MEET THE TEAM
Teachers
(in alphabetical order by first name)
Agnes Bautista
Born and raised in Cavite, Philippines, Ate Agnes is a native Tagalog speaker that is passionate about staying engaged and serving the greater Filipino and Filipino-American community. After immigrating to Vallejo, California in 2010, she vowed that she will continue to embrace her Filipino identity, culture, and language in order to not only honor her upbringing in the Philippines, as well as her family back in the motherland.
In college, Ate Agnes found herself involved in Samahang Pilipino, a Filipino-American student organization at UCLA, where she deepened her understanding of the Filipino-American experience through education and the arts. There, her passion for service in the greater community bloomed. From educating Filipino youth at the Filipino Cultural School to assisting Filipino elders in applying for citizenship at Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles, she is continually inspired to find proactive ways to help and advocate for others.
In her free time, Ate Agnes loves singing, dancing, and finding new artists and music to listen to!
Andrea Schmutz
Ate Andrea received her Bachelors in Political Science from Brigham Young University and Masters in International Affairs & Global Enterprise from the University of Utah. During her time as an undergraduate, she was the BYU Filipino Club President, interned with a Congressman in the US House of Representatives and Embassy of the Philippines, and Member of the BYU University Orchestra. She was crowned as Miss United Nations USA 2012 where she represented the Philippines.
While taking her masters, she interned with the UK Parliament, Ambassador for Lassonde, where she encouraged first-generation high school students to take STEM-related majors in college, interned for the World Trade Center Utah, and was a recipient of the Abrelia Hinckley Graduate Scholarship for her contribution to her community and leadership.
Currently, Ate Andrea is one of the policy board members for Utah Community Action. Before she became a Tagalog instructor, she worked as an Immigration Specialist at the University of Utah International Admissions. She took a break from working full-time to spend more time with her young family. She is preparing to pursue her Ph.D. in Education soon. In her spare time, she loves to watch movies, play the piano, travel, and spend time with her baby and husband.
Aubrey Razo-Bacon
Ate Aubrey or Miss Aubs is a proud Morena, born and raised in the Philippines. Her mom is from Angat, Bulacan and her dad is from Donsol, Sorsogon so she grew up in a household that speaks both Tagalog and Bicolano. She has a degree in Education, majoring in Language and Literature. She worked as a high school english teacher and taught Journalism, Reading, Research, and Literature when she was only 17 years old. She then moved to a corporate training role and joined the world of Business Process Outsourcing for a healthcare company based in Florida. She was sent to the US last 2018 to design and facilitate a training curriculum for the company, and during her business trip she met an amazing local Sous Chef in Florida who is now her husband! She migrated to the US this year and she plans to continue working on her master’s degree in Special Education while doing what she loves the most – teaching.
She loves books and movies especially the classics, biographies, and documentaries. She is an old outdoorsy soul who loves road trips, food trips, vintage thrift shops, mountains and hiking. She is a cafephile, a read-write learner and an educator by heart.
Aubrey Mamaid
Born and raised in Antipolo Rizal, Philippines, Ate Aubrey is a native Tagalog speaker who values sharing the language to the next generation of Filipino-Americans. In 2015, Ate Aubrey immigrated to Los Angeles, California with her family. She noticed the lack of Filipino youth programming at her high school which is why she eagerly joined Samahang Pilipino at UCLA. In college, she served as Masa Coordinator and Cultural Coordinator for Samahang Pilipino Cultural Night. Ate Aubrey is interested in combining her background both in Filipino cultural dances with her passion for Hip Hop! Ate Aubrey enjoys dancing and listening to Original Pinoy Music!
Camille Agoncillo
Having parents who both worked as flight attendants, a love for different languages and cultures was nurtured in Ate Camille's heart. She is thrilled to be able to share her knowledge of her native language and culture at Tagalog Kids+! She spent her childhood years in Parañaque, Philippines, and in 2010, hopped on a plane to California to pursue a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education as an international student at Vanguard University of Southern California. Every summer break, she made sure to fly back to the Philippines to spend time with her loved ones.
Ate Camille is an aspiring singer-songwriter, hoping to one day release music that would speak to people. Other than music, she has also dabbled in different forms of art, like acting, dancing, drawing, painting, pottery, cooking, etc. Her other hobbies include going to live concerts and watching stand-up comics, watching Netflix and K-dramas, learning K-Pop dances, playing video games, following along Muay Thai videos, traveling, and trying different foods from around the world.
Cheala Sumo
Ate Cheala was born and raised in the island province of Marinduque, Philippines. She graduated from the University of the Philippines with a degree in European Languages majoring in French and minoring in Tourism. Since 2019, she has been working as an assistant English teacher in Valencia, Spain. Both a language student and teacher, she loves learning new languages as much as she enjoys teaching them!
Growing up in a very Tagalog province, she is an enthusiast of Philippine pop culture and media which she hopes to share with the students of Tagalog Kids! She especially loves Philippine cinema and has helped organize numerous film festivals when she was a student assistant at the UP Film Institute.
Aside from watching films, she also enjoys doing crafts, playing bowling and going out with her friends."
Elias Areola
Kuya Eli was born and raised in Las Piñas, Metro Manila, Philippines. A native Tagalog speaker, he graduated with a degree in European Languages from the University of the Philippines Diliman last 2019. Having majored in Spanish, with which he is fluent, and minored in German, Kuya Eli has always had a love for language learning and teaching.
Having been part of humanitarian organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Children´s Rights Advocates League (CRAdLe) & Gawad Kalinga as well as mentorship programs such as Tawid Isko, he is driven to serve the Filipino people, particularly in underprivileged communities.He has plans on pursuing a master´s degree in humanitarian aid or social work with children.
Kuya Eli has spent the past 2 years serving as a language assistant in Valencia, Spain, teaching English in kindergarten and primary school. In his free time, Kuya Eli enjoys surfing, skating and playing football.
Gabbie Santos
Ate Gabbie was born and raised in Manila, Philippines, and is a native Tagalog speaker. From a young age, she learned to appreciate the beauty and richness of Filipino culture. Ate Gabbie is very excited to build community through learning. She hopes to connect with her students through the celebration of Filipino culture and the Tagalog language.
Ate Gabbie is a proud USC Trojan! She is double majoring in Law, History, and Culture & Psychology with a minor in Forensics & Criminality. As a Pre-Law student, she is extremely passionate about the intersections of government policy, community activism, and legal advocacy. She hopes to pursue a career in human rights law following law school. Ate Gabbie is heavily involved with USC's Filipino community, currently serving as the Community & Culture Chair at Troy Philippines. She believes in the great sense of "pamilya" or family that connects Filipinos through the love of culture. Ate Gabbie loves to dance and was a former company dancer in high school. Ate Gabbie also enjoys listening to music, bonding with friends and family, and rewatching Disney movies!
Jairus Ramos
Kuya Jairus was born in Laguna, Philippines, and immigrated to the United States at the age of 6. He grew up in Southeast Los Angeles in a Tagalog-speaking household, and as such, was able to retain his first language. He attended California State University, Long Beach, and was able to take formal Filipino/Tagalog classes. At CSULB, he studied Filipino/Tagalog for four semesters, and also studied Filipino/Tagalog over a summer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison through the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute. Previously with Tagalog Kids, Kuya Jairus started teaching in-person in the spring 2019 at the Pasadena site, later at the Artesia site, and was instrumental in launching Tagalog Kids online in the summer of 2020.
Currently, Kuya Jairus is studying to complete the teacher credential program at CSULB so he can teach Filipino/Tagalog in K-12. He believes in celebrating diversity, equity, and opportunities for youth and adults to learn the Filipino language and culture.
Aside from school, Kuya Jairus likes to read comic books, hangout with friends, and go for walks.
Joy Farley
Ala eh! Yup, Ate Joy is a proud Batangenyo. Born in Manila and raised in Batangas, she moved to the US in 2018 to marry the love of her life. She has a Bachelor Degree in Secondary Education, with a major in English. She taught junior and senior high school in the Philippines for 6 years, teaching English, social studies, history, economics, and more. She is currently teaching English online to kids outside the US and absolutely loves the kids she teaches.
Ate Joy and her husband love the outdoors. They enjoy fishing, skiing, snowboarding, hiking, climbing, biking, camping, and just driving around in the mountains.
Kenneth Jose
Kuya Kenneth is a language enthusiast and youth advocate born and raised in Cabanatuan City, Philippines. A student leader, he finished his degree in European Languages last 2020 from the University of the Philippines Diliman while serving in the student council for three consecutive terms. He also likes to involve himself in various causes, and at the height of the community lockdown due to COVID-19, he led a donation drive that helped thousands of families in Quezon City, Philippines. Currently, Kuya Kenneth practices his passion for education as an assistant teacher at Valencia City in Spain where he also works as a private tutor for English, Biology, History, and Geography.
His love for music made him organize "UP Fair 2019", the biggest, week-long Original Pilipino Music (OPM) festival in the Philippines with more than 75,000 attendees! Kuya Kenneth aspires to become a lawyer someday and help the underprivileged.
Kimiko Sandig
Ate Kimi was born and raised in Quezon City, Philippines. In 2017, she moved to the Los Angeles area to live with her father who has been an OFW (and from Sultan Kudarat!) for more than a decade. Aside from being a native Tagalog speaker, she values sharing Filipino culture, history, and language with fellow Filipino-Americans. Before transferring to University of California - Santa Barbara, she was a Supplemental Instruction Leader for Glendale Community College, particularly for Sociology, for around two years. Currently, she is a Biological Sciences major with a passion for her culture, research, and restoration ecology. She aspires to help the scientific community in the Philippines grow and help conservation.
She is an avid reader who hopes that she can recreate her library back in the Philippines here someday. She also loves watching films and her favorite film is Lav Diaz's A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery (Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis). Aside from these, she practices Filipino martial arts (Arnis) and love playing video games.
Lara “Cesca” Magboo
Ate Cesca (cheh·skah) is a determined new grad in Occupational Therapy with internship experience in pediatric, adult, and mental health settings. She is a fierce advocate for the accessibility of education and healthcare in underserved and underrepresented communities. This passion is what led to her emigration from the Philippines. Being a California local for a year now, she has become acquainted with what it means to be a Filipino in America. This has made her value the Philippines now more than ever, and has introduced her to a new passion — sharing and celebrating the Filipino language and culture alongside future generations.
Ate Cesca will be taking up her Master's in Occupational Therapy at USC this coming fall. In her free time, she enjoys cooking various cuisines, experimenting with makeup, and playing video games.
Luna Zabala
Ate Luna was born and raised in the Philippines. Hailing from Quezon City and currently living in Marikina, you can say she is a true blue Manileña!
A native Tagalog speaker, she truly fell in love with the beauty of the Filipino language after joining (and winning!) a Tagalog poetry competition in her school. She is currently an incoming BA Sociology junior at the University of the Philippines Diliman, with her research interests being group dynamics and national development. Having a passion for education, Ate Luna has organizational experience working with Filipino public schoolchildren. She has taught English and handled recreational school events for both elementary and high school-level students.
In her spare time, Ate Luna loves to write poetry and illustrate. Being a creative soul, she is also drawn to music. She is a staunch supporter of the local OPM (Original Pilipino Music) scene and loves organizing local music festivals and attending gigs. She also enjoys playing video games, baking, hanging out with her dogs, and watching Formula 1!
Margarita Blanco
Ate Margarita Blanco was born and raised in Pasig City, Manila, Philippines. She migrated to New Mexico, U.S. at the age of 15.
Ate Margarita worked for various children's art programs and volunteered at a local children's museum in her first years in the United States. She pursued her love of teaching and working with children by getting a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Philosophy from the University of New Mexico. During her time at the University, Ate Margarita was honored as an outstanding student and also received her second degree brown belt in traditional Japanese martial arts. She is currently a Special Education Teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico and serves as a board member at her high school alumni, Monte Del Sol Charter School.
In her free time, she loves to read philosophy books for both children and adults. She loves to go out in nature and learn about the natural world with her 5 year-old, fil-canadian daughter, Tala by hiking and rock climbing. She is also a tea connoisseur and a lover of making art.
Ate Margarita dreams of having a bookstore and school where she can teach children about the arts and philosophy and continue to spark their imagination.
Maria Weaver
Ate Maria was born and raised in Quezon City, Philippines. She is fluent in Tagalog and Kapampangan. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts and a Master’s degree in Childhood Education from Miriam College (formerly Maryknoll).
In the Philippines, she divided her time between teaching and her career in the corporate world. She is passionate about both. Ate Maria was previously the Head of Sales and Marketing for the LEGO brand while also starting her own tutorial center, teaching elementary students from Miriam and Ateneo in the afternoon.
In 2016, Ate Maria immigrated to the US and started teaching. She is a certified teacher in New Mexico and California. When her Dutch husband moved to the US, they relocated together to California to be closer to family and Filipino food! She has been teaching Tagalog to her husband and is excited to extend this passion to you and your children. Teaching our very own language and culture is her way of giving back to her parents and the Philippines. It brings joy to her heart and makes her feel closer to home.
Marie Singzon
Marie Singzon is a first generation immigrant and a native Tagalog speaker. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in European Languages from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City. She became a Flight Attendant after university, got married and moved to Lombard, Illinois to join her husband in 2004.
Ate Marie works as a part-time childcare worker at the Madison Meadows Athletic Center near her home and is delighted with playing and interacting with children ages 3 months to 6 years old. Through the years, she enjoyed volunteering at her daughters’ schools as a teacher's helper and was a Girl Scout Troop Leader and Room Parent. She is also a Cross Country and Track and Field Assistant Coach. She loves involving the whole family in helping with church events and Holy Mass.
Through frequent conversation and repetition, her two teenage daughters can understand, read, and speak Tagalog. They take pride in knowing the language and their Filipino culture and traditions.
During her leisure time, Ate Marie and family enjoy card games like Pusoy Dos, Old Maid, Memory Game, and board games such as Risk, Apples to Apples, and Scattergories. They also like to play tennis and watch Marvel and Star Wars movies and TV shows.
Meg Ruiz
Ate Meg is a language enthusiast born and raised in Marikina, Metro Manila. She graduated with a degree in European Languages last 2019 from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. She has a major in the Italian language and a minor in Political Science. Her passion for language and cultural exchange has brought her to Vinaros, a small town at the coast of Valencia, Spain. She is now an assistant English teacher for the 5th and 6th grade. She hopes that one day, she can become a polyglot and speak at least 10 languages!
In her spare time, Ate Meg likes to read books and exercise. She also likes to bake, play the piano and meet other people from different cultures.
Philomena Verceles
Ate Philomena was born in Brunei Darussalam but grew up in Manila, Philippines where she learned Tagalog and English at the same time. She was first introduced to the language Malay in her birth country then Ilokano with her maternal relatives. A big part of her childhood was participating in school activities for the celebration of Pinoy culture. She migrated with her family to California in 2014. Since then, she has been involved in programs supporting the youth in their academic abilities, majority of whom have a different native tongue. In the present, she serves as a Behavior Therapist to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Among her strong beliefs is recognizing mental health as a valuable trait that society should advocate for and nourish.
Ate Philomena is a part of the Bruin class of 2021 with a B.S. in Psychobiology at UCLA. She recently joined a mental health magazine that speaks on different issues experienced by students in their personal and social lives. Ate Philomena is driven to pursue a career in the field of Clinical Psychology to destimagtize mental health issues across cultures. Being far from her first home, she also desires to help cultivate knowledge on the Tagalog language and the Filipino culture in the community abroad. For leisure, she enjoys watching Korean drama series and RomCom movies, as well as hands-on art projects. She looks forward to expanding her Filipino network through her role in Tagalog Kids!
Regina Alexandra San Andres
Ate Regina was born in Manila, Philippines and immigrated to the Chicago suburbs at age 5. Growing up, she spoke her native tongue with her family at home, where the Tagalog language and Filipino culture were always celebrated and respected despite having a very small Filipino population in her hometown. She hopes to help kids feel connected to their roots through language and realize early on that being Filipino is something beautiful to be cherished as they grow.
Ate Regina is a proud USC Trojan in her third year, studying Linguistics and Cognitive Science with a minor in Speech-Language and Hearing Professions. As an aspiring speech-language pathologist, she has always been passionate about working with kids and helping them to use their voice, while also encouraging more diverse & culturally sensitive teaching in education and healthcare. At USC, she has been heavily involved in Troy Philippines, serving as both a former Community and Culture Chair and current Internal Vice President of the Filipino organization. It has been an honor for her to lead as both a mentor and a source of comfort for USC's Filipino community during her time in college and she intends to integrate this spirit into her work with children in the future. Some of Ate Regina’s interests are traveling, baking, skincare, starting a perfume collection, Disney, astrology, and dance!
Roxanne Macagba
Ate Roxanne grew up in Marikina City in the Philippines. She immigrated to the United States with her mom and dad when she was 19 years old. Tagalog has been her native language and Ilocano as her dialect.
Ate Roxanne also went to school in Miriam College in the Philippines and continued her education at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon here in the United States. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Child, Youth and Family Studies in 2019. She is also on track to finish her Master’s in Early Childhood Intervention with Teaching License in 2024.
Teaching has always been Ate Roxanne’s passion. Ate Roxanne is a full time preschool teacher and loves the outdoors when she is not working.
Sunantha Mendoza-Quibilan
Ate Sunantha Mendoza-Quibilan was born and raised in Manila. Her family immigrated to the US when she was a teenager, but she decided to go back to the Philippines to finish her Bachelor of Arts degree at the Ateneo de Manila University. After college, she wrote short stories that were published in local magazines, and became a fellow at the University of the Philippines Writers’ Workshop where she met her future husband; they started a family, and Su went on to graduate school and found a fulfilling career as a teacher. Needless to say, she stayed in the Philippines longer than originally planned! Persuaded by her mom who missed her apos (grandchildren), Ate Su moved back to the US in 2007 with her young family. Starting over in the US was difficult, especially with two little children and another on the way! She continued to write and discovered a new creative outlet in photography while being a full time mom: volunteering at school, driving carpools and traveling for soccer tournaments and gymnastics meets! Together with her husband, who is also a Filipino writer and musician, Ate Su raised their children immersed in Filipino and Filipino-American literature, music, art and culture. In her free time — which she finds there is more of now that her children are in their late teens — Ate Su enjoys tending to her small garden, baking bread and trying new recipes, lavishing attention on the family cat, and dancing late at night in the kitchen to music including, but not limited to, 90s hip hop and the BeeGees.
Vina Cuevas
Ate Vina Cuevas moved to the United States at the age of twelve. Now in her mid-twenties, the Filipino culture holds a special place in her heart. She enjoys OPM music, chatting with her grandma in the Philippines, and watching Filipino films. Ate Vina has a degree from Cal State Long Beach and has experience teaching kids at the YMCA Community School. She was a social work intern, facilitating the Youth Leadership Institute to students Grade 4-5. Additionally, she is currently a Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant in Artesia, CA, and works with patients who have chronic pain and are rehabilitating post-surgery. In her free time, she enjoys learning how to roller skate, watching performance poetry, and writing.
Yael Toribio
Kuya Yael is a language enthusiast, foodie, and avid traveler born and raised in Metro Manila. He is now based in Paris, where he is finishing his Master’s in International Management and Sustainability at Sciences Po. Before moving to France, he obtained his BSc in Business Administration at the University of the Philippines Diliman while serving in the student council for three years. With his management background, he has worked in different industries such as fast-moving consumer goods, tech start-ups, and airlines, both in France and the Philippines. There, he was exposed to sales, strategy, marketing, operations, and data analytics.
In addition to English and Tagalog, he speaks French and is learning Spanish. He can’t wait to tick more countries off his travel bucket list, which as of writing stands at 18. At home, cooking is his passion and he wouldn’t mind spending hours in his kitchen for a perfect, hearty meal.
MANAGEMENT
Cara Abulencia Melloh - Founder and President
Cara Abulencia Melloh is a 2nd generation Filipino-American. After graduating from UC Berkeley at the Haas School of Business with a degree in Business Administration and obtaining an MBA from USC, she worked in finance at a number of entertainment studios including Showtime and The Walt Disney Company. She left the entertainment world as the VP of Financial Planning and Analysis at Paramount Television to focus on her children, and currently works for Tagalog Kids+ full-time as it continues to expand globally. Cara started Tagalog Kids+ to create a playful and challenging environment where children (including two of her own) and adults would be proud and happy to learn Tagalog, as well as gain a deep understanding and appreciation of the Filipino language and culture.
Brittany Hualde - Marketing Director
Born and raised in Santa Monica, California, Brittany Hualde shares a passion, love, and appreciation for her Filipino culture. Brittany is a second-generation Filipino-American. She graduated from California State University Long Beach with a degree in Marketing. She began as an intern at Tagalog Kids. During this time, she began to grow a stronger connection to her Filipino roots. Currently, Brittany is a part of the Social team at BuzzFeed. In the future, Brittany hopes to start up her own business!
In her free time, Brittany loves to look up the latest fashion trends, watch sports, go on foodie adventures, and play with her dog.
Meg Ruiz - Director of Publishing
Ate Meg is a language enthusiast born and raised in Marikina, Metro Manila. She graduated with a degree in European Languages last 2019 from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. She has a major in the Italian language and a minor in Political Science. Her passion for language and cultural exchange has brought her to Vinaros, a small town at the coast of Valencia, Spain. She is now an assistant English teacher for the 5th and 6th grade. She hopes that one day, she can become a polyglot and speak at least 10 languages!
In her spare time, Ate Meg likes to read books and exercise. She also likes to bake, play the piano and meet other people from different cultures.
Aubrey Razo-Bacon - Director of Curriculum
Ate Aubrey or Miss Aubs is a proud Morena, born and raised in the Philippines. Her mom is from Angat, Bulacan and her dad is from Donsol, Sorsogon so she grew up in a household that speaks both Tagalog and Bicolano. She has a degree in Education, majoring in Language and Literature. She worked as a high school english teacher and taught Journalism, Reading, Research, and Literature when she was only 17 years old. She then moved to a corporate training role and joined the world of Business Process Outsourcing for a healthcare company based in Florida. She was sent to the US last 2018 to design and facilitate a training curriculum for the company, and during her business trip she met an amazing local Sous Chef in Florida who is now her husband! She migrated to the US this year and she plans to continue working on her master’s degree in Special Education while doing what she loves the most – teaching.
She loves books and movies especially the classics, biographies, and documentaries. She is an old outdoorsy soul who loves road trips, food trips, vintage thrift shops, mountains and hiking. She is a cafephile, a read-write learner and an educator by heart.
Camille Agoncillo - Director of Instruction
Having parents who both worked as flight attendants, a love for different languages and cultures was nurtured in Ate Camille's heart. She is thrilled to be able to share her knowledge of her native language and culture at Tagalog Kids+! She spent her childhood years in Parañaque, Philippines, and in 2010, hopped on a plane to California to pursue a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education as an international student at Vanguard University of Southern California. Every summer break, she made sure to fly back to the Philippines to spend time with her loved ones.
Ate Camille is an aspiring singer-songwriter, hoping to one day release music that would speak to people. Other than music, she has also dabbled in different forms of art, like acting, dancing, drawing, painting, pottery, cooking, etc. Her other hobbies include going to live concerts and watching stand-up comics, watching Netflix and K-dramas, learning K-Pop dances, playing video games, following along Muay Thai videos, traveling, and trying different foods from around the world.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mikee Lachica - PRESIDENT
Jairus Ramos - VICE-PRESIDENT
Michael Melloh - TREASURER
Tracy Casadio - SECRETARY
Cherry Aitken - BOARD MEMBER