Meet The Team

 Lucia Hansen

            Lucia is the founder and lead educator at Little Minds, Big Dreams Spanish Academy.  Born in Lima, Peru, Lucia obtained her bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management at a top university there.  She worked for over 10 years in the hospitality industry overseeing various hotel and restaurant establishments and managed teams of 25 or more people.  In the early 2000’s, Lucia moved from Peru to South Florida where she met her husband James and started a family shortly thereafter.  Lucia’s life focus and priorities began to change and she knew that she wanted to be at home with her children, raising them and teaching them herself.  Lucia decided to re-enroll in school and pursue a second degree in Elementary Education with an ESOL endorsement all while embracing motherhood and raising her two children, Emma and James.  Around the same time, Lucia also began working in pre-schools, teaching in public schools and offered private tutoring lessons to children.  

         Being a bilingual mother and educator, Lucia knew that she had to teach her children Spanish so that they could communicate effectively and have a close relationship with her family whom were mostly living in Peru.  As she began teaching Spanish to her children, Lucia researched and discovered that there were many benefits that went beyond just the learning alone.  Cognitive, social and emotional development in her children all improved as they quickly embraced the language, speaking it with confidence and understanding.  It did not take long for Lucia to realize her calling from God was to use the gifts and talents that she was blessed with in helping educate children.  The opportunity to pursue her life’s calling was clear, Lucia would open a Spanish Academy.  This was not going to be just a typical educational academy, Lucia aimed to provide children a loving, safe and positive learning environment through a full immersion Spanish curriculum.  By the time her youngest child graduated from Pre-K, Lucia knew it was time for her to turn her dream into a vision and then her vision into reality.  Little Minds, Big Dreams Spanish Academy was launched in May 2018.

 “There is nothing more rewarding than seeing my students learn a second language while enjoying the learning process…” - Lucia

Andrea Gutierrez  

       Andrea Gutierrez is the co-owner, curriculum designer, and lead educator at Spanish Academy LMBD. As a high school student in her native Colombia, Andrea faced some challenges with her second language class (English). She struggled to learn a new language and fell behind all of her classmates. Motivated by this and with a strong will to overcome this hurdle, she researched different methodologies to learn a second language. While learning English, she used different strategies that helped her develop reading and writing skills. During this time, Andrea experienced, on her own, that the most important thing when learning a second language is to feel motivated to participate in class. She had great teachers with structured curriculums who helped her build confidence in her process. An experience she did not have in High school, and that allowed her to understand that the learning environment is key to being successful when becoming bilingual. Inspired by her personal experience, Andrea found passion in teaching. She graduated from Universidad de los Llanos with a degree in Early Childhood Education, and she began her teaching career, which has lasted for more than 20 years.

When she moved to the United States, she became an elementary teacher in the Dual Language Program offered by the Palm Beach School District, utilizing her experience and academic training in helping children learn Spanish as a second language. Andrea joined Spanish Academy  Little Minds Big Dreams in September 2018, sharing her strong expertise and passion for teaching, creating a fun and interactive curriculum that allows children to have a significant learning process while having an enjoyable experience.

“Students learn when they are involved in meaningful activities; they feel safe in making mistakes and are empowered to interact with peers while having fun.”  --Andrea