About

Mi nombre es Zulmara Maria Teixeira de Lima, a Latina from Brazil. I live in Long Beach, have three grown children, and have been married for more than 30 years. I have my doctorate from UC Santa Barbara in the area of Education, Policy, Organizations and Leadership and have been an educator focusing on Latino issues all of my life. I have worked to help Latinos realize the dream of going to college, learning English, being bilingual, and staying focused on school.

Mi sueno is to grow my business, Roots and Wings—a personal, professional, and creative growth program for Latinos to find their voice, their strength, their identity, and their purpose in life. I develop programs to help Latinos achieve their dreams, celebrate what is right with their lives, and develop as self-actualized mujeres y hombres de pasion.

I am also a writer, consultant, and inspirational public speaker. I have series of presentations that I do for groups and organizations that all involve personal, professional, and creative growth.

I am excited about this business because as a Latina Educator who has worked with many Latinos in education, I feel there is a need for bicultural professional learning that meets the needs of Latinos. Since many Latin@s do not see themselves in the stories and lives they encounter in the majority culture, they lose their way. As a Latina Ph.D., I want to be more than a speck in the universe…I want to be one among many and I want to help pave the way for Latinos to achieve their dreams.

As a writer, I have written numerous professional educational articles and I have a story in Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul. I also have three guided poetry books that I have written. Each year I participate in National Novel Writing Month also known as NaNoWriMo. It is an awesome opportunity to meet other authors who are writing their novels and all working through November to do it. I have written three novels in the past three years and will be writing my fourth this year.