About Us

Meet Our Founder, Kelly Minks

Bilingual Bridges was founded in 2017 by an Alaskan bilingual teacher, Kelly Minks. Her passions for multiculturalism, social welfare, and education have taken her around the world. She has lived, volunteered, and taught in various countries, including: Argentina, South Korea, Vietnam, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, and India. When the 2008 recession hit the United States, Kelly faced the risk of being laid off from her job as a bilingual social worker; however, rather than living in fear, she decided to make plans to move abroad. She applied and was accepted into University of Cambridge’s CELTA program in Buenos Aires, sold all of her belongings, and set off to begin the next chapter of her life—that of an ESL teacher in Argentina.

After completing teaching contracts in South America and Asia, Kelly moved to Chicago to begin studying for her M.Ed. in Bilingual Bicultural Education and K-8 teaching license at DePaul University. Upon graduating in 2014, Kelly began teaching in a Spanish/English dual language classroom in Chicago Public Schools, where she was charged with co-developing a two-way, dual language program. She was later invited to join Indianapolis Public Schools, where she led the design and implementation of a K-6, newcomer-focused ESL program. Throughout this time, Kelly also started expanding the online tutoring business she’d begun while studying at DePaul, which later developed into a global bilingual education company—Bilingual Bridges.

About Bilingual Bridges

Bilingual Bridges was officially launched in September 2017 as an online-based educational organization that would provide uniquely designed language tutoring and bilingual education services to children, adults, and schools worldwide. Our global, multilingual team now offers courses in seven languages: English, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, and French. While Kelly notes that Bilingual Bridges includes programs in: English as a Second Language (ESL), Foreign Languages, and Business Languages, she believes that its Bilingual Academics program is truly the heart of the company.