Lina Castellanos Hermberg is an associate professor of World Languages and Cultures at CIA’s New York campus, where she teaches Spanish to aspiring culinary and hospitality professionals. With more than 25 years of experience in higher education, she is deeply committed to equipping students with the language skills and cultural awareness essential for thriving in today’s global industry.
A native of Bogotá, Colombia, Castellanos Hermberg holds a licenciatura in Spanish and English from Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, a master’s degree in education from Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, and a diploma in Pedagogy and Didactics for Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language from Instituto Caro y Cuervo. She began her career as a teaching assistant at Universidad Pedagógica Nacional and teaching English at The Anglo-American school and UNITEC in Bogotá before moving to the United States, where she taught Spanish at Carthage College, the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, and Dominican University in Orangeburg, NY, before joining CIA.
Her professional achievements include receiving the Target Language Expert fellowship at Carthage College. She is an active member of the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers (NYSAFLT) and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).
Outside the classroom, she can be found volunteering in her community teaching kids the love for languages and cultures, travelling with students, friends and family, and gardening at home while listening to music from around the world.