Welcome to The Spark Behind eSpark, a behind-the-scenes look at the brilliant minds shaping the future of learning. In this series, we’re pulling back the curtain to showcase the people, passion, and pedagogy that power eSpark. From groundbreaking curriculum design to the innovative use of AI-driven personalization, our team is redefining what’s possible in education—one engaging lesson at a time.
Meet Noemi Villalpando, Learning Designer
At eSpark, every learning experience is thoughtfully designed by dedicated educators who bring both expertise and passion to their work. One of those people is Learning Designer Noemi Villalpando. With a rich background in early education and a deep commitment to equity in learning, Noemi plays a key role in developing eSpark’s curriculum. Most recently, she’s been focused on eSpark’s Reading Lab feature, expanding its phoneme and grapheme coverage to support all emerging readers.
Drawing inspiration from early educational experiences
Noemi was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area by Mexican immigrant parents. Her early education took place in a dual-language Spanish-English immersion program, an experience that gave her a firsthand understanding of the challenges that multilingual learners often face. After earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz in Politics and Latin American / Latinx Studies, she went on to receive her M.Ed from UCLA. Her career began in early education tutoring and eventually led her to classroom teaching, where she spent six years as a Kindergarten teacher before transitioning to second grade and eventually becoming a K-5 technology specialist.
Throughout her career, Noemi has remained deeply committed to supporting English language learners. She believes that every student, regardless of background, should feel empowered in their learning journey. This passion is what ultimately drew her to eSpark. She jumped at the opportunity to grow her impact and help provide personalized, engaging educational experiences to learners all across the country… and the rest is history!
Building the future of phonics instruction
Since joining eSpark 3.5 years ago, Noemi has played an integral role in shaping the company’s approach to teaching foundational reading skills. She is particularly proud of her work on eSpark’s Reading Lab, a research-based, interactive phonics program. Reading Lab harnesses the power of speech recognition technology to explicitly teach the 44 phonemes and their 250+ corresponding graphemes, all without the intensive time demands of traditional 1:1 instruction.
“I love that this program allows students to practice pronunciation and decoding skills without fear of embarrassment. For many students, including multilingual learners, mastering phonics can be an intimidating process. Reading Lab creates a safe space where students can build confidence while teachers receive valuable data to tailor instruction.”
Noemi Villalpando
Her contributions help ensure that Reading Lab aligns with the Science of Reading, an evidence-based approach that supports literacy development through systematic and explicit phonics instruction. By incorporating real-time student feedback and adaptive learning techniques, the program personalizes instruction in a new way that resonates with today’s young learners.
Bringing magical moments to every classroom
Noemi’s work at eSpark is more than just curriculum development. It’s about creating opportunities for students to experience those magical “aha” moments.
“What I love most about my work is knowing that I’m making an impact,” Noemi says. “At eSpark, we aren’t just leveling content based on skill. We’re designing experiences that are engaging, meaningful, and grounded in best practices.”
She is especially excited about eSpark’s commitment to continuous improvement. The Learning Design team is focused on ensuring that instructional resources remain relevant, effective, and aligned with the latest pedagogical research. “I wish more people knew how much thought and care goes into everything we build,” she says. “Every lesson is designed with student engagement and teacher usability in mind.”
A love for learning and exploration beyond eSpark
When she’s not designing engaging learning experiences, Noemi enjoys traveling, thrift shopping, and attending concerts and museums. She’s an avid hiker, cyclist, and ping-pong enthusiast who is always looking for new ways to stay active. Alongside her husband, she enjoys exploring diverse cultures, both through travel and through their love of food. Their two dogs—a pug and a Brussels Griffon—are frequent travel companions on their adventures.
And, in case you were wondering: her favorite eSpark character is Fennec!
The spark behind eSpark
eSpark’s mission is to make learning personal, and that mission comes to life through the hard work of people like Noemi Villalpando. Her dedication to equitable education, her deep expertise in early literacy, and her passion for innovation help shape the resources that teachers and students rely on every day. With educators like Noemi at the heart of eSpark’s curriculum, teachers can trust that their students are receiving high-quality, research-backed instruction that meets their unique needs.
