World Language

Duncan joins the Laguna faculty after 7 years of teaching Latin at Fairfield Country Day School in Connecticut, where he also spent the last several years building and implementing a school-wide student support system focusing on the development of executive function. He holds a M.A. Degree in School Leadership from Columbia University, Teacher's College and a B.A. in Classical and Medieval Studies from Bates College. Born and raised on an island in coastal Maine, Duncan has always enjoyed being close to the ocean. His interests include surfing, running and sharing his passion for ancient Roman history, art and archaeology.

Angela moved back to Santa Barbara this past year and is thrilled to return to her hometown and her alma mater, Laguna Blanca. She is currently wrapping up her Master's in Classical Studies with an emphasis in Latin from Villanova University. Prior to that, she studied French and Latin at Brigham Young University and spent time tutoring and mentoring college and high school students in their language studies. She enjoys tennis, volleyball, and horseback riding, and loves playing with her five children: Freddy (11), Dieter (9), Dane (6), Marigold (4), and David (1.5). 

Michelle joins the Laguna Blanca community after teaching Spanish, English Language Development, Language Arts, and Theatre at Atascadero Middle School for the past three years. During this time, she successfully piloted the Spanish program as an advanced eighth grade elective for high school credit. She is a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where she earned her bachelor’s in English, TESL Certification, and a Teaching Credential. Michelle also pursued her passion for languages by minoring in Spanish and Linguistics. She began her career in education as the lead tutor at the Cal Poly Writing and Rhetoric Center from 2012-2016. When not in the classroom, she is seeking out nature and travel. Michelle’s main claim to fame is completing the Camino de Santiago, a 400-mile backpacking trip across Spain, twice. She loves to share her zeal for language and general hopefulness with her students each year.

Odalmis Molina has taught Grades 7-12 Spanish and Literature at the Vocational School of Arts in Camaguey Cuba for 10 years. After immigrating to the United States, she taught in various schools in Los Angeles. Her nine-year experience at the Westside Waldorf School gave her the opportunity to learn a different teaching philosophy in which Hispanic culture, including the foundations of the Spanish language, is at the center of it. After obtaining her master's degree in linguistics from the European University of the Atlantic, she taught Spanish for two years at the Archer School for Girls. Odalmis is the proud mother of her son, Jorge, who just earned his MBA. She is extremely happy to start a new journey at Laguna Blanca, which is close to home, and to continue learning while sharing her experiences with students and colleagues. In her free time, she loves to dance, cook, read, and spend time with her family.

Jacqueline Pelaez is originally from Caracas, Venezuela, and has been teaching Spanish in the United States since 2001. After completing her Licenciatura (5 years) in Economics from the Universidad Central de Venezuela, she came to the US in 1997 to study classical singing. After earning her Master’s degree in Opera Performance from the Longy School of Music (2000), she had the opportunity to teach her native language at Harvard University for four years. While teaching at Harvard, she was honored with the Derek Bok Center Certificate of Distinction in Teaching on four occasions. This experience was so enriching and meaningful that she became an educator. 
 
In 2005, she moved to Santa Barbara with her husband, who had joined UCSB as faculty, and their newborn child, Santiago. Since then, Jacqueline has taught at UCSB, Westmont College, Cal Lutheran University, SBCC School of Extended Learning, and Anacapa School. She is also an accomplished musician and has taught music, singing, and ukulele at SBCC and various local schools.
 
When she is not teaching, Jacqueline likes singing with the Santa Barbara Early Music Community Ensemble, playing the ukulele and African drums with her friends, traveling with family, doing Pilates, and enjoying her husband’s cooking. 
 
She is thrilled to teach at Laguna Blanca and be part of its community.

Thrilled to return to Santa Barbara as a new member of the Laguna Blanca community, Dr. Valerie Yoshimura is a passionate, experienced educator of French language and literature. She holds B.A. degrees in French and Sociology from UC Santa Barbara, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in French from The University of Michigan, where she began her teaching career. She also taught French in two independent schools in Boston before spending twelve years at The Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles. She has two teenage children and loves to sew, embroider, cook, and golf. Dr. Yoshimura was recently honored with the 2016 Friedel and Otto Eberspacher Award for Excellence in Teaching of Modern Western European Languages, a national teaching award from the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University.