Meet Your ISSI Instructors
Lake Tahoe Community College takes pride in the caliber of the educators who bring their passion and expertise to the ISSI program. Meet the talented individuals who will guide you through an immersive and enriching journey into the Spanish language and culture.
Now, let the introductions begin!
Alana Cayabyab
Alana started her time with ISSI in 2023. Her own journey of learning Spanish as a second language included a month-long study abroad in Costa Rica as part of her undergraduate degree, as well as taking many Spanish courses in college. As a part of the bi-national teaching credential Mexico BCLAD program, Alana had the opportunity to live in Oaxaca, Mexico. Alana has had the pleasure of being a Spanish Immersion elementary educator at Bijou Community School for 8 years. She is inspired to create experiences for ISSI students to engage in high-interest content and to develop their Spanish together as a community of learners.
Alana encourages anyone learning Spanish to have immersive experiences—spend time with native speakers and travel, if possible, to Spanish-speaking countries. Mexico is her favorite Spanish-speaking country to visit, and just this past spring, she enjoyed exploring the impressive waterfalls in Chiapas! Alana looks forward to meeting you.
Cecy Gutiérrez
Cecilia was born in Bogota, Colombia. She has been with ISSI since 2018. She received her B.A. in Foreign Language Education (Spanish and English) from the University of La Gran Colombia in Bogotá, where she taught English after graduating. She also taught Spanish language and literature in private and public schools before coming to the United States. She received her first M.A. in Education Administration and Supervision from the Externado University of Colombia in Bogoá in 2000, and her second M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from University of Nevada, Reno in 2008. She is currently finishing her doctorate program in education, and she has taught Spanish for over 25 years. She loves her career because she can share not only her culture, but also other Hispanic cultures and of course, learn more about the culture of this wonderful country. She contributed cultural information to the 9th edition of the textbook "Puntos de Partida" for McGraw-Hill. In her spare time, she likes to dance, listen to music, travel, and hang out with friends and family.
Some tips and tricks she recommends to new students is to participate in class using the target language regardless of whether the sentences are well organized or not, and it is also important to take 30 minutes each day to listen to music in Spanish, especially soft ballads to get more vocabulary, watch soap operas and watch/listen to the news to improve the acquisition of this new and interesting language.
Dana Ix
Dana started at ISSI in 2023. As a Spanish as a second language learner herself, Dana is passionate about helping others to achieve their goals of mastering a foreign language and experiencing the excitement of learning about other cultures in the process. She studied in Mexico City during her undergraduate program at UC Irvine, and it was one of the most important times in her life! After graduating with her degree in Spanish Literature, she got her BCLAD teaching credential and Master’s degree from UCLA and went on to pursue her career in education. She has been a teacher for over 20 years and has taught in bilingual and dual immersion programs in every grade from 1st through college level at one time or another! She is excited to be coming to ISSI this year and hopes you will enjoy the classes she has prepared!
Esther Gormley
Esther has been teaching at LTCC and ISSI since 2008 and has yet to miss a year! Born in Brazil, she fell in love with languages at an early age, and has taught Spanish, French, Portuguese, and English throughout her academic career. She has a Master’s of Arts in Spanish Linguistics from Sacramento State and has lived in many Spanish speaking countries, such as Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala.
After enjoying the Tahoe life for many years, Esther moved to Reno to raise her two young daughters with her husband David, but she calls the world her home and still travels as much as she can. She has been to over 50 countries and all 7 continents. Her biggest advice to students who want to become fluent is to live in a Spanish speaking country, but if that’s not possible, ISSI is the next best thing! Practice makes perfect, and she hopes to see you at ISSI for many years to come.
Linda Ward
Linda Ward, or Profe Linda as her students affectionately refer to her, is a seasoned member of the ISSI team with over 20 years of ISSI experience (although she tells her students she is always 21 😉). Linda was re-energized as a teacher when she learned about a pedagogical method called Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS). She was mentored by Blaine Ray, the creator of TPRS, and is now a TPRS Expert. She loves having fun while she teaches, weaving crazy class stories and watches students faces as they can suddenly speak Spanish. She currently teaches Spanish at Cuesta Community College and owns her own language company, Learn Spanish Fast Hoy where she teaches live online adult classes. She lives in San Luis Obispo with her supportive husband Ken and a super intelligent Standard Parti Poodle who understand three languages! She began a non-profit, Cancer Victory Garden after she was diagnosed with cancer; it now produces over 500 vases of flowers grown in a community-supported garden for cancer patients on the Central Coast, encouraging and spreading the love and encouragement. She regularly teaches flower arranging classes at the Hearst Cancer Resource Center at French Hospital. She loves the ocean, traveling to Spain to visit friends and the beach, and cooking.
Mark Kay
Mark started working at ISSI in 2025, and he is very excited to join such a wonderful program. He has also been a lecturer of Spanish at The University of Nevada, Reno since 2020. He previously taught at the University of West Georgia, Weber State University, Aims Community College, Bakersfield College and Salt Lake Community College. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a M.A. in Foreign Languages and Literatures with a specialization in Spanish in 2006. While there, he was trained in the use of the communicative method and always implements ACTFL proficiency and national standards in the classroom and has used that knowledge to become skilled in outcomes assessment of student learning and program effectiveness. He has also studied at the University of Costa Rica and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, in Tarragona, Spain.
In addition to his teaching experience, he possesses a solid background in technology, online applications, and software. He has taught many online, hybrid online/in-class courses and consistently integrates the use of technology and interactive computer programs in the classroom. He has presented at several teaching conferences on the benefits of utilizing such emerging technologies as streaming video, online instruction, internet blogs, and course websites.
Nicholas (Nico) Eckhart
Nicholas is originally from Chico, California, and began teaching with ISSI in 2021. He holds a Master’s degree in Spanish, which included a full year of immersive study in Spain. A passionate language educator, Nicholas also holds a BCLAD certification and has spent the last six years working in a dual immersion elementary school.
His love for Spanish and Latin American culture was deepened through his time in the Peace Corps, where he served in Nicaragua. Currently, Nicholas also teaches Spanish at both Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) and Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC), where he enjoys working with learners at various stages of their language journey.
Nicholas believes that language learning opens doors to connection, culture, and new ways of seeing the world. He encourages students to embrace immersion experiences, take risks with speaking, and find joy in the process of becoming bilingual.
Richard Guagliardo
Richard Guagliardo is a passionate second-language Spanish speaker and educator. His journey with Spanish began in 2006 after moving to the Lake Tahoe area from upstate New York, where he discovered a deep interest in the Spanish language. After attending two ISSI programs and taking Spanish courses at Lake Tahoe Community College, he felt inspired to immerse himself in Spanish-speaking cultures.
Richard spent 18 months in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, staying with host families, traveling, and deepening his understanding of both the language and culture. He studied at immersion schools in Guatemala, Mexico, and Argentina—always choosing homestays to make the experience as authentic and immersive as possible. In addition, he has also spent time in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and Chile, further enriching his appreciation for the diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. Motivated by these experiences, Richard returned to New York and earned both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Spanish from the University at Albany–SUNY, with a concentration in Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition.
In 2021, he returned to the Tahoe area and began teaching Spanish at Sugar Bowl Academy. His advice to students is to take advantage of the many technological tools available today like music streaming, podcasts, e-books, YouTube, and language exchange apps to create immersive experiences at home.
Sandra Carter
Sandra Carter has been an ISSI instructor for over 15 years, teaching the core grammar courses, the subjunctive and many breakouts! She has an MA in Spanish and an MA in English from CSUS. She has taught Spanish and English at Cosumnes River College since the 1990’s, as well as conducted small Spanish tutor groups in Sacramento. She has studied, lived and traveled in most of the Latin American countries and has taught English in Mexico and Argentina. Her teaching philosophy centers around the idea that learning Spanish or any second language is more than learning words; it is learning to see the world through a different lens- to see the world as a native Spanish speaker sees the world.
Skip Crosby
As one of ISSI's newest instructors, Skip joined the program in 2022 and loves coming back each year. Skip's passion is continuous learning and striving to develop the most effective language acquisition strategies. Feedback from a recent student epitomizes this goal: "This class was interesting because I did not think I was understanding the language, and then we would be given a reading assignment or test and I realized I fully understood what he had been teaching us! I was learning without realizing I was learning!" How neat is that? One of Skip's top secrets for Spanish learners is to listen to and read highly repetitive and comprehensible language.
Susanna Janssen
Susanna first joined ISSI in 2018. She is passionate about helping students at all levels crack the “hard nuts” of Spanish language learning, such as learning how to master preterite/imperfect, ser and estar, por and para, and subjunctive; how to become an enthusiastic reader in Spanish; and how to identify and eliminate the common “blind spot” errors that English speakers tend to overlay onto their Spanish.
Susanna suggests that students make every effort to speak Spanish outside the classroom and, the ultimate secret, commit to doing something in Spanish every day for the rest of your life, even if it’s just three minutes of reading aloud or listening to a song in Spanish. Capitalize on the intensive experience to keep making progress on the bilingual path. Engage every day!
Yara Altamirano
Yara is from Redding, California and lived in Mexico for the fist ten years of her life. She started working at ISSI in 2025 and is looking forward to being at LTCC for the summer. She has also been a Letter of appointment instructor of Spanish at The University of Nevada, Reno from 2018 to 2020. She previously taught at Truckee Meadows Community College and Hug High School. She graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a M.A. in Foreign Languages and Literatures in 2018.
In addition to her teaching experience, Yara is thrilled to be joining ISSI this year and looks forward to sharing the classes she has thoughtfully prepared with you.
Yara believes that to ensure effective teaching and learning, she focuses on creating an environment where students feel comfortable practicing and making mistakes.