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Maria Caterina Ferretti
Founder, Italian Teacher, Arts Instructor
Maria Caterina Ferretti was born in L’Aquila, Italy. She spent her childhood in Canada and has lived much of her adult life between Europe and North America.
She received her doctoral degree in Foreign Languages & Literature and Art History, from the University of Pisa, Italy, where she lived until the age of 29. After working as a buyer for Siemens International, as well as a Patient Liaison Coordinator for the US Army clinic in Italy, she accepted a job in Paris France, where she worked as a Commercial Linguist and Director of Staff Programs for private institutions offering executive language coaching.
A teacher at heart, she has been teaching Italian and English as a second language, to students of all ages, for as long as she can remember.
“Signora Maria” also received a Master in Special Education (with a specialization in Deaf studies) from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and worked as a teacher of the Deaf in Massachusetts before becoming a full time mother of two children.
She lives with her children, her husband and their two cats”, in Concord, MA.
She continues to foster her love of languages, art and cultural diversity by teaching Italian and Art programs through Concord Scholars, which she founded in September of 2021.
In her spare time, she enjoys writing, cooking, sewing and walking in the woods with her family.
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Cara Pickens-Noble
German Teacher
Cara Pickens-Noble is an alumna of the Internat Neubeuern , Germany.
She earned her BA in Economics from Wellesley College and a Master in Education from Harvard University. She also holds graduate certifications from Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University.
During her many years of teaching, both in Germany and in America, (in institutes such as the Munich International School and Boston Latin School), she has worked with students of all ages, as well as with students with developmental and learning disabilities.
In her free time, Cara enjoys walking her dog Otto.
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Christine Skwersky
American Sign Language Teacher
Christine Skwersky was born Deaf. She is a wife and mother of two hearing, young adults whom she and her husband signed to since the day they were born. She also uses ASL to communicate with her dog Ruby.
An alumna of Clarke School for the Deaf, Christine is also a graduate of Northeastern University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology.
For years, she worked as a Project/CAD Engineer and Web Developer.
She has also acted as Vice President of the Association of Deaf Women of Massachusetts and has dedicated much of her life to working with and for the Deaf community. Some of her projects include founding the NU Deaf Club, organizing fundraisers, and training both hearing and deaf individuals to use Video Relay services.
In her free time, Christine enjoys boot camp, swimming and Zumba. She also loves to travel the world, to sail, hike and go geocaching with her husband.
As a teacher of ASL, she continues to build bridges between the Deaf and hearing communities.
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Elbis Dominguez
Spanish Teacher
Elbis Dominguez is a native Spanish speaker from Mexico. She has been teaching her native language for over six years in Boston area schools. She loves to create an interactive classroom setting, incorporating books, songs, short films, and games into her teaching style, and has extensive experience designing and developing Spanish language curriculums.
Elbis earned a B.A. in Anthropology (specializing in Mesoamerican Archaeology) from the Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Cholula, Puebla, Mexico. Her love for archeology has also led her to conduct studies on multiple ancient sites in Central Mexico.
Mrs. Dominguez is also a graduateof Gordon College, where she completed a Master of Education in Foreign Language (Spanish) .
She loves reading Spanish and Latin American literature. In her spare time she also enjoys swimming, spending time with her daughter, her husband and their dog Trens.
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Emilie Donlan
Spanish Teacher
Emilie M. Donlan holds a BA in Anthropology/Archaeology from the University of Massachusetts at Boston, and a Master in Education from Eastern Nazarene College.
Over the years, her love of history led her to pursue further anthropological studies at Boston University and the University of Connecticut. She holds a Massachusetts teacher’s License, as well as certifications in Spanish language learning/teaching from Quincy College and the Instituto de Cultura in Oaxaca Mexico.
In more than thirty years of teaching, Emilie has enjoyed working with students of all ages and all walks of life; working in elementary schools, high schools and higher education institutions in Needham, Newton, Framingham, Attleboro, Milton, Quincy and Stoneham.
As a teacher of Spanish, Ms. Donlan aims to create an interactive classroom setting, incorporating books, songs and games into her teaching style.
Her knowledge of Curriculum Design and Program adaptation for students with learning disabilities and language barriers have also sustained her in her role of Spanish/English interpreter for teacher/parent meetings, as well as mentor for students in after-school programs, teacher of ELL, History, Social Studies and Language Arts.
Emilie has worked and lived in Mexico, and enjoys speaking Spanish at home with her spouse.
We are so happy to have her as a member of our Concord Scholars staff.