meet your tutors
At Rojas Spanish you won’t simply learn words and structures to articulate cold and boring communication. We believe it is important to learn the perspective from which Hispanics see and interact with the world. For this reason, all of our tutors are native Spanish speakers.
Luis Rojas
Owner & Director
Luis began teaching classes in Minnesota in 2004 and founded Rojas Spanish in 2007. He is the Program Director and teaches all class levels, individual tutoring, workshops and leads our children’s program.
His career began in Lima, Peru when he graduated as a Clinical Psychologist from Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal. However, as is typical of a Latin Americans, he has worked and trained in multiple capacities, including; Air Traffic Controller, Pilot and Spanish Professor.
While still at the university, Luis began teaching Spanish to American Expat Missionaries. It did not take long for Luis to find a passion and talent for teaching Spanish. With his guidance and unique teaching approach, his students were able to pick up the language very quickly. The success and excitement of his student led him to decide to take on teaching full-time. Luis’s success as a Spanish teacher extends beyond Rojas Spanish. He has worked with executive companies all over the world, assisting in the growth of these organization’s employees and customer reach.
To date, Luis has more than 35 years of experience teaching Spanish. He uses his academic and clinical experience as a Psychologist to tailor his teaching style to meet the needs of each individual student. Furthermore, he has been able to train other tutors in this same approach. We refer to this approach as “The Rojas Way”.
“The Rojas Way” has become a respected and recognized method of teaching Spanish. With this approach, you learn Spanish in the same way you learned your native language. You learn to understand grammar and expression as sound, as music. This is the pillar of the Rojas Way. We see language as natural, and not academic. We do not use flashcards or grammar worksheets. Luis teaches you to feel the language and integrate it into your life, allowing you to fully express yourself.
Rojas Spanish Staff
Our experience and our vision, dedicated to your success.
Co-Owner & Student Perspective
Joan Rojas
Joan is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the State of Minnesota. She has been practicing in the field for more than 35 years. After many failed attempts to learn Spanish, Joan began studying with Luis and knew during her first class she would have success. In less than one year Joan was using her Spanish with clients and collogues. She has met the CEU requirements to keep her psychology license current by studying and doing practicum work in Spain and Argentina, and for the last 5 years has worked exclusively with clients who are monolingual Spanish speakers at La Familia Guidance Center in St. Paul. Joan works alongside Luis and offers the all important ‘student perspective’ so the balance between what is taught and what is learned is always optimized.
Program Manager
Amanda Hatling
Amanda is the Program Manager at Rojas Spanish. In this role Amanda manages class schedules, registrations, customer service, and program logistics. In 2014 Amanda met Luis as a new Rojas student. Soon after, she began to assist with marketing and the management of social media sites. It did not take long for Amanda to see ” The Rojas Way” was something truly special and she wanted to be more involved. Over the years Amanda has spent time learning about the program and the vision Luis has for developing a unique and personalized language learning platform. In July of 2019 she began working as Program Manager and now plays a role in assisting students to break down the barriers of language learning and reach their full potential. In addition to English, Amanda speaks advanced Spanish.
Spanish Tutor
Camila Paula
Camila was born in Lanús, Argentina (a city within Buenos Aires) where she still lives today. She teaches levels A1, A2 and individual tutoring. When she is not a tutor with Rojas Spanish, Camila is a Social Anthropologist at the Universidad de Buenos Aires where she teaches and researches in thematics about gender, body and popular arts. Also she is an aerial circus artist and she loves teaching children and performing in the street. Camila’s advice for Spanish language students - “I would recommend to be interested not only in the language but also in the diversity of the Latin American culture, incorporating a language means understanding a different point of view and cosmovision.” In addition to Spanish, Camila is fluent in English and knows a little French.
Spanish Tutor
Carla Villarreal
Carla was born and raised in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México. She moved to Dallas, Texas in 2015. Carla began working with Rojas Spanish in 2020 and teaches A1 and A2 classes. In addition to working with Rojas Spanish, Carla is a second grade language teacher at an elementary school in Mesquite, TX. When she is not teaching, she loves to read fantasy books. Harry Potter, The Pillars of Reality and Stormlight Archive are a few of her favorites. Carla love the Spanish language, especially the versatility of the language, “It is a romantic and dramatic language. I love to speak it, read it and sing it! There's always something new to learn”. Carla’s advice for Spanish students - “Watch your favorite movies and TV shows in Spanish, especially shows you have already seen in English. It's like watching your favorite movie for the first time again”. In addition to Spanish, Carla is fluent in English and is learning Japonese.
Spanish Tutor
Elizabett Abbring
Elizabett was born in Peru, and now lives in the Amsterdam, Netherlands. She teaches levels A2 and B1. While living in Texas, Elizabett met her husband, who is from the Netherlands. They love to travel together and learn about other cultures – including their own. They have a son who they have raised to be bilingual, he speaks Dutch and Spanish. Elizabett studied Systems Engineering and now enjoys teaching Spanish and piano. Elizabett loves music, including playing the piano herself, reading and spending time with her husband and son. Elizabett’s advice for Spanish language students – “I recommend listening to Spanish music with good lyrics, listening to children’s stories in Spanish, podcasts, news, and the best thing is to travel to Spanish speaking countries, and practice with the local people.” In addition to Spanish, Elizabett is fluent in English and Dutch.
Spanish Tutor
Fernanda K. Rodriguez
Fernanda is one of our local tutors, currently living in Woodbury, MN. She teaches levels A2, B1, and assists Luis with our children’s lessons. Born and raised in northern Argentina, Fernanda moved to Los Angeles in her early 20's and then to Minnesota. In addition to teaching with Rojas Spanish, Fernanda is an Executive Assistant for a domestic business brokerage and consulting firm. In her free time, she loves to travel and go on walks with her dogs, watch movies and soccer games. Fernanda loves the Spanish language and sees it as a vehicle for many people and cultures. Fernanda’s advice for Spanish language learners - “The best way to improve your Spanish is by practicing IMMERSION. Expose yourself to the Spanish culture, consume its content, interact with a native speaker and, most importantly, enjoy it!”
Spanish Tutor
Spanish Tutor
Gonzalo Iñiguez
Gonzalo lives in Quilacoya, a small town in the southern region of Concepción, Chile. Gonzalo is one of our newest tutors and currently works with individual tutoring students and assists other tutors with group classes each week. When not teaching Spanish, Gonzalo is a veterinarian with a focus on animal production and ruminants. Gonzalo is a passionate amateur farmer and beekeeper, artisan brewer and lover of music and good spirits! Gonzalo’s advice for those learning the language - “Keep it natural, immersing yourself in the language is the best way to assimilate it. Read in Spanish, listen (and read the lyrics) of songs, try to speak and make all the possible mistakes, perfection will come with time and perseverance”. In addition to Spanish, Gonzalo speaks fluent English, a bit of Italian and is currently learning Japanese.
Spanish Tutor
Kelly Verde
Kelly is a Peruvian translator and interpreter living in Lima. She teaches many group classes and individual tutoring. Language is a passion of Kelly’s, “I enjoy [teaching] greatly, not only because I have the opportunity to share what I know but I also have the opportunity to continue learning.” Kelly feels the Spanish language is a representation of herself as it is a very expressive language. She enjoys the variety and many nuances that Spanish offers. When Kelly is not busy with work, she loves to spend time with her family and friends, singing karaoke or playing board games. Kelly’s advice for Spanish language students – “Don’t be afraid of talking, we have the language skill, now we only need to connect with the Spanish.” In addition to Spanish, Kelly speaks fluent English, French and Italian.
Spanish Tutor
Paula Salazar
Paula Andrea Salazar Rubilar is a Chilean, born in the city of Chillán, Chile. Paula leads many of our group classes – primarily Starter and Level A, in addition to individual tutoring. Paula is a graduate of the Universidad de Bío-Bío in Chile, with degrees in Teaching, Social Skills and Labor Insertion. When not tutoring for Rojas Spanish, she is a teacher at a school in the commune of San Carlos, teaching mathematics, history and English; as well as, being in charge of “Convivencia Escolar”. Paula’s advice for Spanish learners - “Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world with a lot of versatility and different accents which makes it more interesting to learn. One piece of advice to improve your practice of Spanish is to live it! Enrich yourself with its culture and the diversity of expressions and, most importantly, do not be afraid to speak!” In addition to fluent English, Paula speaks intermediate level Portuguese.
Spanish Tutor
Paula Caral
Paula is one of our most senior tutors and teaches levels A2, B2 and individual tutoring. She was born and raised in Lanús, Argentina (a city within Buenos Aires) – where she still lives today. When she is not a tutor with Rojas Spanish, Paula is a physics student at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and teaches math on an online platform. While all this work does keep her very busy, she still finds time to spend with her niece, watching YouTube videos and dancing! When asked what her favorite thing about the Spanish language was, Paula said “I love how expressive Spanish allows you to be and the rhythm it has to it. It’s such a rich language that I rediscover it in every class!” Paula’s advice for Spanish language students – “I would recommend to make spanish a part of your life in any way you can: listen to music in spanish, watch movies and series in spanish, read books in spanish, anything you can do to be closer to our language and culture will be useful. That’s how I really learned english, there’s just some things you can’t get from text book!” In addition to Spanish, Paula is fluent in English and knows a little French.
Spanish Tutor
Jorge Ismael Gálvez Tapia
Jorge was born and raised in Lima, Perú. He teaches writing classes in Spanish for students who wish to practice their grammar, vocabulary, and general style. Also, he has a Bachelor’s degree in Literature from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, located in Lima. In his free time, he loves consuming and overthinking media in the form of series and movies. Jorge’s advice for Spanish language students - “You should start consuming all the media you can in Spanish, especially if it mixes different dialects from different regions and socioeconomic sectors. In addition, you could practice routinely thinking in Spanish, as to avoid the temptation of translation”. Apart from Spanish, Jorge is also fluent in English and knows some basic French.
Spanish Tutor
Nadia Elena Stagnaro Babbini
Nadia is a Peruvian teacher, living in Lima. Her focus is Spanish language and Literature. For more than 20 years, she has taught children and teenagers at a variety of schools. In 2020 Nadia widened her experience to include teaching adults. Nadia describes this new adventure as, “challenging and fascinating, because I learn a new world while I teach”. When not teaching, Nadia likes reading science fiction novels. She has also published two short fictional stories, in Spanish, and has made contributions to the Peruvian Academy of Language (Academia Peruana de la Lengua). Nadia shared this advice for Spanish language learners - "Not only is the Spanish language a useful tool that will open doors to almost all Latin-American countries, it also has the expressiveness and intensity which will allow you to open your heart as never before".
Spanish Tutor
Lorena Lozano
Lorena was born in Bryan Texas, and was raised in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México - where she currently lives. She is an Architect from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) and has a master’s degree in Interior Design from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL). Lorena is married, has two daughters, and a dog. Lorena is an interior design teacher, and creates design projects of her own. Lorena also co-owns a low-carb food family business. She is one of our newest tutors and participates in different levels of group classes. She loves to spend time with her family, cooking and baking (when there’s time), listening to music or reading. Her advice for Spanish learners is – “Be patient, enjoy the process and the language will unfold right in front of you. Listen and get used to the sound of the language, try to think in Spanish, listen to music you like in Spanish, don’t be afraid to speak, relax and have fun”. In addition to Spanish, Lorena is fluent in English and knows advanced Italian and basic French.
