Born in NYC and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic until the age of seven, Nando spent his early youth in Washington Heights as an agent of change in Teatro H.E.Y. (Health Education for Youth) based out of Columbia University's Center for Population & Family Health. The group taught about sex education, teen pregnancy, child abuse, anti-bullying, alcoholism & drug abuse, parent/teen communication, HIV/AIDS education and a multitude of other health related topics through improvisational acting to their peers, parents, educators, doctors and health professionals in the tristate area.
He later embarked to southern Alabama, attending Alabama Aviation and Technical College to receive training in aviation, obtaining his private pilot license and commercial/instrument training. He returned to NYC where he worked as an office manager at Sanus Health Systems, a facilities coordinator at NYLCare/NYLife and then starting a new career in information technology as a help desk operator, systems analyst, SMS manager and AVS technician.
Shortly after the events of 9/11, Nando was forced to reinvent himself. Joining the NYC Teaching Fellows program, he began teaching elementary education in the Bronx while attaining his Masters degree in Education.
After several years in the classroom, Nando caught the eye of Leapfrog's Schoolhouse division where he became an educational consultant, forming relationships with administrators and teachers throughout the US, helping them integrate Leapfrog's educational products into elementary classrooms.
Today, Nando is a curriculum and implementation coordinator providing high quality professional development workshops, classroom modeling and/or individual action-based consulting sessions for teachers, parents, school administrators and district personnel in the tristate area and across the country.
