Previously, she was a Spanish teacher at the same school and a French teacher at private schools in New York City. She is the Co-Director of the Western Massachusetts Writing Project Summer Institute. Sonia Nieto is Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy, and Culture, College of Education, at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has written widely on issues of culture, language, and learning. She is also the very proud mother of Alicia López: