Clarisa Leal holds a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University and a BS in Education from Texas A&M University. Clarisa also has studied literacy coaching through Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools (NESA).

She was part of the book review team for the trans-adaptation to Spanish of The Reading Strategies Book and The Writing Strategies Book, and continues to give support in the translation of her work to Spanish. She facilitates workshops in Spanish and English.

Earlier in her career, Clarisa worked in a school in Nicaragua as a first-grade teacher, grade level coordinator, and later as a literacy coach. Under Clarisa’s guidance and through her strong communication, organizational, and leadership skills, the school made sustainable improvements in literacy. After relocating to New York City, she worked as a Spanish teacher at a private school . It was through the school’s innovative, diverse and collaborative perspectives that she enriched and broadened her experiences as an educator. With the benefit of being fluent in two languages, she was part of the school’s Spanish Department team and taught Spanish as a second language in first and sixth grade. She is now serves a literacy specialist at a school in Florida.