Board Members
Penn Young- Chair,
Representing the American community
Claudia Tamsky- Vice- Chair,
Representing the Brazilian community
Rodrigo Sathler- Treasurer,
Representing the Brazilian Community
Jane Giovannucci- Clerk,
Representing Epiphany Episcopal Church, Walpole
Bill Carnes- Member,
Representing St Luke's Episcopal Church, Hudson
Ana Sandra Pereira Alonso- Member,
Representing Bethel Presbyterian Brazilian Church, Marlborough
From left to right: Penn Young, Rodrigo Sathler, Ana Sandra Pereira Alonso, Claudia Tamsky, Jane Giovannucci and Bill Carnes.
Adminstrative Staff
Raquel Riberti-Bill, Program Director
Before becoming Program Director, Raquel taught for three years in the Português Plus Program and was promoted twice as a Curricular Coordinator from 2013 to 2016. At the beginning of the 2016 school year, she started to work as Pedagogical Coordinator due to her talent, dedication, and ability to lead.
She also led the teaching team in development and implementation of the new curriculum of the four levels of Português Plus, working with consultants from different locations such as: UMass Dartmouth and the ABRACE program in Washington, DC. Currently as Program Director she supervises and revises the pedagogical material of our programs: Português Plus and English Plus (ESOL).
Raquel holds a degree in Languages - Portuguese / English in Brazil from Centro Universitário Fundação de Ensino Octávio Bastos (UNIFEOB) in São João da Boa Vista, São Paulo. She also earned her MBA in Business Management from Universidade Paulista (UNIP) in Campinas, São Paulo, before moving to the US. In the summer of 2017, Raquel participated in the highly selective STARTALK program, sponsored by Boston University and by the NSA. This course is aimed at encouraging and increasing the number of professionals who teach certain high-demand languages in the US, of which Portuguese is one. STARTALK programs align with the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages, and prepare instructors to incorporate into their methods research-proven best practices in language acquisition and teacher development.
Raquel loves to get involved in issues related to education. She believes that education can change generations and it is our duty as human beings to offer the best to our descendants. She has a great affection for the Brazilian population and is willing to be the bridge between the Brazilian and American community, since she loves the US and believes that together we can build a better world. Her hobbies include spending time outside in nature, painting, and riding her bicycle.
ESL Program Volunteers
Lori Mills-Curran
Lori is one of the original founders of ProGente Connections. She is the former Executive Director of the non-profit and a retired Deacon of the Episcopal Church. Lori had been teaching a class while she worked for ProGente Connections and found she did not want to give it up. Working with the students hands on is one of the best parts of the job. It is super-rewarding to be helpful in a way that is so simple, but so meaningful for the students. She loves them and they return again and again. Lori is a quilter and she loves embroidery. She also loves to travel.
Kristin J Romine
Kristin is from the Episcopal Church Diocese where the mission hubs began ProGente Connections. She was a software engineer, then stayed home with her kids and now she works in the office of the BLOCKS public preeschool in Framingham. Kristin started volunteering in January. She works with and became friends with those who have leaned another language. She admires and respects the amount of work that it takes and she recognizes the many ways that knowing english can help people in this country improve their educational, social and job opportunities and she wants to help. She loves to read, go for hikes, line dance and cross stitching.
Kirstie M.
Kirstie joined ProGente Connections after a discussion during church service at St. Marks Episcopal Church in Southborough. Although she trained and taught elementary education, she has had a career in educational sales. She wanted to contribute her time to something that would impact others positively. She enjoys cooking, paper crafting, scrapbooking and watercolor painting.
Isabelle Rocha Coronel
Isabelle heard about ProGente Connections through her daughter’s school, Harmony Groove Elementary School. She started as an ESL teacher on June 2021. She chose to volunteer with ProGente Connections because she saw an opportunity to grow professionally and learn new skills. She likes to listen to music, watch movies and go to the beach.
Kevin R.
Kevin found the program through a Google search. He is currently working as an attorney at a software company. He started with the program on 2021. He appreciates how hard it might be to live in a country where the predominant language is not his native language so he wants to help people in that circumstance. He enjoys skiing and tennis.
Jane Lothian
Jane heard about the program at Church from someone who taught at the program. She was looking for a way to help immigrants in this country and my friend recommended the program. Because her own faith journey includes Presbyterian and Episcopal Churches, she likes that the program is an ecumenical partnership. She also finds that Intercambio teaching curriculum is easy to use. When she is not at her computer, you will find her birdwatching, sketching or enjoying Postcrossing, an international postcard exchange.
Mr. Harding
Mr. Harding heard about the program when Lori Mills-Curran spoke at his Church. He is currently retired from a marketing, communications and consulting career. He started as a volunteer in November 2020. He enjoys conversations and interactions with other individuals. He has also been a volunteer teacher working with Haitian kids in English, Math, Social Studies and Drama. When that activity ended, he was looking fo a similar program. Our program offered a volunteer position without having to undergo multi weeks of training. He enjoys photography, fly and salt water fishing, gardening, music, bike riding, tennis and traveling.
Penn Young
Penn Young heard about the program from a priest at his Church. He is a writer and a painter. He started volunteering in 2018. He is proud to be an American and wanted to help people have a better richer life. He enjoys traveling, museum going and studying Italian.
Evelyn R.
Evelyn heard about the program from Raquel with whom she has worked together in the past. She is working currently as a behavioral therapist for individuals diagnosed with ASD (Autism). She started a few years ago in the project and last year with the ESOL. Evelyn believes it’s always a worthy cause to help other people. She feels very honored to participate in the program. She enjoys hiking and painting.
This program is on hiatus for the 2019-2022 school year. Contact us for more information.
Português Plus Teachers
Eliane Vaz Louison - São Paulo Group, Framingham
Eliane has been teaching Portuguese to children ages 5 to 8 in our program since 2014. She works constantly to help her students learn in a friendly and creative environment.
She took courses on Early Childhood Development in high school, and she holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas. Eliane is a member of the American Organization of Portuguese Teachers (AOTP) in the United States.
Eliane has worked as a Portuguese Storyteller for Framingham Public Libraries, presenting poems, songs, and popular culture to preschoolers. Currently Eliane works for Hudson Public Schools as a Portuguese Teaching Assistant.
Eliane never misses the opportunity to improve her teaching skills. In 2017 and 2018, she actively participated in a training program for Portuguese teachers called STARTALK, sponsored by Boston University and the NSA. Eliane has also taken several Portuguese as a Heritage Language workshops. Since 2014, Eliane has attended the Visions of Community Conference, a conference for families with children with special needs. She has also taken Positive Solutions (POS) courses through the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care.
Eliane loves to be with her family, friends, and her dogs, Mocinha and Sunny Boy. She also enjoys traveling, cooking, teaching and learning.
Marta Abrenhosa Dos Santos - São Paulo Group, Marlborough
Marta joined Português Plus as a teaching intern in 2013. She also interned for a year at Assabet Valley High School in Hudson, MA, in a Portuguese as a Second Language Program. Martha completed her Bachelor’s Degree through Catholic University of Brasilia in 2015, and in the same year was hired as a regular teacher for Português Plus for children four to six.
Marta especially enjoys watching the children progress through the learning process in the Portuguese language, and loves sparking their interest in Brazilian culture as a whole.
Marta was born in Anápolis, Goiás, Brazil and currently resides in Marlborough. She is married and has two children. Marta enjoys hiking, walking and experiencing the outdoors.
Vanessa Austin - Rio de Janeiro Group, Framingham
Vanessa graduated as a Portuguese and English Teacher at UFTM (Universidade Féederal do Triangulo Mineiro) in Minas Gerais, Brazil. While in college, she worked for two years as a substitute Portuguese teacher in a public high school. After graduating from college, she moved to Boston and earned her Masters in Education from Cambridge College.
Vanessa also taught Portuguese at Hudson High School and at Kefee Technical School, where she still works in the Portuguese program for adults. In the summer of 2017, Vanessa participated in the highly selective STARTALK program, sponsored by Boston University and by the NSA.
She is enjoying life being a mom of a little boy and having her daily big helper, Crokett, her dog. She loves to travel to meet new people and encounter new cultures around the world.
Gizely Viana - Rio de Janeiro Group, Marlborough
Gizely was born in Goiás, Brazil, where she lived through her childhood and youth. Gizely graduated from the College of Teaching at the State University of Goiás.
In Brazil, Gizely taught various ages in public and private elementary schools for several years. She immigrated to the United States in 2000 along with her husband and son.
Gizely has taught in our predecessor program since 2012, and transitioned with us when Português Plus opened in 2015 in Marlborough.
Eva Santos - Brasília Group, Framingham
Eva is from the West-Center area of Brazil. She and her husband came to the US in 1995. She is the mother of three beautiful children.
In 2006, Eva earned her Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts – Lowell. Teaching has always been Eva’s passion, and she is employed by the Wayland Public Schools as a Data Base Manager.
Eva has been a member of the Português Plus community since 2012, both as a parent and teacher in our predecessor program. When our current program was launched in 2015, she fell in love with its pedagogical techniques. Eva finds it a great pleasure to teach Portuguese as a heritage language to teenagers, especially when she shares Brazilian folklore, culture and music with her students.
She is also a very active member of the Brazilian Community at St. Tarcisius Church in Framingham, where she has been teaching as a catechist for the past 10 years.
Selma Erlandson - Brasília Group, Marlborough
Selma has been part of Pro Gente Connections since 2015. She is a teacher for both Português Plus and Portuguese as a Second Language for Adults in Framingham.
Selma was first hired as a teacher in 1990 at the age of 17, right after graduating from high school, where she became licensed to teach grades 1 to 5 in Brazil. In 1997, Selma graduated from The State University of Bahia (UNEB), Brazil, receiving her degree in Teaching Portuguese and Literature.
Selma is passionate about languages. She has worked for years as a medical interpreter and translator. She founded the interpretation ministry at Bethel Presbyterian Church where she interpreted the services simultaneously for many years.
Among other things, Selma loves travel, camping, spending time with her husband and her four boys. She also appreciates and is amazed by cultural diversity and by how beautiful the world is due to our differences.