Title: English as a Second Language (ESL) Instructor
Company: Mosholu Montefiore Community Center
Location: The Bronx, New York, United States
Rosemarie E. Parreno, PhD, English as a second language (ESL) instructor at the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in ESL education.
Born in the Philippines before immigrating to the United States, Dr. Parreno has deep personal knowledge of the importance of ESL education to immigrant families. With that in mind, she has devoted nearly 60 years to a lauded career as an educator, beginning with five years as an ESL teacher for the International Catholic Migration Commission. Dr. Parreno played a vital part in this humanitarian organization’s mission of providing support to displaced migrants and refugees around the world. Building on that experience, she served as a public school teacher in her home country of the Philippines for 13 years.
After moving to the United States, Dr. Parreno joined the City University of New York as an ESL teacher. As a major contributor to that institution’s School of Education, she taught hundreds of non-native English-speaking students across the course of 30 years, aiding their long-term success by ensuring their fluency with the language. In 2016, Dr. Parreno stepped into her current role as an ESL instructor for the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center. Based in the Bronx, the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center offers educational and recreational programs to more than 35,000 Bronx and Manhattan residents annually. With a range of courses covering community members from preschool age all the way to older adults, the organization encourages growth, learning and safety in the neighborhoods it serves.
Before she could teach others, Dr. Parreno had to set a strong foundation in her own education, beginning with a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from West Visayas State University in the Philippines in 1969. Building on her initial experiences as an instructor, she became a teacher exchange scholar at Northern Illinois University in 1986. In 2000, Dr. Parreno obtained a master’s degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) from Adelphi University. Subsequently, she earned a PhD in English language education from Cagayan State University in the Philippines in 2022.
Among her professional accomplishments, Dr. Parreno is particularly proud of earning 26 different teaching awards across the entirety of her career. She has been named Educator of the Year, Influential Woman of the Year, Outstanding Alumnus of the World and Outstanding Mother of the Year, among other accolades from various organizations. In 2009, Dr. Parreno was honored by The New York Times as an ESOL Teacher of the Year. Most recently, she was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the United Federation of Fil-Am Educators in 2025.
Lauded for contributions as a civic-minded citizen, Dr. Parreno recognizes the importance of supporting other immigrants, especially fellow Filipino Americans. She volunteers with Filipino-American neighborhood education employment agency services, freely sharing her ESL expertise and helping other Filipino Americans to find job. Dr. Parreno is also a member of the Pan American Concerned Citizens Action League, a nonprofit that focuses on care for Filipino migrants in Jersey City, New Jersey. She serves as a national adviser for the United Federation of Fil-Am Educators and maintains membership in the Kappa Delta Phi National Affiliated Sorority, which promotes the values of leadership, charity, integrity and generosity in college students.
In addition to her primary vocation, Dr. Parreno is a dedicated mother to three and grandmother to one. She finds great joy in writing and published her first book, “Surviving the Life of an Immigrant in New York City,” in 2016. Dr. Parreno is also a prolific songwriter, having penned a dozen songs. Looking forward to what’s next, she hopes to continue developing her writing skills while working on a book aimed at ESL students. Dr. Pareno also intends to establish her own program that can support immigrants and encourage others to pursue ESL education as a career.
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