Nela comes from Puerto Rico and spent her childhood summers with her extended family in Spain. Growing up in a bilingual family, opened up the doors for her to pursue her undergraduate studies in Fine Art Photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology after her graduate studies in teaching at the University of Southern Maine. For the past 25 years she has been teaching Spanish and Photography at South Portland High School.
Throughout her life she has traveled to many countries in Central and South America, Europe and the Caribbean. She has led a group of students to Costa Rica to work with the leatherback turtles, and volunteered with a local school in Guatemala.
Nela always tells her students how lucky she is to be able to teach the two subject matters most adults want to learn but never get around to: Spanish and photography. She enjoys sharing her photography and all of her travel adventures.
Nela resides in Cape Elizabeth with her liver spotted Dalmatian, Carmina. When Nela is not teaching, you can find her playing tennis, skiing, baking, or making plans for her next trip.