co-founder & co-owner

Loreto P. Ansaldo (she/ella)

Loreto was born in Chile and immigrated to Boston, MA at the age of nine. Prior to immersing herself in language justice work, Loreto was a teacher (mostly middle school math, also high school Spanish and middle school science), community artivist and art events producer, and retail worker and personal stylist specializing in men’s suiting and wedding parties. She spent three years in New York City as a teacher with Teach For America and currently lives in Western Massachusetts, As a cultural worker, Loreto was part of Boston Creates, a cultural planning process that resulted in a 10-year arts and culture plan for the City of Boston, where she focused on equity in the arts. In 2023, Loreto returned to the classroom as a high school Spanish teacher and is figuring out what it means to teach and learn languages through a language justice lens. This shift also means that Loreto is once again a proud union member. Disability Justice is also important in Loreto’s life as she lives with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and chronic pain. All these experiences shape her vision and work for a world with greater language justice through education, curiosity, creativity, and relationship-building.

Education

Community, Medical, and Legal Interpreting Certificates (Spanish/English), Boston University
Translation Certificate (from English into Spanish), University of Massachusetts Boston
Bachelor of Science (Nuclear Engineering and Latin American Studies), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Master of Science in Teaching (Secondary Education), Pace University

Certifications

Certified Healthcare Interpreter™
Math teacher, grades 5-12 in Massachusetts and grades 7-12 in New York
Spanish teacher, grades 5-12 in Massachusetts

Memberships

New England Translators Association (NETA)
American Translators Association (ATA)
National Association of Educational Translators and Interpreters of Spoken Languages (NAETISL)
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
American Council on the Teaching and Learning of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA)
National Education Association (NEA)

Awards

New England Translators Association 2021 Service Award for demonstrated excellence in volunteering
The Network/La Red 2019 Special Recognition Award for supporting organization’s work through language justice

co-founder & former member

Angélica Bachour (she/ela)

Angélica is originally from Brazil and immigrated to the U.S. over 17 years ago to join her fiancé and to study. Her love of languages pushed her to learn a few words in Italian and Spanish to make her work more accessible to tourists visiting Boston. After becoming a mother, she navigated the school system and special education with her two children with disabilities. As she realized how difficult this process was for immigrant parents, with language barriers and specialized terms, she turned this challenge into an opportunity. Angélica participated in training around Special Education and Community Interpreting. As a Parent Consultant for Special Education, she has been able to support Portuguese-speaking families across Massachusetts, advocating for, collaborating with, and representing her immigrant community as a stakeholder in many groups working to improve these systems, including participating in community-based research projects done with the immigrant community.

Education

Parent Consultant in Special Education, Federation for Children with Special Needs
Community Interpreting Certificate (Portuguese/English), Boston University

co-owner

Astrid Guerrero (she/ella)

Astrid was born and raised in Boston, MA. Her family is from the Dominican Republic, and she’s currently a junior at Smith College studying psychology. Astrid met Loreto upon joining the Interpreting Club in 2020 during her junior year at the O’Bryant School of Math and Science, one of the public exam schools in Boston. The following year, Astrid became a passionate co-facilitator of the program because she wanted more of her fellow students to experience the chill vibes and supporting environment of the club and feel validated as bilingual and multilingual immigrants and children of immigrants. In 2022, Astrid completed her Certificate in Medical Interpreting and hopes in the future to maybe do research or become a therapist. She also wants to continue improving her interpreting skills.

Education

O’Bryant School of Math and Science (Boston Public Schools), Class of 2022
Interpreting Club member, 2020-2021
Certificate in Medical Interpreting (Spanish/English), Cross-Cultural Communications, 2022
Smith College, Class of 2026

co-founder & co-owner

Catalina Tang Yan 趙嘉蓮 (she/ella)

Catalina was born in Colombia to her Chinese immigrant parents. She immigrated to Boston, MA at the age of sixteen and participated in various out of school time youth programs that created the space for community building, political education, and youth organizing. As a youth worker, she spent five years in various community organizations in the Greater Boston Area co-creating social justice counter spaces with youth of color using digital storytelling and youth participatory action research projects. Catalina is also a community-based researcher and educator focusing on the ways critical youth and community-based participatory action research approaches can create equitable social policy, unsettling pedagogy, and applied research.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work, Boston University
Master of Science in Nonprofit Management and Project Management, Northeastern University
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Linguistics, Boston College