Meet Our Team!
Heather Robertson-Devine
Heather Robertson-Devine is the founder and CEO of Books del Sur. She has been involved in the education field for nearly 20 years. For the first 17 years she was a bilingual teacher, a Spanish teacher, Professional Development teacher leader, and an Instructional Resource teacher. Her experience acquiring and instructing with Spanish children’s literature and her love of Latin America drove her to make Books del Sur a resource for teachers, librarians, administrators, and parents to access and understand Latin American literature. In 2015 she was WIDA’s Featured Educator for making a difference for language learners. Heather has a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Latin American Iberian Studies as well as a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Administration.Things she enjoys: traveling, scuba diving, and sunshine
Languages: Spanish and English
Connect with Heather at heather@booksdelsur.com
Colleen Farmakis
Colleen Farmakis is the Accounts Manager and Social Media Manager here at Books del Sur. For 15 years before joining Books del Sur, she was the owner and operator of Laugh-N-Learn Childcare. She has worked at Books del Sur since 2016. Colleen has earned her certification in the Fundamentals of Infant and Toddler Care as well as in Intro to the Childcare Profession.
Things she enjoys: doing things with her family, reading, and true crime
(According to her best friend and daughter, she mainly enjoys cleaning).
Connect with Colleen at orders@booksdelsur.com
Corinthia Farmakis
Corinthia Farmakis is the Product and Marketing Specialist at Books del Sur. She has worked for Books del Sur since 2018. She’s very involved in her community and has taught at her local church’s AWANAS program for the last 6 years. Prior to working at Books del Sur, she was a nanny. She is also certified by the DPI (Department of Public Instruction) to work in early childhood education. Corinthia is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education to become a teacher.
Things she enjoys: reading, wakeboarding, working with children, and spending time with friends and family
Connect with Corinthia at productsbooksdelsur@gmail.com
Carolina Duque
Carolina joined Books del Sur in July 2021 as Acquisitions Manager after having served the immigrant community of Lake County, IL for over a decade. She served as executive director of Mano a Mano Family Resource Center for 8 years and served Congressman Brad Schneider as a Constituent Services Representative for a few years before joining Books del Sur. Carolina was a Fellow of the Chicago Community Trust, conducting research on issues related to immigrant integration and civic engagement of Latinos in the U.S. suburbs. She represents Books del Sur in Spain where she works directly with publishers and collaborates closely with teachers in the curation of some of our products.
Carolina holds a Master’s Degree in International Studies from DePaul University and a BA in Government and International Relations from Universidad Externado de Colombia.
Things she enjoys: Reading, practicing piano, riding her spinning bike and playing paddle
Connect with Carolina at carolina@boooksdelsur.com
Troy Devine
Troy Devine is the Director of Supply Chain at Books del Sur. As Heather’s husband, Troy has unofficially been involved with Books del Sur since it was housed in the family basement. For 25 years Troy worked in various industries to establish purchasing, inventory, and warehousing process, and implemented computer systems to support these functions. Troy officially joined full time in the summer of 2022.
Things he enjoys: sports, coaching, scuba diving, and fishing
Connect with Troy at troy@booksdelsur.com
Ignacio Muñoz
Ignacio Muñoz is a Product Manager at Books del Sur. Muñoz has over ten years experience working in developing products as the owner and founder of Punta Sur Divers and as the Operations and Sales Manager of Prodive International. He worked with founder, Robertson-Devine in 2009-2011 when she was purchasing small quantities of books for her school and friends.Since moving to the United States in October of 2022, Muñoz now manages the product pipeline beyond acquisitions. He studied Social Studies and journalism at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Languages: Spanish and English
Things he enjoys: diving and time with family
Connect with Ignacio at sales@booksdelsur.com
Jacque Oldenburg
Jacque Oldenburg is the National Sales Manager at Books del Sur and is new to our company as of 2023. She has her Masters in Administrative Leadership, Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Jacque was a bilingual educator from 2000-2009 before she switched to an administrator role. She is a great addition to our team.
Things she enjoys: time with friends & family
Connect with Jacque at jacque@booksdelsur.com