Instructors and Extra Tutoring

Rachel Bellande (principal reading and writing teacher)

Rachel Bellande grew up in the boring suburbs of Chicago and studied English Literature and Psychology at the University of Iowa. She earned a Master in Arts of Teaching Secondary English at National Louis University, a small teacher’s college in Chicago. She taught English Literature in the Chicago Public Schools for 5 years, then gallivanted off to Argentina and taught English at the University of Buenos Aires. Rachel then moved to Quito and taught IB Diploma Language and Literature, English B, and MYP Language and Literature, and became head of the secondary English Department at Colegio Alberto Einstein for 7 years. Currently, Rachel is the Secondary Language Department head at Academia Cotopaxi and teaches IB Diploma Literature and 9th and 10th grade English Literature. Rachel also has tutored the SAT in Quito.

Even though Rachel could have never been prom queen (nice work, Krissy), she was voted “Most Dedicated Teacher” by her students in Chicago. She was also a recipient of Unilever’s Most Inspirational Teachers of Illinios and was Educator of the Year at Colegio Alberto Einstein.

Contact: rachel@zorrosatprep.com

Krissy Ford (principal language and writing teacher)

Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, Krissy understands the importance of good grammar and writing because, well, there was a stigma attached to her state: that anyone from Mississippi either didn't wear shoes, couldn't speak properly, or was dog-gone ignorant. So upon entering college at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, she was out to disprove this misconception because for her, Mississippi was the birthplace of her affinty for language and literature (props to Faulkner and B.B. King). At Trinity, Krissy received her B.A. in English Literature and minor in Spanish Lit (2011) as well as her Master of Arts in Teaching (2012). During her time at Trinity, she also served as editor/ column writer for the school newspaper, for which she won a national award. As a junior and senior, she was hand-picked by professors of the English Department to tutor students at the University's writing center, and also served as an SAT tutor for a local high school student.

After graduating with her M.A.T., Krissy taught at a public school in Dallas, Texas, as an English Lit teacher but decided that her true calling was teaching internationally, so she got a job at Colegio Americano de Quito and for two years served as an English teacher and for the last year as a Theory of Knowledge teacher. She's a nerd for pretentious books and grammar and looks forward to helping students understand the English language so they can improve their SAT scores.

Contact: krissy@zorrosatprep.com

Liza Darlington (extra tutor)

Liza was born in the Rocky Mountains in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She has been lesson planning since she was about 7 years old (for imaginary students) and continued tutoring and teaching her way through high school and college (to real people). Liza studied History at the University of Puget Sound in Washington state, where she developed a love for discussion and inquiry. After graduating, the travel bug took over, so she moved to Chile and travelled around South America. Later, Liza went back to University of Puget Sound to realize her dream of being in the classroom and received a Masters of Arts in Teaching, specializing in English and Social Studies. Liza has been teaching 10th grade English at Colegio Americano for the past two years. She’s excited to work with students on the SAT.

Contact: liza@zorrosatprep.com

Ed K-Z (principal math teacher)

Ed K-Z studied Music and Economics at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and has been teaching for 7 years. He discovered his love for teaching while at USC, teaching Salsa and Ballroom Dance for the school team and at clubs in LA. He then went on to get his Master of Education from his alma mater and has been teaching math, dance or both ever since.

Ed has a knack for improving test scores and has done so since his start at Dorsey High School in LA. He has taught all levels of high school math, including AP Calculus, IB Math SL and IB Math HL. He's excited to get to know you and looks forward to helping you improve on the SAT. You also may see him doing a dance step or two at a local campus near you.

Contact: ed@zorrosatprep.com

Martin Zupan (math teacher)

Martin Zupan was born in Ecuador but then moved to the United States when he was 11. After graduating from high school in Denver, Colorado, he couldn't quite pull himself away from the lure of the mountains and weather, so he decided to study at the University of Colorado at Boulder where he received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. After graduating, Martin returned to Quito where he now remains, teaching high school math at Colegio Americano de Quito. Back in the U.S., he helped prep students for the ACT but is pumped to apply his genius math-skills to helping students master that SAT!

Contact: martin@zorrosatprep.com