Mr. Nathan Walker assumed the directorship at The American School of Las Palmas at the end of June this year. Mr. Walker, his wife Julie, and their children Grace and Ryan are happy to make Gran Canaria and ASLP their new homes. Mr. Walker was born and raised in Olympia, Washington, the most northwestern portion of the continental United States, just 100 kilometers south of Seattle. As the oldest of six children, Mr. Walker grew up taking care of his brothers and sisters and began working at summer camps and other educational settings early on in his life.

Following high school, Mr. Walker attended Brigham Young University (BYU) where he was a member of the wrestling team. After graduating with a B.A. in Spanish teaching, he was hired as the assistant wrestling coach at the same university. During his three years as a member of the BYU athletic department, he earned a master’s degree in educational leadership with certification as a principal and superintendent/director.

Upon completing his tenure as wrestling coach, Mr. Walker taught history, world geography, and P.E. at Goshen Middle School in rural Utah. Not long thereafter, he married Julie Palmer from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Eight months later they moved to Bogotá, Colombia where Mr. Walker served one year as the assistant high school principal and three years as the high school principal at Colegio Nueva Granada. Julie, who graduated from BYU with a B.S. in Health Science Education, created and directed the school’s dance program. Their daughter Grace was born near the end of their third year in Colombia.

In July 2004, Mr. Walker and his family moved to Santiago, Chile where Mr. Walker served as the high school principal at The International School Nido de Aguilas. Their son Ryan was born there in 2005. After working for American international schools and living in South America for eight years, the Walkers moved across the Atlantic Ocean to Gran Canaria. The Walker family looks forward to getting to know and becoming an integral part of the ASLP community.