Samuel Aguirre is the director of WIDA Español and assistant director of Consortium Relations at WIDA. Sam bridges Spanish instruction with English language development to support bilingual education in the U.S. and abroad. He manages the research, development, and delivery of resources in Spanish, including research, standards, professional learning, and assessments for WIDA and non-WIDA states. He also oversees WIDA consortium-related activities. His life experiences as a bi/multilingual learner in the U.S., a classroom educator, advocate of culturally and linguistically-diverse communities, and director of multilingual services at a state education agency provide a strong foundation for his role at WIDA.