The owner-director of the Iowa Institute, Cathy Jensen de Sánchez, has a Master Degree in Linguistics and over twenty years experience in foreign language teaching. Her experience includes eight years at the University of Iowa , U.S.A., a Fulbright award, and being an Invited Professor at the University of the Andes.

Cesar González is the Spanish Coordinator and has been working with us since 1992. He obtained his undergraduate degrees in Modern Languages and Education from the University of the Andes. He recently completed his Master Degree in the Teaching of Reading and Writing in a Foreign Language.

The teaching staff consists entirely of native speakers with university degrees in Modern Languages, Linguistics, or Education. All have further specialized in the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language. They have all completed the required three month training program at the Institute and thereafter work closely with both the coordinators and the director.

Classes given at the Institute are guided by current research, coupled with the firm belief that learning languages is a human activity of which we are all capable, if given ample and appropriate opportunities. Rather than being restricted by a set of mass-produced text books, our materials are original and have been developed to be used with the Spanish speaking community of Mérida, Venezuela.