People of MCAEL - Meet Edwin

April 6, 2022

It’s MCAEL’s 15 year anniversary, and we’re celebrating with a “People of MCAEL"

The "People of MCAEL" series features first person insights and photos from some of the wonderful people involved in English language learning in Montgomery County, MD. You’ll find stories here and on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter; please share and use our hashtag #MCAEL15. We know this coalition thrives because of committed people like you; thank you!

Today we’re introducing our first profile: Edwin

I’ve lived in the DC region my whole life, except for college.  I knew I wanted to come home after graduation; this is where my family is.

I am the first person in my family to complete a Bachelor’s degree.  I double majored in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and Spanish.  It was a journey to go to university and finish that degree, and I was blessed with a supportive family.  I give a lot of thanks to them and my professors for my success. 


Teaching at CASA in Montgomery County was one of my first jobs after college.  I see the people I work with as my family, because they are immigrants too.  I know the struggles, what it’s like to not know another language.  I was enrolled in ESOL classes K-8th grade; that was a big reason I wanted to become an ESOL teacher.


Moving our classes from in-person to the online world was hard at

Edwin

first, but I still feel very connected to my students.  I’d tell anyone thinking of classes, in time you’ll learn how to maneuver Zoom; don’t be afraid to try something different.  Also, it’s ok to make mistakes.  I always made mistakes; that’s the way we learn.


I encourage the students to practice their English with me.  In addition to native Spanish speakers, CASA also serves people from French African speaking countries, Afghanistan, Bangladesh… we recently had a student from Thailand finish the program. 


I currently serve as a coordinator with CASA’s ESOL program.  I take care of the students, I do registration, data collection, help students with IT, and let them know about additional support at CASA and where they can go for other help.  Here at CASA we also offer citizenship classes, computer classes, vocational classes.  We also make recommendations to other county programs with higher levels once they finish our classes. 


I love that MCAEL offers built-in community.  The members share our classes, registration info, and what services are offered in addition to English-language.  There are so many resources in this county; it helps to have someone showing you the way and supporting you.”


Learn more about MCAEL and our partner organizations here. 

Finding A Voice: Learning English in MoCo

By Dariana Guzman • October 29, 2026
As a child, I felt helpless watching my parents struggle to communicate in a language that was foreign to them. As I grew older, I took on the responsibility of helping them navigate those barriers — becoming a bridge between two languages and cultures. While doing so, I grew more comfortable in a world that was sometimes less familiar to them. I’m now a student at the University of Maryland, and this past summer, I found myself revisiting this experience from a new perspective. As a Digital Futures Institute Fellow with Montgomery Community Media, I had the amazing opportunity to learn and connect with local Montgomery County leaders and organizations focused on adult English language learning . What started as a news package became a chance for my team to explore how the county can help their residents overcome language barriers, an issue that was so deeply personal to me. Through this project, I connected with MCAEL. Learning about their efforts helped me better understand the network of dedicated people and community organizations working behind the scenes to make language education accessible to as many learners as possible. For me, this story is about more than learning to speak English. It is about the challenges that come with navigating an unfamiliar environment and the importance of feeling connected to your community. It is a story about belonging. I hope you enjoy watching it!  Dariana Guzman, Montgomery Community Media Digital Futures Institute Fellow and current MCAEL Digital Media Intern Posted with permission of Montgomery Community Media

Creating a Safe Space for Latina Women

By MCAEL • September 23, 2026
Like many immigrant families, we arrived in this country with many dreams, hopes, and goals for a better future. However, one of the first and most significant barriers I encountered was language. I began volunteering at my son’s school, where I met other women who were facing the same challenges I was — difficulties communicating, limited job opportunities, and a deep fear of speaking with their children’s teachers. Many of us were also afraid to visit the doctor because we could not fully understand what was being said. We felt frustrated, isolated, and, at times, invisible. These shared experiences inspired me to take action. I decided to create a safe space where Latina women could feel heard, supported, and empowered. In 2010, I had the opportunity to volunteer with GBCI, where I coordinated conversational English classes for a group of mothers. Then, in 2011, we began a partnership with Epworth United Methodist Church, offering morning English classes and expanding our work in collaboration with AABF. For more than 17 years, I have dedicated my life to motivating women to follow their dreams, to believe in themselves, and to recognize their own strength. Today, Mujer Fuerza y Coraje is a nonprofit organization committed to supporting women and their families through a variety of programs and resources. These include Welcome Baby, designed for pregnant women; Los Años Dorados, created for Spanish-speaking seniors; summer arts programs for children and youth; and English classes during the summer. In addition, we provide training sessions, educational and mental health programs, workshops on child abuse prevention, substance abuse prevention for youth, food distribution, and assistance in connecting families with essential community resources. Our mission is to continue expanding our programs supporting more families by providing tools like English as a Second Language classes, helping them access better job opportunities, and strengthening communication within their communities and their own families.  We are working together for a better future. Milagro Flores is the CEO, Founder, and Director of Mujer, Fuerza y Coraje. She’s lived in Montgomery County for 20 years.
Graphic promoting an Executive Director Spotlight featuring Gerard Etienne and his recent blog.

Executive Director Spotlight: It's Back-to-School for Adult Learners Too

By Gerard Etienne • August 25, 2026
I don’t remember my first day of high school very well, or even my first day in college, but I will never forget my first day of 8th grade or how I felt. My family and I had just arrived in the U.S. in late July, and while I had taken a year of English in the French school system, the only sentence I could say with a degree of confidence was “I don’t speak English”! I was enrolled at St. Michael’s in Silver Spring (a K-8 school that closed in 2012), and on that first day, I went up to the teacher before class started and told him, “I don’t speak English.” He said something back to me, but I didn’t understand what he said, and I went to sit back down. For the rest of that day, and many days after that, I did my best to figure out what to do, where to be, and how to navigate my day-to-day. To do my homework, I first had to use an English-French dictionary to translate it, then switch to a French-English dictionary to translate my thoughts to English. As difficult as that experience was, I realize that I was very lucky—I was young, I had a strong academic foundation, no financial responsibilities, no one to take care of, and I was immersed in English every day, all of which allowed me to learn the language relatively quickly. The situation for adults is very different. Many, if not most, have families to support, bills to pay, multiple responsibilities to manage, and have limited time to devote to taking English classes, all while navigating an increasingly challenging climate of immigration enforcement and economic uncertainty. Despite these challenges, thousands of adults across Montgomery County have the courage, perseverance, and determination to take classes year after year. They choose to invest in themselves even when doing so means fitting English around work schedules, childcare, transportation, and everything else life demands of them. I had the incredible advantage of being immersed in English every day and having most of my day devoted to learning. Most adults don’t have that luxury. As children go back to school this fall, it is worth remembering that thousands of adults are also heading to the classroom to improve their English, often after a full day of work or caring for their families. Their determination is remarkable and inspiring. We have the responsibility to make sure that every adult who wants to learn English has the opportunity, support, and access to do so.