W-L Educator Named Victoria D. de Sanchez 2016 Teacher of the Year Washington-Lee High School Spanish teacher Lilliana Maldonado-Mendez was named one of two recipients of the Victoria D. de Sanchez 2016 Teacher of the Year Award. The award was created as a partnership between the Hispanic Youth Foundation of Northern Virginia and Marymount University and recognizes an exemplary Hispanic teacher who strives to improve the lives of children and their communities through education. Victoria D. de Sanchez was a pioneering Hispanic educator in both North and Latin America in the mid-twentieth century, impacting countless teachers and millions of school children. After beginning her teaching career in the U.S in the 1930s, she led a decades-long and distinguished career as a U.S. Foreign Service Education Specialist in Central America, later became the highest ranking woman in the Alliance for Progress (the U.S. Foreign Aid Program in Latin America), influencing millions of students in six countries. Maldonado-Mendez will be honored at a reception on Thu, June 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Marymount University.