Meet The Team

 Lucia Hansen

Lucia is the founder and lead educator at Little Minds, Big Dreams Spanish Academy. Born in Lima, Peru, Lucia earned her bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from a prestigious university there. With over 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry, she managed various hotel and restaurant establishments, leading teams of 25 or more people.

In the early 2000s, Lucia moved from Peru to South Florida, where she met her husband, James, and soon started a family. As her life focus shifted, Lucia knew she wanted to stay home with her children, raising and educating them herself. This led her to re-enroll in school, earning a second degree in Elementary Education with an ESOL endorsement while embracing motherhood and raising her two children, Emma and James. Around this time, she also began teaching in preschools, public schools, and offering private tutoring lessons to children.

As a bilingual mother and educator, Lucia understood the importance of teaching her children Spanish to help them communicate effectively and build a close relationship with her family in Peru. As she began teaching her children the language, she discovered the profound cognitive, social, and emotional benefits that came with bilingualism. Her children quickly embraced the language, speaking with confidence and understanding.

This experience led Lucia to recognize her calling—to use her gifts and talents to educate children. She realized her dream of opening a Spanish academy, not just as an ordinary educational institution, but as a place where children could thrive in a loving, safe, and positive environment through full immersion in Spanish. By the time her youngest child graduated from Pre-K, Lucia knew it was time to turn her dream into a vision and, ultimately, into reality. In May 2018, Little Minds, Big Dreams Spanish Academy was launched.

 “There is nothing more rewarding than seeing my students learn a second language while enjoying the learning process…” - Lucia

Andrea Gutierrez  

       Andrea Gutierrez is the co-owner, curriculum designer, and lead educator at Spanish Academy LMBD. As a high school student in her native Colombia, Andrea faced some challenges with her second language class (English). She struggled to learn a new language and fell behind all of her classmates. Motivated by this and with a strong will to overcome this hurdle, she researched different methodologies to learn a second language. While learning English, she used different strategies that helped her develop reading and writing skills. During this time, Andrea experienced, on her own, that the most important thing when learning a second language is to feel motivated to participate in class. She had great teachers with structured curriculums who helped her build confidence in her process. An experience she did not have in High school, and that allowed her to understand that the learning environment is key to being successful when becoming bilingual. Inspired by her personal experience, Andrea found passion in teaching. She graduated from Universidad de los Llanos with a degree in Early Childhood Education, and she began her teaching career, which has lasted for more than 20 years.

When she moved to the United States, she became an elementary teacher in the Dual Language Program offered by the Palm Beach School District, utilizing her experience and academic training in helping children learn Spanish as a second language. Andrea joined Spanish Academy  Little Minds Big Dreams in September 2018, sharing her strong expertise and passion for teaching, creating a fun and interactive curriculum that allows children to have a significant learning process while having an enjoyable experience.

“Students learn when they are involved in meaningful activities; they feel safe in making mistakes and are empowered to interact with peers while having fun.”  --Andrea