KAREN LLAGAS received her MFA in Creative Writing, Warren Wilson College and her BA, Economics with a Minor in French at Ateneo de Manila in the Philippines. She is a recipient of a Filamore Tabios, Sr. Memorial Poetry Prize, a Hedgebrook residency and a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prize. Her first collection of poetry, Archipelago Dust, was published by Meritage Press in 2010. Her research interests include myths and folklore in contemporary Filipino and Filipino-American literature; as well as heritage language teaching within the framework of critical pedagogy. She teaches courses on the Filipino language and different aspects of Philippine literature and culture at UC Berkeley and is currently at work on a Tagalog verb book (501 Tagalog Verbs, with Tuttle Publishing), and her second collection of poems.

Classes offered: Tagalog Classes for Kids, Beginning Conversational Tagalog, Continuing Beginner Conversational Class

FERLIE ANDONG received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila. She has been involved in the Filipino American community for many years through sales advertising, marketing, events management, community outreach and volunteer activities. She is also a Tagalog translator and localized specialist for the fast food, hospitality, and government industries. In her spare time, she bakes and cooks traditional Filipino desserts.

Classes offered: Tagalog Classes for Kids, Beginning Conversational Tagalog, Private Tagalog Classes, Continuing Beginner Conversational Class

RAY JALIJALI A graduate of De La Salle University in the Philippines and a Filipino native speaker who has been coaching adults on Tagalog speaking, comprehension and writing in the last five years. Before moving to Canada, Ray had a long career in sales, marketing and corporate training in the Philippines and did English-Tagalog translation projects. He was also a volunteer teacher to Catechism students in Vancouver, BC.

Classes offered: Private Tagalog Classes (not currently accepting new students)