Our Founder

Dr. Carlos Beato is the Founder and CEO at Soy la Esperanza Consulting LLC. While he would love to engage in SLE Consulting full time that’s not a reality at this moment. This organization pays homage to his mother who immigrated to the United States when he was only five years old (you can read more under the “story behind our name” section). It is also a reflection of all of the learning from his different professional and personal experiences.


He is currently Co-Director at Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC). He leads efforts to ensure excellence in program delivery, tools development, internal flow, and organizational learning and serves as the NGLC “practice ambassador.” He also works on transformational design and infusing DEIJ/social justice into what the organization does on a daily basis.


Prior to joining NGLC in July of 2021, he served as the founding principal at the International High School at Langley Park (IHSLP) in Bladensburg, Maryland. It is an innovative community school that serves Multilingual Learners (MLLs) through a competency-based approach. The school earned high National and metro-area rankings in the 2021 Best High Schools U.S. News and World Report and was named a “School to Learn From” by the nationally recognized Teach For America organization in 2018. Prior to founding and launching IHSLP, he was a teacher and an assistant principal at high schools in the Bronx and served as a director of college counseling at College Bound Initiative. A Pahara Fellow, he has spoken about his work at Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, and University of Maryland.


He is the recipient of the NYC Teaching Fellowship and the Posse Foundation leadership scholarship of over $100,000. He holds an M.A. from CUNY at Lehman College and an M.A. from New York University. He also holds a doctorate from the University of Maryland - College Park where his research focused on culturally responsive Mathematics and ELA classrooms in the context of instruction for MLLs. He recently co-authored a paper for the Rutgers University Reparative Justice, Racial Restoration, and Education Editorial Series titled “Unearthing Hidden Gems in an American Public High School: A Three-Pronged Approach to Meeting the Needs of Diverse Students Through an Equity Lens,” which was released in August of 2021.

Dr. Beato holds the following licenses and certificates:

  • MD Advanced Professional Certificate (Spanish K-12, Administrator I/II, Superintendent I/II)

  • NY Professional Teaching Certification (Spanish 7-12), #1153301

  • National School Leader Mentor Certification (July 2021 - July 2024)

  • Registered via the eMaryland Marketplace Advantage community