Espinosa Joins Union Team as Education Associate

This month Ileana Espinosa joins the Columbia Union Conference’s Office of Education as associate director for elementary education. Espinosa hails from the Central California Conference where she served 14 years as associate superintendent. Prior to joining that conference, she taught high school English and Spanish for seven years at Madison Academy (Tenn.). She also taught on the elementary school level. She starts work at the union July 18 and fills the vacancy left when LaVona Gillham retired earlier this year.

Ham Canosa, EdD, Columbia Union Education director is excited to have the bilingual Espinosa join the union team. “Ileana brings to the associate director’s position an impressive array of skills that, when applied to the needs of the Columbia Union field, will be invaluable to our administrators, teachers, students and governing boards,” he says. “She will add a valuable dimension to the work of the Office of Education.”

A product of Seventh-day Adventist education herself, Espinosa recognizes that “this is a crucial time for the educational ministry in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the North American Division. My only goal is to be of service as we jointly formulate strategies and best practices in order to strengthen our [school] system.

She adds, “It is my firm belief that the young people of the Adventist Church are its most precious asset. Every effort must be made and every resource must be tapped in order to further His kingdom on their behalf.”

She is married to Ernesto and they have three adult children, Oscar Ernesto, Michelle and Pamela. They also have four grandchildren.