Upper School Team
About our Team
At DMA, the Upper School faculty is charged with teaching students in grades 4 through 12, including the IB Diploma Program. To provide opportunities for vertical and horizontal curricular integration and alignment, our team is organized by learning cycles (4th-6th grade, 7th-9th grade, and 10th-12th grade) and instructional divisions: CAPE (Creative Arts and Physical Education Program), Humanities (Language Arts, Language Acquisition, and Social Studies), and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
Genevive (Gigi) Sehr
Curriculum & IB Diploma Program Coordinator
United States
Ms. Gigi holds a Masters in education from George Mason University, a Bachelors in History and Latin American Studies from Oberlin College, and a teaching license for both Social Science and English. Bilingual in English and Spanish, Ms. Gigi has experience teaching and developing curriculum in all levels of the International Baccalaureate program (PYP, MYP, and DP), including Theory of Knowledge, IT, and Environmental Science. Her career in international education includes working in schools from Argentina to Tokyo and includes working in several bilingual education programs and integrating local community resources. Ms. Gigi also has done professional development related to Montessori Education and Inquiry-based teaching and learning.
CAPE Team
Creative Arts and Physical Education
María Isabel Cáceres
Visual Arts
Venezuela
Maria Isabel holds a degree in Political Science and Social Studies Education from Universidad de los Andes in Venezuela. From her studies in politics, Maria developed a strong interest in improving the educational system in ways that connected the environment and her ultimate passion: art. Following this path, Maria led the project “Selva Creativa” an NGO devoted to fostering environmental thinking and awareness through creative arts projects. Captivated by Costa Rica’s environmental focus, Maria left her project and moved to Playas del Coco where she worked as Spanish, General Culture and Plastic Arts teacher. If you don’t see Maria doing some kind of amazing art with her students, you can surely find her with her loyal club of aerial dance acrobats.
Keren Espinoza
Physical Education
Costa Rica
Keren was born and raised in San Jose. She holds a Physical Education teaching degree from the University of Costa Rica. With over 16 years of experience, she has worked as a P.E. teacher in several international schools, summer camps, and as sports coach in San Jose and Playas del Coco. After an interim in tourism, Keren joined DMA six years ago as a member of the Splash program and then as a full time educator. She firmly believes that sports and physical activity are critical to achieve the integral development of children. Keren lives in Nosara with her husband and son.
Richard Jewkes
STEAM
United States
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Alejandro Sauter
Music • STEAM
Costa Rica
Alejandro is a musician by heart and believes that music should be part of everyone's life. Combining his passion for music and electrical engineering background, he loves to integrate traditional and digital music into new compositions. Alejandro plays different instruments, such as guitar, keyboard and our favorite: the ukelele. Before joining Del Mar, Alejandro worked as a music teacher at a private school in Costa Rica. At DMA, Alejandro wears many interesting hats as our music teacher, technology coordinator, and STEAM educator - an area where he has focused on teaching coding using the latest applications and instruments. In his free time, Alejandro is an avid surfer and musician. It is not rare to see him playing around town with Mr. Roberto and Mr. Juan Diego..
Humanities Team
Language Arts, Language Acquisition and Social Studies
Anabelle Álvarez
Spanish Humanities
Costa Rica
Ms. Anabelle holds a bachelor and a “Licenciatura” or postgraduate degree in Elementary Education from the University of Costa Rica. She is a bilingual Nosarian who has ample experience in managing businesses. Many of her organizational skills including planning and prioritizing, fostering organization and instilling time management, important functional skills for the development of our new generations. As part of her continued professional development, Anabelle recently participated in Teachers College's Writing Institute at Columbia University. .
Javier Amador
Language Acquisition
United States & Costa Rica
Mr. Javier was born and raised in beautiful Costa Rica. He joins Del Mar Academy after teaching languages for almost twenty years in North Carolina, USA. Javier brings a wealth of experience that includes Montessori, Bilingual Immersion and Spanish as a Second Language from grades 1 to Advanced Placement. Javier holds a Teaching Degree from the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, and has countless hours of professional development in bilingual education and cultural awareness in education. Javier returns to Costa Rica in the company of his wife Meredith, their two children Diego and Maya, and their dog Raney. In his free time, Javier enjoys gardening (orchids are his favorites!), reading about environmental issues and spending time with his family.
Emily Dittmann
English Language Arts • Social Studies
United States
Ms. Emily holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters of Education degree in Literacy with a Concentration on Writing from the University of Maine. Ms. Emily has co-directed the past two Maine Writing Project summer institutes in addition to serving as a MWP Teacher Consultant. She is a certified English teacher with more than 10 years experience and has also been a Culinary Arts Instructor. Her passion for cooking and gardening led her to found and direct a community garden for her school district in Maine, where she lived before moving to Nosara.
Jan Krieger
English Humanities • CAS
United States
Profe Jan has lived and taught in Mexico, Honduras, Argentina, Gabon (West Africa) and Cambodia. He holds a Masters in Multicultural Education and is certified in Spanish and Social Studies. He has created and led Model United Nations programs at the high school level and implemented a full immersion English program for Cambodian middle school students. Before teaching, Jan and his wife Karen worked as national park rangers and wilderness guides in Montana and Alaska. They also co-directed an environmental education program for teens in Yellowstone National Park called the Youth Conservation Corps. Jan's philosophy on education is that it should be relevant, include real-world projects and focus on who you are in addition to what you know.
Stephanie (Sol) Londoño
Language Acquisition
United States
Sol was born and raised in northern New Jersey. She attended Bergen County Technical High School where she met creative, dynamic students from all over Bergen County. Sol pursued a B.A. in Linguistics with a certification in Spanish/English Translation due her appreciation for how language connected her so deeply with Latin American culture and her Colombian roots. Sol traveled through Central and South America and fell in love with Costa Rica and its beautiful “pura vida” philosophy and nature. Sol wants to connect her love and experience working with children by sharing her love for language, especially the rich Spanish language. She received a Restorative Yoga certification at Nexus Institute in Nosara August 27th, 2019 and hopes to continue her studies in yoga to include more mindfulness work with her students. Sol's aim is to create a safe space of relaxed awareness where students feel receptive and embraced.
Mónica Marín
Spanish Language Arts • Extended Essay
Chile
Monica Marin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Universidad Catolica de Chile and a Masters degree in School Administration from the University of Barcelona, Spain. A 12-year veteran teacher, she was originally a historian researcher, who began her career as an educator teaching Heritage Spanish in New York City. Since then, Monica has worked as an administrator, vice-principal and school founder, while always teaching Spanish and Humanities full-time in Tanzania, Dominican Republic and Chiapas, Mexico. She has a particular expertise in teaching writing skills and critical thinking. Monica has extensive IB training in MYP and DP, and last year participated in Teachers College Reading and Writing Project’s Writing Institute at Columbia University. She enjoys reading, exploring and learning in different countries, and spending time with her family. She is excited to be living in Costa Rica by playa Pelada and being part of a progressive international school.
Vicky Twyford
English Humanities
United States
Ms. Vicky holds a Master’s degree in Education and a bachelor’s degree in Art. Vicky has been teaching at DMA for over ten years, since the school’s opening. She was awarded a scholarship at Virginia Wesleyan College and through university meetings and seminars, helped encourage single mothers to further their education. She taught at a public school in Virginia for 15 years. Vicky has two sons—Trevor, who is a medical physicist working with proton therapy treatment for cancer patients in Oklahoma City, OK, and Tyler, who is the environmental educator for the James River Parks and Recreation Center in Richmond, VA. After living in Virginia her entire life, Ms. Vicky made the big change to Costa Rica and the Pura Vida lifestyle with two suitcases, her dog Rocky, and her surfboard. You can contact Ms. Vicky at vickytwyford@delmaracademy.com
STEM Team
Science, Technology, Math & Engineering
Esmeralda Castro
Science • Humanities
Ms. Esmeralda was born in Costa Rica and raised in Heredia. She holds a degree in Biology from the Universidad Nacional and a Master’s degree in Ecological Agriculture from Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE). Esmeralda joined DMA to coordinate the Splash program but quickly moved into full-time teaching leading the Social Studies and Civics classes. As a nature lover, Meme has always strived to incorporate environmental education and awareness in all of her courses. Beginning in 2019-2020 Meme has been charged with the task of developing a world-class agroecology course that may serve as a model for other schools in the region. In her free time, Meme is always involved in some community-related activity, seeking every possible opportunity to support our loved Nosara and its people.
Lissa Eidelman
Science • STEAM
Ms. Lissa hails from the Michigan North woods and holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Science Education from Hamline University in Minnesota. Her mission in life is to reconnect a critical mass of young people to natural systems. Lissa is passionate about fieldwork, experiential, and project-based education. As a scientist, she has tracked wolves across Northern Minnesota, monitored sea turtles in Sicily, and surveyed snowshoe hares in Montana. Lissa has taught Field Ecology and middle and high school Science and Math in Costa Rica (Monteverde), the British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, France, and the United States.
Roberto Quirós
Science • Math
Roberto holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Costa Rica (UCR). After graduating, he was a professor of Ecology, Zoology, Environmental Awareness, Sustainable Development, and Ecotourism at Véritas University (2007-2016). In 2009 he worked as Academic Producer in the Cognition, Creativity and Digital Media Area with the Omar Dengo Foundation and was the coordinator of the international GLOBE Program (Costa Rica). Before joining Del Mar, Roberto managed Lagarta Lodge’s Nosara Biological Reserve, leading efforts in conservation, ecotourism, research, and environmental education. A scientist at heart, Roberto’s areas of research include herpetology and mastozoology. Currently, his biggest passions are his family, promoting scientific and mathematical thinking, playing the drums, and sharing his passion for the outdoors and nature.
Bill Sebring
Math
United States
Mr. Bill has been teaching mathematics at the middle school and high school level for the last 29 years. He holds a Master’s of Science in Teaching Mathematics from the University of New Hampshire. Throughout his career, he has sought professional development opportunities to learn to engage students in meaningful problem-solving and mathematical discourse. Mr. Bill has put these practices in place in his classroom and recently has spent more than four years exploring how to combine these mathematical attributes with the teaching and learning of the Common Core Mathematics Standards.
Dr. Carla Uribe
Science
Spain
Dr. Carla Uribe holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences by the University of Cadiz and Ph.D. in Climate Change by the Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain). In addition to this, Dr. Carla is a certified Montessori Lead Teacher by AMI. Throughout her career, Dr. Carla has participated in social, educational and environmental projects in a variety of settings, such as Spain, Finland, Holland, and Bolivia. After several years as a researcher, Dr. Carla has moved into the front lines of education, intending to develop environmentally-conscious students and citizens of the world. In her free time, she loves spending time with her daughter, practicing yoga and meditation. She is also a seasoned flamenco dancer- a passion she has been cultivating since childhood.
Inspired to join the adventure?
If after meeting our talented and committed team of educators you feel inspired to join our school, please visit our Teach section to learn about current opportunities and the application process.