Maria Elena Baptista, PSS

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María Elena Baptista is a passionate educator whose mission is to transform learning into a life experience by connecting academic rigor with the human essence. Her disruptive and systemic vision of learning is reflected in a professional trajectory that bridges two worlds rarely integrated: the scientific depth of university research and the transformative power of bicultural, community-based education.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Educational Sciences and a Master’s degree in Labor
Administration and Industrial Relations. With more than twenty years of experience, she has dedicated her career to designing educational environments where knowledge is not only transmitted but also empowers communities and develops leaders. For over a decade, she led academic research processes and thesis advising at prestigious institutions such as the University of the Armed Forces and the University of Carabobo, her alma mater and a historic institution of higher education in Venezuela, strengthening her expertise in complex project management and high-level academic team coordination.

Her professional evolution in the United States deepened her work in popular education, social justice, and bicultural community leadership. Through a methodology that integrates the structure of higher education with the flexibility and empathy of popular education, she advocates for a pedagogical practice grounded in radical inclusion, deep respect, and the development of positive leadership—from early childhood education to university-level professional training.

On a personal level, she understands her professional legacy as deeply human and
intergenerational: it carries the names of her children and grandchildren, for whom she works to ensure that education remains a bridge toward the best version of every human being.