Meet our Team

Byron is an instructor of over 16 years’ experience in adult-education, more than half of that time spent as an ESL and college English teacher. He has helped hundreds of students — especially international businessmen and women in oil & gas-related enterprises — achieve their language goals, in addition to drafting and editing business correspondence, reports, and presentations. Originally from Los Angeles, California, he has visited Mexico, Brazil, and the Caribbean, and has made his home in Houston for many years.

“Having taught at another international ESL school, I really like that CCLS uses practical, conversation-based lessons that are based on years of learning-psychology research, which suits my academic side. But instead of lots of reading, CCLS focuses on listen-and-say exercises as grammar is learned. It gets people speaking the target language right away — and I know the value of that kind of immersion.”

In his personal time, Byron conceived and operated a well-received jazz club & salon in Houston, and is a long-time songwriter and music producer. In addition to teaching certification through CCLS, he holds degrees from Houston’s University of St. Thomas and Houston Baptist University.

Carol is originally from Madison, Wisconsin. She earned her Master of Education with a concentration in English as a Second Language (ESL) and Instructional Design from the University of Saskatchewan-Saskatoon, Canada. Ms. Pianzola also has 30 graduate hours in Applied Linguistics from the University of Texas-El Paso, and she holds Lifetime Texas Teacher Certifications in ESL and Spanish. Ms. Pianzola has enjoyed teaching ESL in a variety of educational settings, including public school, university, adult continuing education, and corporate.

Margaret is a Corporate Cross-Cultural Trainer and English teacher, originally from the U.S.A. Her specialization is facilitating cross-cultural teams on strategies to accomplish their business objectives effectively. She graduated from Tulane University with a degree in Latin American Studies, Economics, and Spanish. She has a decade of experience training and coaching adults in a corporate setting and working with senior leadership teams on developing their global leadership skills to work across multiple cultures effectively. Most recently, her focus has been on delivering Intercultural Management programs on the growth markets in Mexico, Argentina, and the U.S.A. Margaret has worked extensively across multiple industries, including high tech, pharmaceutical, financial, medical, and manufacturing. Her previous work experience was primarily in financial services, business news, where she edited submissions from various countries. She is fluent in Spanish, having lived in Mexico, Argentina, and Venezuela, and has extensive travel experience worldwide. Margaret also resided in Indonesia, France, Azerbaijan, and Kuwait, spending twelve years internationally.

After studying Spanish in Mexico, Russian in Azerbaijan, French in France, and Arabic in Kuwait, she understands the difficulty of learning a new language and its importance to success in a foreign country. She looks forward to helping all students at CCLS Houston improve their English.

Diane is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a Master’s Degree in Education (English as a Second Language) and a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature. Originally from Michigan, upon graduation she moved to Venezuela and lived there for 40 years. She has recently returned to live in the U.S.

Seeing the need for effective English Classes in Venezuela, she created a small successful business doing what she enjoyed most, teaching ESL to students of all ages, most of whom went on to study or further their careers abroad. She has extensive experience in all aspects of language acquisition and is especially skilled in accent reduction due to her background in Linguistics, studies of multiple languages, and achievement of bilingual fluency in Spanish.

Alisha instructs Accent Reduction, English as a Second Language and Spanish as a Second Language for CCLS Houston. Originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, she received her B.A. in Spanish and Latin American Studies from New Mexico State University, her M.A. in Mexican History from TCU. In 2021, Ph.D. in Spanish Socio-linguistics with minor fields in Phonetics/Phonology and Heritage Speaker Pedagogy from the University of Houston. She also participated in study abroad programs at Universidad de Las Americas in Puebla, México and Universidad de Salamanca, in Salamanca, Spain. Her Ph.D. research focused on formality in love letters of 19th and 20th century Mexico. Alisha has principally taught Spanish and U.S and Latin American history for over 20 years. She is married, with two teenage boys and two large labradors.

Soha has a master's degree in TESOL with more than twenty years of experience in teaching English as a university professor in her home country and more than five years experience as an ESL instructor in Houston, Texas. During this long time, she has always tried to present the subject in an interesting way to facilitate learning. Soha is highly motivated to help students change for the better. She has taught a variety of TESOL major courses including advanced technical writing, academic writing, general linguistics, English language testing, English teaching methodology, as well as TOFEL and IELTS courses. Her special interest is in English phonology and pronunciation. She has extensive experience working with ESL students.Soha creates a classroom environment that accommodates the needs of her individual students. Ever since she started teaching, she has been passionate in her genuine commitment to three things: maximizing individual student performance, inspiring students’ interest in learning, and creating a lively atmosphere to make students more active and motivated. Most of her students believe they have learned a lot in her class without feeling tired or confused. Having been an educational supervisor for years, she is aware of students' needs. Soha truly enjoys spending time with students and finding their excitement when they finally get a tough concept. Her teaching style is to guide students as opposed to just telling them the answers so that they can develop independent thinking and problem solving.

Debra was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, where she developed a deep appreciation for language and education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, a foundation that would shape her career and lead her to new and exciting experiences abroad.

With a passion for language acquisition, Debra moved to Spain, where she lived and taught English for many years. Immersing herself in a new culture, she gained firsthand insight into the challenges and rewards of learning a second language, an experience that later influenced her teaching philosophy.

In 2000, Debra relocated to Texas and continued her journey in education. She pursued a master’s degree in Educational Leadership, equipping herself with the skills to make a broader impact in the field. She dedicated her career to working in public schools as a specialist in English as a Second Language (ESL). In this role, she collaborated with teachers from kindergarten to high school, guiding them in the latest methodologies for teaching English to non-English speakers. Her expertise helped shape classroom instruction, ensuring that students of all backgrounds had access to quality language education.

Beyond her professional life, Debra enjoys reading, music, and sailing—activities that reflect her curiosity, creativity, and love for adventure. In the classroom, she upholds a philosophy of promoting lifelong learning and encouraging students to step out of their comfort zones. She believes that true growth happens when individuals challenge themselves to try something new, a mindset she instills in both educators and students alike.

Debra’s dedication to education and language learning continues to inspire those around her, making a lasting impact on the field of ESL and beyond.

Rita is a native speaker of Portuguese from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Speech Language Pathology.

Rita has extensive experience in teaching the Portuguese language in the Houston area to executives in the Oil and Gas industry, Corporate Groups and lessons with children.

Rita has developed individualized programs for students that teach according to their level of language proficiency and deliver the best of the Brazilian culture.

Patricia is a fun and dedicated Brazilian Portuguese teacher. She is native from Brazil and has been living in the United States since 2011. She has bachelor’s degrees in both Business Administration and Education, she has also earned a master’s degree in English Methodology and Translation. She has obtained several certifications for her English proficiency including the TOEFL.

Patricia has taught English and Portuguese in several well renowned language schools in Brazil for over 20 years and has seen her students improve and succeed in their careers and language skills throughout the years. In the US she has taught Portuguese in different Oil and Gas companies, Language Schools, and for individuals interested in learning and/or improving their Portuguese proficiency.

Patricia loves to teach, she has taught groups and private lessons where she adjusts her material and methodology according to the needs of her students. She believes that with persistence, encouragement, a light and upbeat environment, hard work, and the right support system anyone can learn and be confident in speaking the language that they dedicate themselves to. Patricia enjoys outdoor movies on nice weather days, she enjoys the good company of her family and friends, trying new restaurants, cultural events, workouts at the gym, and cooking Brazilian dishes.

Luciana was born and raised in Brazil, she has always had a love for languages, and she is a self-taught English speaker.

She has lived in the U.K. to become fluent in English and has lived in the U.S. since 2013.

She has earned ESL, TESOL, and TOEFL certifications because of her great abilities to teach and because of her love of teaching.

Luciana has been teaching Portuguese and English for over a decade and she is an expert in adjusting, applying, and creating innovative ways to aid students on their learning journeys.

She understands the difficulties of learning a new language and because of her own journey and teaching experiences she is able and excited to help and guide her students to achieve perfect pronunciation and excellent grammar, reading, and writing skills.

Dr. Jamile was born and raised in the south of Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul). She has a PhD in Hispanic Linguistics from Florida State University. She also has a Master’s degree in Hispanic Linguistics and a TESOL certificate from Florida State University. She has been teaching languages (English, Portuguese, and Spanish) for over 23 years. Dr. Jamile has also taught advanced and content courses at different types of local institutions as well as institutions abroad. (i.e., liberal arts colleges, research universities, language courses, elementary and high schools, and study abroad programs). In these different environments, she has been able to interact with many different kinds of learners, their language goals, and pedagogical needs. In the past, she has been the recipient of two Fulbright grants to promote pedagogical training to local language teachers from public schools in Brazil. Besides her passion and vivid work in teaching and promoting training and certification in language instruction; Dr. Jamile focuses on conducting scientific research in areas such as trilingualism, bilingualism, and lexical processes in a second or foreign language. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, meditating, watching soccer, and playing with her cat Bruce Wayne.

João Fernando is a Brazilian journalist, producer and marketer from Rio de Janeiro, holding a degree in media studies and an MBA in digital marketing. He began studying languages early, one of his passions, becoming fluent in English, Spanish and French. As a communications professional, João has worked as a reporter for some of Brazil’s most influential newspapers, including O Globo and O Estado de S. Paulo. He has also produced award-winning films, documentaries, and TV shows broadcast across Latin America on channels such as MTV, CNN, and Discovery. During this time, he led writing and grammar workshops for the production team and managed the training program for interns. In 2023, João relocated to Houston, where he enjoys exploring the culinary scene, discovering unique aspects of Texan life, and attempting to master line dancing.