanda is an educator with a degree from Instituto Singularidades. She has worked in a wide range of learning environments, such as play houses and outdoor yards, exploring and researching children's free development in contact with nature and loose parts, and has led art and play workshops at cultural centers and private institutions. She is passionate about artistic languages and spent time in many art studios as a child. She practices meditation and contemplative practices and is a yoga instructor.
Ana Beatriz
Ana Beatriz is from Rio de Janeiro and moved to São Paulo at 18, where she started working at an NGO. She is in her final year of Education at the Federal University of São Paulo. She has worked in education since 2020 and completed a course on Autism Spectrum Disorder at Drexel University. Passionate about constructivist theories of education, she hopes to specialize in special education. In her free time she plays the ukulele and piano and sings. A fun fact: she has two pet rats and loves playing with them.
_edited.jpg)
Barbara
Babi is an educator who believes in education as a driver of social change. She is committed to fostering student agency and diversity at school, and to deepening her knowledge of active learning methods. She began her journey in education in 2015 as a volunteer teacher in an adult education project. Getting to know people's stories and having the chance to exchange different kinds of learning is what encouraged her to dive deeper into the world of education.
Fernanda
Fernanda holds degrees in Languages and Education and has 23 years of experience in education. She is the mother of Rafael and Isabel. She specialized in School Management and for the last 18 years worked as Pedagogical Coordinator and Director in Early Years education. She is currently taking graduate courses in Positive Discipline, Neuroscience and Mindfulness.
Gustavo Lara
Gustavo is a psychologist who graduated from PUC-SP and is studying Education. He has always been fascinated by the world of children: their particularities and the way these little people play, interact, explore and communicate. This grew even stronger with the birth of his goddaughter in 2015, which let him be part of different moments of her childhood and follow her development. He has worked with children in many different settings and found in education a captivating path. He loves playing and watching sports, outdoor activities and moments of relaxation.
Juliana Naves
The daughter of an American father and a Brazilian mother, Juliana grew up in a bilingual home. She is studying Education at the University of São Paulo and is also passionate about dance. She started classical ballet as a child and, as an adult, decided to try other styles. This made her recognize the importance of valuing different forms of artistic expression, which she seeks to share with her students. When she isn't studying or dancing, Ju, as everyone calls her, likes to read and rescue cats.
.avif)
Liz
Passionate about music, meeting people and the sea, Liz is an educator who graduated from Unicamp and is training as a psychoanalyst. She is currently doing a graduate program in Psychoanalysis and Education at USP, and in the classroom she seeks to explore and develop, together with the children, not only cognition but also affection and our ability to deal with our own humanity.
Flora
The granddaughter of an American, she grew up hearing English at home. She graduated in Advertising from Mackenzie and has been teaching for 15 years, giving ballet and other dance classes to children and teenagers. She opened her own dance studio in 2015 and earned the Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies from the Royal Academy of Dance (London). Passionate about teaching, she began studying Education and is currently doing a graduate program in Bilingual Education at Instituto Singularidades. She believes education is the best way to change the world, by raising more conscious citizens.
Mariana Torniero
Mariana is an early childhood educator passionate about children's holistic development. Originally a graphic designer, she moved to Toronto in 2016, where she studied Early Childhood Education and gained 7 years of experience as a preschool teacher. A specialist in play-based pedagogy, Mariana teaches children mindfulness techniques such as breathing and yoga, creating a creative and welcoming learning environment. Outside the classroom, she enjoys walks with her dog, cycling around the city and visiting art exhibitions. She is currently completing her teaching degree in Education to further strengthen her practice.
Teresa
Teresa holds degrees in Teaching, Education and Bilingual Education, with broad experience in the field. For more than 23 years she has dedicated herself to transformative education, believing in the power of experiences to enrich learning. Every process her students go through inspires her and helps her continually rethink her role as an educator, since no learning path is the same as another.
Vivian
Vivian, Daniel's mother, has more than 20 years of classroom experience at several international schools in São Paulo. She has a degree in Education and an advanced diploma in Rudolf Steiner Education, completed in Melbourne, Australia, where she lived and worked for 2 years. A member of a scout group, she has organized many social and charity events. Deeply connected to an education more integrated with nature, she loves her pets, two dogs and a little cat, and their positive interaction with people. She loves adventuring with her family on expeditions and camping trips.
Kelly
Kelly is a born storyteller, illustrator and painter. She has always been passionate about Art History and the artistic movements behind each painter. She graduated in Visual Arts from Faculdade Montessori and deepened her studies in drawing and painting at Escola de Arte de São Paulo. At Uniítalo she did a graduate program in Education.
Simone
An educator, her passion for the profession came through the volunteer work she does at the church in her neighborhood. Children's learning and development fascinate her. She loves working with the little ones and spreading love and care wherever she goes. Painting and exploring the world of colors and art delight her, and for this and other reasons she wants to specialize in Arts, Museology and Cultural Education.
Millena
Mother of Helô, classical ballerina and biomedical scientist. While volunteering at ACM São Paulo, in its Children and Adolescents Division, she discovered that being with children was where she wanted to be. She recently started studying Education to dive deeper into the world she has been immersed in since joining AfterSchool. You can recognize Millena's smile even when she's writing on WhatsApp.
.png)