Leigh Anne always knew she wanted to be a teacher! As a little girl in Guatemala, even her dolls learned to read under her watchful eye. She couldn’t be happier to serve Reading Academies participants through ESC Region 11! Her experience includes working in several states and districts at the campus and district level. Leigh Anne received her M.Ed. in Reading from Texas Woman’s University. On her journey as a lifelong learner, she lives by the mantra “when you know better, you do better”.  At the core of her soul is advocacy for English Learners and their families. Leigh Anne believes that all children can learn and are supremely important in this world. This leads to a passion for providing a strong, research-based academic foundation as a critical piece for teaching the “whole” child. She is also totally in love with her family, which includes her precious husband of 38 years, 3 fantastic adult children, 2 perfect daughters-in-law, two sweet German Shepherds, and THE most delicious grandson ever born!

Esmeralda is a passionate educational leader and bilingual advocate. Her activism involves bilingualism, multiculturalism, early literacy, higher education, community service, and civic engagement. She is enthusiastic about serving as the Biliteracy Reading Academy Cohort Leader at ESC Region 11. Before her current role, she served as Dual Language Immersion teacher, Spanish LOTE teacher, DLI/Spanish LOTE Instructional Coach, LPAC Interim Director, BIL/ESL Interim Director, and Bilingual Early Literacy Coordinator at International Leadership of Texas. Esmeralda earned her Master's in Bilingual Education from Southern Methodist University. She is also certified in Early Literacy, Bilingual General-Spanish EC-6, Generalist EC-6, and English as a Second Language Supplemental. She has extensive experience facilitating teacher training in early literacy and bilingual education at local, national, and international levels. Outside work, she likes to practice mindfulness, meditation, and yoga. She enjoys reading, biking, listening to music, embracing other cultures, and connecting with nature through travels worldwide. She loves spending quality time with family and friends.