Beatriz Gutierrez
Founder & Executive Director

Beatriz Gutierrez is passionate about providing children in her hometown with a vibrant, viable educational opportunity in Lynwood, California. As a Teach For America ("TFA") Corps member, Beatriz taught in one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in Dallas, TX. During this time, she focused on developing her own abilities as an educator so that she reached every single student who walked through the door of her classroom. After her tenure with TFA, Beatriz continued teaching and later served as an instructional coach in the Dallas Independent School District, implementing a data-driven system for 25 teachers and 450 students, and leading weekly professional development for Pre-K to fifth grade teachers. She went on to become Dean of Instruction at Uplift Education. As a leader, Beatriz has consistently aimed at moving the needle even more for her scholars. Beatriz is the Executive Director of Soleil Academy. She was part of the 2016 Building Excellent Schools Fellowship, a rigorous, yearlong, comprehensive training program in urban charter school creation and leadership. Soleil Academy is goal-oriented, data-driven, and systematic and most importantly provides a safe learning environment for all scholars. Beatriz moved back to her hometown with the sole purpose of creating a school for her community that would provide students an excellent education.

Beatriz holds a B.A. in Sociology from University of California, Santa Barbara. ​

Carolyn A. Fernandez
Principal

Carolyn Fernandez is a mission-driven educator who strongly believes every child deserves an excellent education regardless of their race or socio-economic status. It is because of this belief that she has dedicated her entire educational career to working with schools in urban communities. She began her career in Information Technology, first working in the financial and pharmaceutical sectors, before switching to a career that she was truly passionate about.  After returning to school in pursuit of her Masters Degree she worked as an Early Elementary Teacher for 11 years before becoming a Literacy Coach.  As a teacher, Carolyn had always prided herself in setting a high bar of excellence for her scholars and watching them achieve great things. Through standards-driven math and literacy lessons and engaging cross-curricular units, she motivated scholars to take an active role in their learning in an environment that was supportive of their diverse needs.  As a Literacy Coach, she provided valuable job-embedded professional development to build the capacity of teachers that translated into increased student achievement.  She served as the Dean of Curriculum and Instruction in our founding year and is now looking forward to leading as the upcoming Principal of Soleil Academy.
 
Carolyn holds a B.S. in Management Science/Information Systems from Rutgers University, New Brunswick and a M.A. in Early Childhood Education from New Jersey City University.  She has also completed the NJEXCEL Program in pursuit of her Principal Certification.

Raquel Avina
Operations Manager

Raquel Avina grew up in South Central, Los Angeles. She believes that all scholars deserve a high-quality education and a successful pathway to college, and that it can begin as early as Kindergarten. Mrs. Avina has dedicated over 10 years  within charter schools supporting operations. While working for the Los Angeles Conservation Corps with at-risk youth, a program that provides a second chance for youth to complete their high school diploma, Mrs. Avina began to appreciate the work schools and dedicated staff provided to their communities. She continued her career as an administrative clerk and then moved on to lead a founding operations team for a middle school as the School Operations Manager. She is thrilled to join Soleil Academy and support best practices in safety and support the learning environment of our scholars.
Mrs. Avina obtained her Bachelor’s in Sociology from California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Raquel holds a B.A. in Sociology from California State University, Dominguez Hills. 

Catrina Weston
​Mark Twain Site Administrator

Catrina Weston is an enthusiastic advocate for high-quality education and youth development. In college, she studied English acquisition and planned on joining the teaching world. It was her dream to travel the world as an English teacher, but she soon fell more in love with working with inner city youth through after-school programs and summer camps with the YMCA of Greater Long Beach. While in Long Beach, she developed a passion for creating relationships with parents and youth. She was determined to support families by ensuring they felt prepared and empowered in their education path. She has since developed and trained on best practices across southern California for youth workers, managed charter school youth and adult culture practices, as well as health and wellness best practices. Catrina is a strong advocate for the implementation of meaningful youth development and parent involvement in all opportunities of education.

​Catrina holds a B.A. in English Education from California State University, Long Beach. 

Courtney Bradley
Dean of Culture

Courtney Bradley is a passionate educator who is committed to creating a joyous learning environment where children feel safe, supported, and loved.   
Her passion for education was ignited while studying creative dance for children at the University of Illinois. Upon graduating, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her teaching career. She is an advocate for arts in education and strives to bring high quality enrichment programs to schools.
 
Ms. Bradley will be stepping into a new role as Dean of Culture and is excited to support Soleil Academy with love, creativity, and joy! ​

Courtney obtained her B.F.A in Dance from the University of Illinois in 2010 and studied creative dance for children. 

Stephanie Kim
Dean of Academics / Teacher

Stephanie Kim is an educator with a passion to teach the whole child. She attended Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Art in Liberal Studies. She simultaneously worked towards obtaining a Multiple Teaching Credential with a focus and determination to teach English Language Learners. 

Born and raised in Southern Los Angeles, Mrs. Kim completed 5 years of teaching in the Downtown Los Angeles area and continues to pursue her work towards educational equality. She has worked 3 years as a 1st grade teacher, 1 year as a Kindergarten teacher, and 1 year as a 2nd grade teacher. Mrs. Kim is thrilled to be the Dean of Academics/ 2nd Grade Teacher this year and eager to work with teachers and scholars on their path to college and greatness!

Stephanie holds a B.A. in Liberal Studies from Mount St. Mary’s University.

Gricelda Ramirez
Office Manager

Gricelda Ramirez was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. She is passionate about providing families and students with resources, services, and opportunities. Before joining Soleil Academy she worked at Youth Policy Institute After School Program as Parent Coordinator. There she aimed to provide families with resources, workshops, and activities to educate and engage families. Later, she attained a position in Camino Nuevo Charter were she took on several roles such as attendance, records, and IEP Clerk. She is extremely excited to start her role here at Soleil Academy and to provide families and students with quality service that she has garnered from her past experience.

Gricelda holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a minor in Chicano/a Studies from California State University, Northridge. 

Natalia Guerieri
Transitional Kindergarten Teacher

Mrs. Guerieri is an enthusiastic and dedicated educator who believes all students regardless of their circumstances deserve the opportunity to have a high-quality education. She believes in setting high expectations for every child and developing meaningful relationships in the classroom. Mrs. Guerieri believes communication is essential when working with culturally diverse students as learning and understanding about different cultures and backgrounds can help develop more effective and positive relationships in the classroom. She strives to foster a student-centered learning environment where every child can feel successful.

Born in Rosario, Argentina, Mrs. Guerieri immigrated to United States when she was three years old. She was raised in Downey, CA where she attended school and was an active part of her community. With the support of her parents and through hard work and dedication she was able to learn English and succeed through college and beyond. For this reason, Mrs. Guerieri strives to maintain good relationships with the parent community as she believes this is a key factor in students’ overall achievement.

Natalia holds a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in Spanish Language from California State University, Long Beach.

Isabel Reid
Kindergarten Teacher

Isabel Reid is a hard-working educator who has a passion for helping all students strive to reach their potential. She works daily to build positive learning environments and caring relationships with students and families to best support their learning needs. Her goal is to prepare students to become life-long learners and responsible individuals.  

She completed a graduate level teaching credential program through Vanguard University. Her student teaching experience was with 3rd grade at a STEAM/Title 1 school in Huntington Beach, CA. In addition, she has worked as a substitute teacher and as a part-time Instructional Assistant for RSP, Special Education in Norwalk, CA. In college, she was a student-athlete at Boise State University for the sport of softball. While in college, she volunteered over 225 hours at the Boys and Girls Club as an advocate for children’s health and fitness. She also volunteered over 90 hours at a nonprofit organization called JEMfriends in Boise, Idaho. This nonprofit organization worked with aging out foster youth and teaching them life skills in a classroom setting. Overall, she is thankful for this opportunity and is excited to start teaching Kindergarten at Soleil Academy.

Isabel holds a B.S. in Health Science with an emphasis in Health Education and Promotion from Boise State University. She holds a valid Preliminary California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential

Stefania Cilloniz
Kindergarten Teacher

Since she could remember, Stefania has always wanted to teach.. Teaching to her has always been an important factor in her life. As Nelson Mandela said, "education is powerful." Education is a necessity in our country; it is what shapes our future. A philosophy of education represents the purpose of schooling, a teacher's role, and what should be taught and by what methods. She believes that education should inspire children to develop their passions, critical thinking, and problem solving skills. Education has helped her to understand how I can become a productive learner in my life.  Her greatest accomplishment is graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Liberal Studies and continuing on my journey to be the best teacher I can be.

Through her experiences, she developed expertise in lesson planning, classroom control, assessment and evaluation of students. Moreover,  she is experienced in using technology to track student progress and prepare assessments and evaluations. Her teaching methods are unique an and can easily incorporate activities-based teaching methods into regular teaching streams. She is bilingual and can read, write and speak Spanish conversationally.

Michelle Miranda
1st Grade Teacher

Michelle Miranda is a dedicated and hard-working educator who believes in all her students. She is passionate about educating her scholars because the more they know, the more places they will go! Her goal for all her students is for them to graduate from college. For that to happen, she works hard every day to provide a structured learning environment with academic rigor and character development and a focus on literacy. She provides opportunities for her students to take charge of their learning and grow in their responsibility.

For as long as she can remember, she has always wanted to become a teacher. She did her best in school because of her goal to attend her dream school: CSULB, due to their great teaching program. After high school, she was accepted to CSULB and graduated with her BA in four years. Before becoming a teacher, she traveled the world and visited places like France, England, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and even lived in Canada for a year. Since then she has student taught Kinder through 6th grade at various points in her career. She is very excited to start teaching TK/K at Soleil Academy.

Michelle holds a B.A. in Liberal Studies with a focus in Educational Studies from California State University Long Beach. She also holds a valid California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential.

Sonia Rodriguez
1st Grade Teacher

 ​Sonia Rodriguez is a compassionate and caring educator who seeks to bring out the best in every child. She strives to create a safe learning environment where students can take risks, develop their self-esteem, and learn to respect others. She engages students in a standards based-education that focuses on fostering meaningful student understanding and growth.   

Having arrived in the U.S. from Mexico when she was seven years old, she is especially equipped to work within a culturally diverse community. This experience sensitized her to address the unique learning and emotional needs of each child. Mrs. Rodriguez finds it crucial to involve parents/caregivers in their children’s education. Through meaningful communication between teacher and parents/caregivers, students are better supported to achieve their full potential.  

Sonia holds a B.A. in History with a minor in Spanish Cultural Studies from Occidental College and a M.A. in Education from Whittier College.

Leticia Robles
2nd Grade Teacher Fellow

Leticia Robles is a passionate educator, who strongly believes that students nationwide, including those living in poverty, have the ability to achieve high academic levels. As a Lynwood Alumni and resident, she is passionate about serving her community and plans to do so by utilizing innovative instructional techniques in her classroom. She also believes that individualized instruction is key to not just academic success, but life-long success as well, and looks forward to increasing student achievement as a 2nd Grade teacher at Soleil Academy.

Leticia holds a B.A. in Communication Studies from San Diego Christian College and is an active member of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Association Honor Society. She is finalizing her Multiple Subject Credential through National University.

Kacey Caunan 
2nd Grade Teacher

Kacey Caunan is an educator who is passionate about providing a personalized educational experience for every scholar that enters her classroom. Completing her first 4 years of teaching in the urban communities of Dallas, TX, she acknowledges that every individual is unique and diverse and is determined to provide equitable learning opportunities for all. She strives to learn the strengths, needs, and interests of each scholar in order to foster positive relationships as well as create more meaningful connections to their learning.
 
Kacey dreamed of becoming a teacher since she was in 2nd grade because of how inspiring her teacher was. She attended UC Irvine where she served in an Americorps program called Jumpstart, working with preschool students and their families in Santa Ana. Upon graduation, she joined the teaching program, Urban Teachers, in Dallas, TX while obtaining her Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Johns Hopkins University. She has taught preschool, 1st grade, and 4th grade. Kacey is delighted to join the Soleil family as a 2nd grade teacher, and hopes to inspire her scholars as much as her 2nd grade teacher inspired her.
 
Kacey holds a B.A. in Educational Sciences with a minor in International Studies from the University of California, Irvine and a M.S. in Educational Studies/Elementary Education from Johns Hopkins University.

Chelsea Adams
3rd Grade Teacher

Chelsea Adams is a goal driven educator who drives high achievement through relationships that capture the educational experience of the whole child. She is committed to providing equal access and equal outcomes to every student’s education, and she believes that career and college success starts with a strong, rigorous, early childhood education. 

Raised in a military family, Chelsea has lived in several states across the U.S., but is a recent resident of Los Angeles moving from Washington, D.C., where she had worked as a kindergarten teacher for the past two years. Her experience in moving throughout her childhood education has inspired her to create consistency in her classroom to promote the greatest success for her students.


Chelsea holds a B.A. in Leadership and Public Policy from the University of Virginia and is completing her M.A. in Education at Johns Hopkins University.

Jennifer Gomez-Nevarez
Special Education Teacher

 ​Jennifer Gomez has worked as an educator in the Lynwood community for the past 5 years. She believes all children should be taught in a way that nurtures the individuality of the students. Providing students with confidence and the tools for success is important to build the foundation for college. Giving children the extra support they need and introducing them to new things can open up opportunities. Jennifer knew she wanted to be a teacher at a young age. Having family members working in the education field gave her the opportunity to go into classrooms and experience it for herself. She strongly believes that doing what you love doesn’t make it feel like work, which is why college is important. One can choose a career in the field they are most interested in.  
​
Jennifer holds a BA in Special Education and is working on her Masters at California State University, Dominguez Hills. 

Viviana Villasano
Nutrition Support

Viviana Villasano grew up in South Central Los Angeles. Viviana believes that all scholars from any community deserve the right to go to college. She attended a charter school during her four years of high school and believes strongly in the mission of Soleil Academy.  Viviana talking to scholars about healthy eating habits as we she hands them their meals with a smile.  Viviana takes pride in the work she does and enjoys supporting Soleil in any way she can.

Aileen Ramos
Instructional Aide

Aileen Ariana Ramos is from Lynwood, CA. She attended El Camino College in Torrance, CA before she transferred schools. She currently attends California State University of Long Beach where she is pursuing her B.A in Liberal Studies. She believes everyone has the right to go to college and believes in having a great foundation will lead scholars to a bright future. She loves children and hopes to help those in her community get the education they deserve in order to get into college. She started to volunteer at Soleil Academy August 2018 to help her community. She fell in love with the school and is thrilled to be working at Soleil Academy. 
 
 
AIleen holds her A.A. Degree in General Studies from El Camino College and is pursuing a B.A. in Liberal Studies at California State University, Long Beach.

Jessica Morales
Instructional Aide

Jessica Morales grew up in Lynwood, CA. While being a tutor, she has worked with elementary students in providing academic support while scaffolding teacher instruction. In addition, she has worked as a youth mentor where she was committed to mentoring youth and promoting positive relationships in the community. Teaching students the skills necessary for attaining success and promoting college as a realistic aspiration is essential. She believes that every student has the right to quality education and that a safe and challenging learning environment encourages students to reach their full potential. She looks forward to giving back to her community and contributing to the success of each and every student.

Jessica holds a B.A. in Liberal Studies with a focus in Human and Child Development from California State University, Long Beach.

Jenny Perez
Instructional Aide

Jenny Perez is a from Compton, CA and is passionate about giving back to her community. Having grown up in an underrepresented and underserved community, she wants to provide students with the opportunity to help them achieve the goal of attending college. She believes that everyone is capable of achieving this goal if given the appropriate resources and wants everyone to view college as a right rather than a privilege. She is interested in working with children and helping them develop their educational potential. Jenny is thrilled to begin her journey at Soleil Academy and ready to make a difference in the lives of the scholars.
 
Jenny holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health Policy and a minor in Urban Studies from the University of California, Irvine.