Greisy was born in Montevideo, Uruguay and graduated from the Instituto de Profesores Artigas (IPA). Her professional path started as a middle school teacher. Afterwards, she taught mathematics to adults pursuing their high-school diploma. Her graduate studies took her to the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion), where she graduated with a M.Sc. and a D.Sc. in mathematics education. Her research was related to the study of some of the pedagogical implications of the use of history of mathematics. Her doctoral work focused on the aesthetics of mathematical thinking and ways to enculturate it in school. After several years of working as a mathematics teacher educator in Israel, she was invited to join the faculty of the department of mathematics and statistics at the California State Polytechnic University in Pomona. Since 2003 she has been working with mathematics majors, pre-service elementary and secondary school teachers and in-service teachers around the state of California. Greisy loves solving puzzles, watching soccer, traveling, visiting markets, and enjoying different forms of urban art.      

Greisy is passionate about mathematics, teaching mathematics, and empowering others to maximize their math potential. In every course she teaches, she approaches mathematics as a cultural endeavor and inspires her students to be active participants in that venture.  “Education, like sunlight, can and should reach everyone" a maxim by Jose Pedro Varela - a Uruguayan thinker of the 19th century – is one of the axioms she follows in her professional life. Greisy believes games generate rich opportunities to do math and is known for designing games for her curriculum, developed to empower high school students to discover the beauty of mathematics while emphasizing collaboration. Highlighting connections among different mathematical ideas and representing these ideas in a visual way are some of the characteristics of her work. She designed Math Walks in different locations, as she wants to encourage others to see the world through their mathematical goggles. She was the director of the San Gabriel Valley California Mathematics Project for five years, an opportunity that enabled her visiting many schools, working with teachers, and presenting to local parents. She is a contributing member of professional communities including: the California Mathematics Council (CMC) and TODOS – Mathematics For All, organizations that prioritize providing access to quality mathematics education for every student. She loves collaborating with local school teachers and their students’ mathematical ideas. Greisy is founding member and part of the board of directors of International Network of Math Circles and Festivals (CYFEMAT), a network of teachers from the Americas devoted to the creation and support of mathematics initiatives for students and their teachers in different countries.

‍

“Being Hispanic is part of my past, my present and my future. It is evoking my family in South America; my first professors that encouraged me to follow my heart and study a not-so-popular career; it is laughing with my friends who speak Spanish with different accents or use different words but all say whatever it is in their hearts; it is acknowledging my community and the values transmitted to our children; it is seeing my students and encouraging them to be proud of their heritage. We may look different, dance to different rhythms or be fans of different national soccer teams, but we are all part of a beautiful and powerful human mosaic.”

‍