Speakers

Is a VESS Master Trainer and Mentor-Coach. Ana Maria Fernandez is Edu1st’s president and co-founder, has a BS in Early Childhood Education and a Master’s in International School Administration. In addition, to be a Neuroeducation Postgrad teacher at Barcelona University, Ana Maria is also one of the forerunners, along with the University of Barcelona, of the first Neuroeducation Chair worldwide. Ana María has over 25 years of experience in education, she has founded 2 international schools in Bogota-Colombia and 6 in the United States, as well as collaborating with schools in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Poland, Spain, and the U.S.A. She has dedicated her life working to the improvement of education through the implementation of “Thinking as a Pedagogical Strategy.” An approach to learning that carefully integrates the Visible Thinking approach and all PZ ideas from Harvard University, The theory of Constraint (TOC), the De Bono’s Lateral, and Parallel Thinking strategies, among many others.

Key Note Session: “Transformation, Empathy, and Meaning as Foundations of the educational role.”

• Friday, November 20th.
• Time: 8:00 – 8:45 hr., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

Key Note Session.

• Friday, November 20th.
• Time: 15:30 – 16:00 hr., Miami, FL.

Key Note Session: “Learning Ecosystems in ever-changing contexts.”

• Saturday, November 21st.
• Time: 15:45 – 17:00 hr., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

Gilberto is a maxillofacial surgeon and university teacher; he also holds a master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA). In addition to being a Neuroeducation Postgrad teacher at Barcelona University, he has also been one of the forerunners, along with Barcelona University, of the first Neuroeducation Cathedra worldwide. As Education First Inc.’s co-founder, organization that operates six schools in South Florida, Gilberto is also involved in the development of educational programs and methodologies, to promote thinking skills, habits, and mental dispositions, used by schools in the U.S., Latin America, and Europe. His leadership in the design and implementation of Education First Inc.’s strategic plan has positioned them as a leading organization in cutting-edge education with a network of more than 120 schools, present on three continents.

Key Note Session: “Transformation, Empathy, and Meaning as foundations of the educational role.”

• Friday, November 20th.
• Time: 8:00 – 8:45 hr., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

Key Note Session.

• Friday, November 20th.
• Time: 15:30 – 16:00 hr., Miami, FL.

Key Note Session: “Learning ecosystems in ever-changing contexts.”

• Saturday, November 21st.
• Time: 15:45 – 17:00 hr., Miami, FL.

Science teacher and family counselor. Reme is the general director of the Salzillo School, María Asunta de Castalla School, and María Inmaculada de Javea School, as well as the CEO of Denueve Services.

Key Note Session: “The value of being an accredited VESS School.”

• Saturday, November 21st.
• Time: 9:00 – 9:45 hrs., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

She has a BS in Pedagogy and a Doctorate in Philosophy and Educational Sciences from Barcelona University. Anna is the Deputy Director of the Neuroeducation postgraduate course at Barcelona University, and she was awarded the Malapeira Prize in 2019. She has worked on management and academic leadership functions, such as Managing Director of the Education Faculty at BU; she has also been vice-dean in doctorates, postgraduates, head of training at BU’s Pedagogy Faculty, and coordinator of the University of Experience. Anna is also a teacher at the Department of Didactics and Educational Organization at Barcelona University, where she has also been the academic secretary. For sixteen years, she was an Education and Social Work teacher at Ramon Llull University and held management and leadership positions. She has also been a consultant for the Open University of Catalonia (OUC).

Key Note Session: “The essential synergies between neuroscience and education.”

• Saturday, November 21st.
• Time: 11:45 – 12:30 hr., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

Doctor in biology and teacher and researcher in the Biomedical, Evolutionary, and Development Genetics Section of Barcelona University. He has directed, since October 2019, the Neuroeducation Chair BU-EDU1ST, the first in the world that is exclusively dedicated to this subject. His professional and academic career has developed mainly in Barcelona, focused on developmental genetics and neuroscience, and its relationship with human behavior, especially during learning processes. He has also been a researcher at the University of Oxford and has had a residence at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, at the University of Innsbruck, in Austria, and at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. He teaches classes in genetics, scientific communication, teacher training, and neuroeducation, and has published more than sixty scientific articles in specialized journals.

Key Note Session: “The essential synergies between neuroscience and education.”

• Saturday, November 21st.
• Time: 11:45  – 12:30 hr., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

Gilberto is a maxillofacial surgeon and university teacher; he also holds a master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA). In addition to being a Neuroeducation Postgrad teacher at Barcelona University, he has also been one of the forerunners, along with Barcelona University, of the first Neuroeducation Cathedra worldwide. As Education First Inc.’s co-founder, organization that operates six schools in South Florida, Gilberto is also involved in the development of educational programs and methodologies, to promote thinking skills, habits, and mental dispositions, used by schools in the U.S., Latin America, and Europe. His leadership in the design and implementation of Education First Inc.’s strategic plan has positioned them as a leading organization in cutting-edge education with a network of more than 120 schools, present on three continents.

Workshop: “Happiness cannot be postponed.”

• 2 Sessions: Tuesday and Wednesday, November 17th, and 18th.
• Time: 12:00 – 14:00 hr., Miami, FL.
• Language: English.

Ximena is an industrial engineer from the Catholic University of Chile and has dedicated her career to education, using her project development skills to ensure that organizations achieve their objectives according to their values ​​and mission.

During the first six years of her career, Ximena worked in many positions at DUOC, the largest technical/vocational school in Chile. Ximena started as an assistant to the president, and her work included managing the relationship with the government in education-related matters. She later became the youngest academic director of the School of Engineering of the largest and fastest-growing branch of DUOC (over 11,000 students), eventually becoming the Director of Student Affairs there.

Ximena became CEO of Education First on October 1, 2017.

Leadership in an “on-going” crisis

• Guests: Tomás Sanhueza and Laura Portela.
• 2 Consecutive sessions: Wednesday, November 18th.
• Time: 8:00 – 12:00 hrs., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

Camila is a VESS Mentor Coach, an anthropologist who graduated from the Universidad del Rosario (Bogota, Colombia), and a candidate for a master’s degree in public policies with a specialization in conflict management and resolution from the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy (Germany). Camila currently serves as part of the Edu1st VESS curriculum team and the VESS Platform development team. Additionally, Camila is leading an investigation in conflict management and resolution in primary education.

When Conflict Becomes Opportunity

• 2 Sessions: Tuesday and Wednesday, November 17th, and 18th.
• Time: 12:00 – 14:00 hrs. Miami, FL.

BS in Literature, Specialized in Reading and Writing, and Certified in “Essential Skills for Principal Program” by the Principal’s Training Center.

She has 36 years of experience as a language and literature teacher in elementary and secondary schools. From 2005 until now, she has been the Spanish and Social Sciences Head of Department. She has led institutional projects and has assessed teaching and learning processes. She is the author of literary comprehension texts and has worked on curriculum development projects under the MEN standards. Knows IPC (International Primary Curriculum) curriculum projects, works with Visible Thinking, Effective means of staff motivation, Effective communication skills, and Leadership models.

Literature and language as scaffolding for a meaningful life with balance and wisdom

• 2 Sessions: Tuesday and Wednesday, November 17th, and 18th.
• Time: 12:00 – 14:00 hrs. Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

Jordi Rodríguez Pérez has a degree in Hispanic Philology, a master’s degree in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language, and is accredited as a DELE Examiner by the Cervantes Institute. Jordi coordinates the Innovation team and the ICT Digital Backpack Project. He has been a professor of Spanish Language at ESO since 2004 and Head of Studies since 2006 at the La Purísima CMT School of Callosa de Segura.

Meaningful learning in a Virtual environment

• 2 Sessions: Tuesday and Wednesday, November 17th, and 18th.
• Time: 12:00 – 14:00 hrs., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish

German has a diploma in Education, specializing in Early Childhood Education, with over 14 years of experience in this field. He is also a VESS Trainer.

German has worked at the María Asunta de Castalla school (Spain), and is currently part of the team of the Sagrada Familia School in Alzira (Spain), where in addition to tutoring a children’s classroom, he is part of the Educational Innovation team, coordinates the Mathematics project, is Community Manager and webmaster, and the person in charge of training faculty on the new technologies.

Meaningful learning in a Virtual environment

• 2 Sessions: Tuesday and Wednesday, November 17th, and 18th.
• Time: 12:00 – 14:00 hrs., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

Is a VESS Master Trainer and Mentor-Coach. Ana Maria Fernandez is Edu1st’s president and co-founder, has a BS in Early Childhood Education and a Master’s in International School Administration. In addition, to be a Neuroeducation Postgrad teacher at Barcelona University, Ana Maria is also one of the forerunners, along with the University of Barcelona, of the first Neuroeducation Chair worldwide. Ana María has over 25 years of experience in education, she has founded 2 international schools in Bogota-Colombia and 6 in the United States, as well as collaborating with schools in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Poland, Spain, and the U.S.A. She has dedicated her life working to the improvement of education through the implementation of “Thinking as a Pedagogical Strategy.” An approach to learning that carefully integrates the Visible Thinking approach and all PZ ideas from Harvard University, The theory of Constraint (TOC), the De Bono’s Lateral, and Parallel Thinking strategies, among many others.

Workshop: “Adaptive Leadership: Planning and Preparing, two different but necessary actions.”

• 2 Consecutive Sessions: Wednesday, November 18th.
• Time: 8:00 – 12:00 hr., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

Natalia Pinzon has been a Registered Dietitian for 5 years and a nutritionist at heart for as long as she can remember. She completed her studies at Cornell University, where she discovered her love for preventative nutrition and wellness.

Later, she trained and specialized in pediatric renal nutrition while working at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s pediatric dialysis center, allowing her to understand childhood nutrition and how to help children eat healthy in an enjoyable way.

She joined Edu1st in 2015 as the leader of our Wellness Program, which concentrates in promoting health and well-being in our entire Edu1st community.

Every Habit of Mind, in Every Age: evidence and conclusions.

• 2 Sessions: Tuesday and Wednesday, November 17th, and 18th.
• Time: 14:30 – 16:30 hrs., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

Jose is a VESS trainer, graduated in Mathematics, and with an official master’s degree in High School Education (Mandatory, A-Level, and Professional Training), and Artistic Teaching of Languages ​​and Sports at the University of Alicante. He is certified in Learning Based on Thinking by The Center for Teaching Thinking of Dr. Robert Swartz.

He currently works for Edu1st and at the María Asunta School (Spain), where he is a high school mathematics professor and head of the department of new technologies since 2009.

Formative assessment as a learning tool.

• 2 Sessions: Tuesday and Wednesday, November 17th, and 18th.
• Time: 12:00 – 14:00 hrs., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

Paulina is a History and Social Sciences teacher with a Master in Education and a minor in Curriculum and Assessment.
She has worked as a classroom teacher, in leadership positions in the Chilean educational system and in curricular and pedagogical innovation accompaniment processes, focused on the needs of the 21st century, specializing in didactics, and assessment, as well as pedagogical frameworks related to Deep Learning, specializing in Teaching for Understanding and Culture of Thinking.

Formative assessment as a learning tool.

• 2 Sessions: Tuesday and Wednesday, November 17th, and 18th.
• Time: 12:00 – 14:00 hrs., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

Chema is a primary school teacher, has a Master’s Degree in Neurodidactics (URJC), and won the National Education Award in 2013. Teacher in the Neuropsychology and Education Master’s Degree at UNIR, in the Neurodidactics Master’s Degree at URJC. He also teaches classes in the Learning Difficulties postgraduate course at Barcelona University and Neuroscience in Education and the classroom organized by APFRATO and Florida University.

He is also co-founder of NIUCO Education, a company in the education sector committed to a methodological change based on advances in science in the field of education, neurodidactics; through these discoveries, new learning scenarios are designed to enhance all the neurofunctionality of the brain.

Chema is the creator of the Open Blackboard blog, a curious and enthusiastic entrepreneur by profession, passionately in love with people, a sportsman with a vocation, a constant learner, and a tireless dreamer.

Gamification and Education

• 2 Sessions: Tuesday and Wednesday, November 17th, and 18th.
• Time: 14:30 – 16:30 hrs., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

Catalina has a degree in Psychology from the Diego Portales University of Chile. She is a VESS Trainer and Coach, with extensive consulting experience in educational institutions.

Workshop: “Adaptive Leadership: Planning and Preparing, two different but necessary actions.”

• 2 Consecutive Sessions: Wednesday, November 18th.
• Time: 8:00 – 12:00 hr., Miami, FL.
• Language: Spanish.

Isidoro has a degree in Mathematics, is a mathematics teacher and Primary and Secondary Head of Studies at the Salzillo de Molina de Segura School in Murcia. He is a TBL coach of the American institution “National Center for Teaching Thinking” of Dr. Robert Swartz and a certified VESS professor by the American consultancy Education First. He has participated as a speaker in different thinking congresses such as the ICOT in Bilbao or the VESS Summits in Murcia, Chile, and Alicante.