*ADD Regular Bio Link (Elena is also an essay specialist at ILUMIN; read about that work here.)

As a Madrid native with 20+ years of experience tutoring Spanish, Elena Rahona is an expert at making complex grammar manageable to students of all levels from middle school through college, including AP Spanish Language and Culture test preparation. She also works with adults at all stages of their Spanish-learning journeys, considering it an absolute privilege to bring the language to life and give her students the confidence to express themselves in new ways.

In addition, Elena works extensively in matters of global and environmental health, using her Spanish daily for all kinds of projects, from designing workshops to help women potters in Mexico stop using lead in their glazes, to supporting research teams based in four different continents as they study the effects of pollution on health. In her free time, Elena enjoys playing the violin. She is a staunch advocate for adult music education and has spoken at several international conferences on the benefits of learning to play music later in life.

Specialties

• Raising students’ Spanish grades by two letter grades (from Cs and Ds to As and Bs)

• Preparing students for presentations in Spanish, including brainstorming and design

• Helping students achieve 5s on their AP Spanish Language and Culture exams