Staff
Elvia Taylor, Executive Director
Elvia created Crossing Borders Group in 2001 when she recognized that there were people who needed to learn English or Spanish, but who were too intimidated to go to the local college. She opened her home to students every evening and, with the help of 7 teachers, she taught more than 300 students in the first two years!
Elvia continues her quest to make language learning accessible and fun for children and adults. She hopes that through her dedication to languages and culture she can improve the lives of others. Crossing Borders continues to grow and flourish as a result of her passion and vision.
April Cooper, Project Manager
As Project Manager, April is responsible for the logics and operations of most CB programs. As part of these responsibilities April serves as Administrator for the Crossing Borders Bilingual Academy, manages Human Resources and works to create and launch new Crossing Borders programs and services.
April is a certified ESL teacher who loves helping her students, as well as other teachers to explore the endless possibilities of the English language. She holds a BA in Theatre and English and a MFA in Theatrical Design. April attributes her management and organization skills to her “jack of all trades” education. April encourages her students to express themselves in English, not just memorize grammar rules and vocabulary.
Angelica Campos, Office Manager, Materials & Spanish
Angelica manages the day-to-day operations for Crossing Borders, ensuring that all the details are taken care of. She also writes and produces all Crossing Borders materials.
Angelica Campos is a native Spanish speaker who brings 5 years of teaching experience to our organization. A graduate from the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, her area of expertise is in field of Spanish Grammar. She enjoys sharing what she knows and seeing each student reach the next level.
Having also learned a second language, she has a clearer understanding of where the student is coming from. To her potential students she leaves these encouraging words:” Do not be afraid to make mistakes, keep trying until you get it right”.
Maria “Macky” Rodriguez, Spanish Teacher
Maria Carolina Rodriguez affectionately known “Macky” brings more than 20 years teaching experience with her from Venezuela. With a degree from the Metropolitana University, she is experienced in dance, cooking, arts and crafts. As an experienced Pre-K teacher she can calm any child while also gearing them up to learn.
“It fills me with satisfaction when a parent tells me their child is learning a lot,” says the native Venezuelan, adding, “If I can learn English, anyone can learn Spanish!”
Nibu Abraham, English Teacher
Nibu Abraham is a native Houstonian. He graduated from Sam Houston State University majoring in Communications and Broadcast Journalism. He has experience working as a writer for publications and websites and has a Certificate in PPR from North Harris Community College. He has over 3 years of experience in education, teaching 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in HISD. He has been with Crossing Borders for over a year teaching ESL to adults and most recently an ESL summer camp in Houston.
As the son of non-native English speakers, he understands the difficulty in learning a new language and also knows the rewards. He only has one thing to tell his students: “Welcome!”
Sandra Ramis Recchini, Spanish Teacher
Sandra is a native Spanish speaker from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Formerly she has held numerous positions in accounting and marketing for Banco Nazionale des Lavoro and cost accounting for Fabril Financiera. While she holds a B.B.A. in Business from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in recent years she has focused her attention on education. She is a certified assistant teacher in Argentina, where she participated in many education seminars and conferences. She has 7 years of experience working with multinational companies in different sectors. Also, she has taught Spanish in many Pre-K programs in schools in the northwest Houston area.
Crossing Borders Instructors
Crossing Borders contracts with several other experienced language professionals. All CB instructors are college educated and many hold Master's degrees. Crossing Borders makes every attempt to hire native speakers for all language classes whenever possible. Teachers are evaluated in all areas of language, classroom experience and personality. CB prides ourselves on being able to offer our students the best language education available, delivered by quality and personable teachers.
