About Us
The people behind your learning
Portuguese with Carla & Friends is built by a small team of people who care deeply about how you experience the language. Everything you see – lessons, content, support, updates – is shaped by real people working hard behind the scenes. These are the people you interact with every day, inside and outside The Journey.
See Us In Action
Meet The Team
The Founders
Carla & Marlon
The beginning
Carla and Marlon are the minds behind Portuguese with Carla and the creators of The Journey. They both grew up in Portugal and first met in the early 2000s, when Marlon and his mother moved to Pomar Novo, just south of Lisbon, where Carla was already living. From that moment, their paths kept crossing, and within a few years, their connection became something much more meaningful.
The Journey is born
Together, they created a unique programme to teach European Portuguese through science-proven methods. Carla led the teaching approach, helping learners experience Portuguese as it is actually spoken: clear, natural, and connected to real life. Marlon focused on building the structure behind that experience, making sure everything worked the way it should and continuously improving it over time.
A common interest in language learning
Even though they had both studied English at school, it was only when they started living in an English-speaking environment that they truly clicked. Conversations, mistakes, and daily situations: that's what made the language come alive for them. Over the years, that curiosity grew into a deeper passion for linguistics and how the human brain processes, absorbs, and ultimately learns languages.
Today
With time, they started adding members to the team to ensure their students had all the support they needed. And that's how Portuguese with Carla & Friends was born: from life experience, curiosity, and a belief that languages are best learned by living them.
Joana
Chief Operations Officer
Joana keeps everything running smoothly as we grow. She leads operations and is responsible for bringing new ideas to life – planning, building, and launching the features that will improve your experience inside The Journey.
João
Head of Finance & Joana's Hubby
João joined our team in 2024, and he ensures the team is focused on making thoughtful decisions so we can continue improving the platform and delivering high-quality resources.
Catarina
Communications Manager & Content Creation
Catarina is responsible for how we communicate. She shapes our voice across platforms, supports our learner community, and helps share what makes our approach to Portuguese different.
Margarida
Content Creation & Customer Support
Margarida combines creativity with care. She creates the content you see across the platform while also supporting learners directly, helping you navigate The Journey and making sure you feel looked after.
Susana
First Contact Support & Live Practice Host
Susana is often the first person you'll speak to. She supports learners day-to-day and hosts live practice sessions, creating space to use Portuguese in real conversations.
How We Work
We work closely across different roles with a shared goal: to make learning Portuguese feel clear, practical, and human.
Collaborative by nature
Every lesson and update is the result of people working together — continuously improving — producing something better than any one of us could build alone.
Grounded in real life
We teach Portuguese the way it is spoken in everyday situations that make Portuguese come alive.
Built on trust
Students trust us with their time and learning journey. We take that seriously — continuously improving so your experience inside The Journey keeps getting better.