Members

Biography

Email: hestrada@isla.school 

Heidi Estrada has a B.S. in Mathematics and a minor in Spanish. She's a MN native and is Spanish English bilingual. Heidi is a long standing ISLA parent with her oldest starting ISLA in 2010 and her youngest joining in 2021. She has been an active ISLA PTO Volunteer having served as the PTO Chair, Secretary, Spirit Wear Coordinator, and Yearbook Committee member. She currently works in large scale education assessment as a Senior Technologies Specialist. Outside of her professional career, she is passionate about child development, respectful parenting, and child centered education.

Biography

Email: idiaz@isla-academy.org 

Igor Díaz was born and raised in Oviedo, a small city in the north of Spain. He received his undergraduate degrees in Physical Education and English as a Second Language from the University of Oviedo in 2008 and 2010 respectively and he has been working on his Master’s of Science in Educational Theory and Practice for the last year. Igor worked as a basketball coach and tutor for 5 years in Spain. He moved to Minnesota 9 years ago. Before starting at ISLA, he worked for Concordia Language Villages and Saint Paul Public Schools. He lives in South Minneapolis with his wife Amy, their tuxedo cat and their pit bull dog. Igor loves walking around Bde Maka Ska Lake, as it is one of his favorite places in the city. He also likes riding his bike, playing beach volleyball, reading, listening to music and playing board games with family and friends. He is very excited to start his eighth year at ISLA, because the staff at ISLA are really nice and professional and it is such a great community.

Biography

Email: rkarlov@isla.school 

Rachel was born in Chicago to an American father and Colombian mother. She was fortunate to learn Spanish at a young age and then gain a lot of practice while living in Colombia and Ecuador through elementary and middle school. After spending high school in Appleton, WI, Rachel got to know the Twin Cities while attending Macalester College. She studied geology and after college, worked various field science jobs around the country. These experiences included vegetation mapping in Ecuador, wildlife surveys in Montana, water quality monitoring in Minnesota, and salmon habitat surveys in northern California. In 2018, she landed in southern Minnesota as an outdoor educator. That is where she first fell in love with teaching and working with students through a lens of inquiry and exploration. The University of Minnesota’s Dual Language Immersion Elementary Education Master’s program was a perfect fit to merge her Hispanic heritage with her love of working in the classroom. For the last two years, Rachel has worked as an associate educator, special education assistant, and long-term substitute for immersion and non-immersion schools in Minneapolis. She is very excited to be part of the team at ISLA. Some of Rachel’s favorite things include: visiting family in Madison, Wisconsin, rollerblading, exploring coffee shops around town, camping, and dancing with friends.

Biography

Email: mlucachick@isla.school 

Melanie Lucachick has held HR management roles within various industries over the course of her career, and has served as ISLA's HR Committee Chair since 2023. Other ISLA involvement has included serving as room parent for the past 3 years, and volunteering in the lunchroom when possible. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, specializing in Human Resources, and a Masters degree in Management & Organizations. She and her husband have 2 children at ISLA, and together they enjoy traveling, cooking and playing games with family and friends.

Biography

Email: mneuville@isla.school.com 

Maggie Neuville is an attorney with the law firm of Gregerson, Rosow, Johnson & Nilan in Minneapolis. She specializes in real estate and municipal law, serving as the city attorney for several local cities. Maggie is currently the Chair of ISLA’s Governance Committee and enjoys applying her professional experience guiding government entities to assist ISLA with fulfilling its mission. Maggie and her husband, Luke, live in Minneapolis with their four boys, all of whom are current or future ISLA students.

Biography 

Patricia Hickey is an ISLA parent and pediatrician who is passionate about inclusive, holistic education. She works at Children’s Minnesota in Minneapolis, practicing primary and complex care pediatrics. She cares for children with a wide variety of backgrounds, learning styles, and needs and, through this work, has learned a lot about the approaches of schools across the Twin Cities. She is excited to bring this experience to supporting the robust educational community at ISLA. She also works regularly with trainees in medical education. She brings strong organizational and analytical skills along with a dedication to ISLA's mission of bilingual, inquiry-based education. Along with her husband, Junaid, she is the parent of current 2nd grade and kinder students who regularly come home with new Spanish, critical thinking, and futbol skills.

Biography

Erin Clarke is a high school science teacher at Kennedy in Bloomington. She currently teaches several class sections that are sheltered courses for English Language Learners. Previously she has worked as a middle school teacher and as a STEM district program facilitator. During her teaching career Erin has continuously pursued learning and her training includes IB, AVID, PBIS, AI, and citizen science. She currently serves on her school’s instructional leadership team and as a new teacher mentor. Prior to entering teaching, Erin studied paleontology and has her masters in Geology. Erin lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two children, who both attend ISLA. She is committed to ISLA’s goal of preparing young people to thrive in a global and diverse society. You can often find Erin biking, cooking, exploring outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.

Biography

Email: erettmann@isla.school 

Elizabeth Rettmann is a student studying Computer Science at the University of Minnesota and plays clarinet in the Pride of Minnesota Marching Band. She has experience on leadership boards, serving on the call committee for her church as well as acting as student president on her high school band booster board. Elizabeth has loved working with children in teaching swimming lessons and substitute teaching at a local ballet studio. Having been involved in various community-focused roles and with a personal interest in both the arts and sciences, she understands the need for a well-rounded educational experience that emphasizes the development of critical thinking, leadership, and cultural competency. In her free time, she enjoys baking, spending time with family, and live theater shows.

Biography

Email: nsadighi@isla.school 

Naomi Sadighi is a nonprofit leader, community strategist, and ISLA parent who is passionate about equity in education and strong community-school partnerships. She currently serves as an executive at GiveMN, where she leads capacity-building efforts for nonprofits across the state, including Minnesota's great giving holiday, Give to the Max Day. With over 15 years of experience in international public health, philanthropy, and social enterprise, Naomi brings a deep commitment to mission-driven work and systems-level thinking. As the daughter of refugees and a multilingual learner herself, she is especially committed to ISLA’s vision of bilingual, intercultural education. Naomi lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two children, including her daughter, who is currently in 1st grade at ISLA.

Biography

Email: lwittig@isla.school 

Lisa Wittig is a Program Manager with Cause Strategy Partners, a Certified B Corporation, with a mission to connect talented professionals to the social good sector. She has over 15 years experience working with and for nonprofits in the Chicagoland area, and recently relocated back to Minnesota, where she grew up. Lisa attended the College of Saint Benedict, majoring in Spanish - with a desire to explore the world and learn about the many cultures who speak the language. She has traveled through Mexico, Central and South America, and Spain, and recently lived in Costa Rica with her husband and three children. All three children currently attend ISLA, and she has been a member of ISLA's fundraising committee since January 2023.

Biography

Email: cyanes@isla.school 

Cal Yanes is a Finance professional specializing in Internal Audit & Enterprise Risk Management. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with over 13 years of Corporate Finance experience and holds a B.S. in Accounting from Iowa State University. He currently works at The Boston Beer Company, leading their Enterprise Risk Management function. He has previously worked at UnitedHealth Group, Verizon, and The Walt Disney Company. In 2024, he joined ISLA’s Finance Committee. Outside of work, Cal enjoys traveling(especially to Perú), staying active though sports and fitness, and spending time with his wife, Raisa, and their three sons, Calvin, Amaru, and Raymi.