Deanna Creighton Cook
Special Projects Coordinator
ABC Community School Partnership
For the past 7 years, Deanna has worked as a Special Projects Coordinator for ABC Community School Partnership in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She holds a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Studies in Law degree from the UNM School of Law. Deanna was the Community School Coordinator for 5 years at Manzano Mesa Elementary, where she worked alongside the principal, families, and community partners to integrate the community school framework and strategies into the school’s plan for continuous improvement. Some of the programs started at Manzano Mesa, such as Homework Diner, Community Academic Mentoring, and the Preschool Parent Coop, have spread throughout the ABC network of community schools and even across the country. In her current role, Deanna designs the professional development of community school coordinators who are implementing the community school framework, builds system-wide partnerships, and works with the ABC team to create supportive community school policies and practices.
About Deanna Creighton Cook
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Special Projects Coordinator
ABC Community School Partnership
Dr. M. Soña Alaniz-Saiz, LCSW
Coordinator of Mental Health & Academic Counseling
Las Cruces Public Schools
Dr. Saiz is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and holds
a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Administration. Her
experience with school systems as an educator and social
worker spans all levels: elementary, middle school, high
school, and higher education. Currently Dr. Saiz is in her
sixth year as the Coordinator of Mental Health & Academic
Counseling for Las Cruces Public Schools.
Dr. Saiz has over 20 years of experience with educational
systems PK-20. She strives to be a conscientious educational
leader by leading with purpose and curiosity. And she is
committed to providing all learners with services that meet
their diverse academic, social and emotional needs. Through
her school role and as a founding member of SEL4NM,
she engages in advocacy that demands socially just
practices throughout school settings.
About Dr. M. Soña Alaniz-Saiz, LCSW
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Coordinator of Mental Health & Academic Counseling
Las Cruces Public Schools
Donald Sparks
Principal
Zuni High School
I've been in education for over 30 years. I was born and raised in Gallup, NM. I Have worked at all levels from PK -12. I started my teaching career in El Paso, Texas. I then went to Tucumcari, NM, Where I served as Assistant Principal and Principal at Tucumcari High School. After 6 years there I returned home to work in Gallup at both private and public schools as a high school principal. I've been in Zuni at Zuni High School as the principal for the past 8 years, where we currently are taking on the initiative of competency/standards based grading in an effort to promote proficiency among our students.
About Donald Sparks
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Principal
Zuni High School
Meghan Tokunaga-Scanlon, M.Ed.
Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Health Leadership High School
Meg is originally from Northern Colorado and so excited to be living and working in New Mexico. She is currently the Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment at Health Leadership High School and is a certified teacher and administrator. Meg has worked in education for the past 12 years in various education models, including large city public schools, charters, residential schools, and private schools. Having seen so many educational landscapes and spaces across the country solidifies Meg’s desire to make education accessible and achievable for all students. HLHS was honored to be one of the recipients of the NMPED Innovation Zone Grant this year and is excited to contribute to the revolution of education in New Mexico. In her spare time, Meg loves to spend time with her husband, Juan, their baby girl, Sofia, and their dogs Luna and Lola. She is a mountain girl at heart and is so excited to hike in a non flat state with mountains and more than one season.
About Meghan Tokunaga-Scanlon, M.Ed.
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Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Health Leadership High School
Mishelle Jurado
Field Director
PDK Educators Rising
Mishelle is a veteran bilingual teacher from the state of New Mexico. In her 20 years in the classroom she has taught Spanish as a Modern Language, Spanish for Heritage Speakers and for the last seven years was instrumental in developing and aligning Spanish and English language arts for emergent bilingual students and multilingual students in a secondary environment. She was the Biliteracy coach at Atrisco Heritage Academy, the newest high school in the State. Mishelle and her colleagues developed a portfolio process for the students to attain the Biliteracy Seal offered by Albuquerque Public Schools. Mishelle also worked along with many other New Mexicans to create a book of guidance for the State of New Mexico’s Bilingual Seal. She has a BA in Spanish and Sociology, a MA in Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural studies with an emphasis in Bilingual Education, and is in her 7th year of her doctoral program, all completed at the University of New Mexico. Her research looks into Spanish Language Arts at the secondary level for teacher preparation and curriculum development, in particular how translanguaging manifests in the Spanish Language Arts space. Mishelle has also been on the board for Dual Language of New Mexico for 12 years. She conducts professional development around the country on language development, translanguaging, bilingual programming, and biliteracy to name a few. Currently, Mishelle is the New Mexico Field Director for PDK Educators Rising where she will be conducting research on Grow Your Own Programs for Bilingual/Multilingual and Native American students in her state.
About Mishelle Jurado
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Field Director
PDK Educators Rising
Dr. Nikki Roberts
College & Career Coach, Equity Council Co-Facilitator
Health Leadership High School
Dr. Roberts is the College & Career Coach at Health Leadership High School (HLHS). She collaborates with Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) on coordinating dual credit certification programs offered to HLHS through CNM. She assists students through the process of college, FAFSA, and scholarship applications. Her fundamental role is to ensure the success of HLHS students post-secondary education.
About Dr. Nikki Roberts
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College & Career Coach, Equity Council Co-Facilitator
Health Leadership High School
Representative Javier Martinez
Democrat House Speaker
State of New Mexico
Javier serves as the House Majority Floor Leader and as a member of the House Taxation and Revenue Committee and the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee. During the interim session, Javier serves on the Legislative Finance Committee and the Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee. Since his election in 2014 Javier has been a leader on government transparency, early childhood education, equitable tax reform, and renewable energy. Javier has been a tireless advocate for New Mexico's communities for over a decade. He serves as Executive Director of the Partnership for Community Action, a community-based organization that works to build healthy communities.
http://www.javiermartinezfornewmexico.com/
About Representative Javier Martinez
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Democrat House Speaker
State of New Mexico
Jaime Hernandez
Assistant Director of Workforce Learning
Future Focused Education
Jaime Hernandez is a native New Mexican raised in Belen and Albuquerque’s South Valley. The proud son of Mexican immigrants, he is a first generation college graduate, holding a degree in Communications and Public Relations from Eastern New Mexico University. In his role as Assistant Director of Workforce Learning, Jaime collaborates with all X3 initiatives to expand the programmatic reach across the state. Jaime’s goal is to help close equality gaps, break cycles and barriers, reduce brain drain, and show how talented New Mexicans truly are.
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Assistant Director of Workforce Learning
Future Focused Education
Rebecca Belletto
Managing Director
Teach for America New Mexico
Rebecca Belletto loves being from New Mexico and working with a diverse, opinionated, intelligent, values-oriented group of people as the Managing Director, Network Impact with Teach For America New Mexico. She has MA degrees in International Development (Nelson Mandela Metropole University, South Africa) and Elementary Education (Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles) and experience from the classroom, to outdoor education, to nonprofits, to state policy. Rebecca is a relationship-centered systems-thinker who enjoys creating structures to turn ideas into reality. She is consulting with Future Focused Education in support of the Work-Based Learning Community of Practice.
About Rebecca Belletto
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Managing Director
Teach for America New Mexico
Mike May
Director of Workforce Learning
Future Focused Education
Mike has worked in education since 1996. He has held teaching and school leadership positions domestically and internationally in a variety of settings, including laboratory, charter, public, and private schools. At Future Focused, Mike leads the X3 Internship team and has created ecosystems in Albuquerque and around the state through which marginalized local youth and young adults are supported via access to pathways to industry exposure, training, and employment. Mike grew up in a rural community. Because his own path was shaped by work-based learning experiences in politics, communications, and education policy, Mike believes in the transformative power of mentorship through accessible, supported, and compensated WBL experiences.
About Mike May
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Director of Workforce Learning
Future Focused Education
Julie Jaynes
Work-based Learning Coordinator
ACE Leadership High School
Julie Jaynes is a passionate and dedicated social justice educator working with high school youth at a charter school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In her current position as Work-Based Learning Coordinator, Julie is developing a work-based learning program to help break down the many barriers students face as they transition into life after high school. Julie has a Master of Arts in Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies from the University of New Mexico.
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Work-based Learning Coordinator
ACE Leadership High School
Lisa Harmon-Martínez
Director Learning By Doing
Future Focused Education
Lisa is the Director of Learning by Doing, she has 13 years of experience as a high school educator. During that time, Lisa served in many roles, including as the co-coordinator of the bilingual program and a teacher–leader facilitator. Lisa is passionate about supporting teachers and conducting holistic assessments that demonstrate the extent of students’ knowledge and abilities while celebrating their complex linguistic and cultural wealth. She is currently a candidate for a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership at the University of New Mexico.
About Lisa Harmon-Martínez
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Director Learning By Doing
Future Focused Education
Amy McConnell Franklin, Ph.D., M.ED., M.P.H.
Consultant, Author
Self
Amy is an independent educational consultant supporting schools and human service organizations integrate the skills of emotional intelligence and mindful, ethical social and emotional learning (SEL) into their communities. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, she recognizes the need to universally develop social and emotional skills so that everyone has the opportunity to develop the emotional and social life skills to create and sustain mutually respectful relationships and make compassionate and accountable decisions on behalf of self and others.
She is the author of Choose to Change: A step-by-step guide for fostering emotional intelligence in the classroom, 2009 and is the founding Co-Chair of the Social and Emotional Learning Alliance for NM, SEL4NM.org.
About Amy McConnell Franklin, Ph.D., M.ED., M.P.H.
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Consultant, Author
Self
Moneka Stevens
Director of Reciprocal Partnerships
Future Focused Education
Moneka is a community organizer. For the past 20 years, Moneka has worked in community development and curriculum design focused on positive youth development and youth leadership. At Future Focused, she supports schools in shifting to community-centered and community-driven practices. Additionally, she collaborates with schools to expand family partnerships through Sin Fronteras Education Partnership; a learning series that provides educators, educational leaders, community partners, and school staff with strategies to practice equitable family partnerships in their school communities.
About Moneka Stevens
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Director of Reciprocal Partnerships
Future Focused Education
Henry Rael
Director of Strategy and Initiatives
McCune Charitable Foundation of New Mexico
Henry started his career at Howard Communications in Los Angeles, eventually moving on to Weider Publications. In 1999, Henry left Weider to join Innovent, a start-up company that developed the industry’s first Bluetooth chip and that was acquired by Broadcom Corporation. Since 2002, Henry has been active in the non-profit sector in New Mexico, founding a community-based economic development agency called Valle Encantado co-founding an agricultural cooperative called Agri-Cultura Network and MediaDesk NM, a communications firm serving nonprofits. In late 2012, Henry joined the McCune Foundation of New Mexico, where he now serves as Director of Strategy and Initiatives. Henry was born and raised in Albuquerque and attended West Mesa High School and has B.A. degrees in English and Political Science, as well as an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of New Mexico. He lives with his two children and wife, Michelle Otero, in Bernalillo County’s South Valley.
About Henry Rael
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Director of Strategy and Initiatives
McCune Charitable Foundation of New Mexico
Susan Patrick
President & CEO
Aurora Institute
Susan Patrick is the President and CEO of Aurora Institute, a non-profit organization with the mission to drive the transformation of education systems and accelerate the advancement of breakthrough policies and practices to ensure high-quality learning for all. She is the former Director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education. Prior, Patrick served as legislative liaison for Governor Hull from Arizona. She served as legislative staff on Capitol Hill. She is a Pahara-Aspen Institute Fellow and an USA Eisenhower Fellow. She was awarded the AECT System Change Leader Award 2020 for making significant contributions to the evolution of learning, demonstrating systems thinking and positive impact aligned to Future Focused Education.
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President & CEO
Aurora Institute
Regina Vigil
Education Consultant, Educator CoP Coach
Self
Regina Vigil is a retired educator with over 20 years experience in the classroom as a teacher and instructional coach. She was a bilingual teacher at the secondary level, teaching Spanish Language Arts and English Language Development and held the role of bilingual program coordinator. She is a native New Mexican who began her education career in her hometown of Pecos, taught several years at a charter high school in Albuquerque, and worked as an instructional coach in Zuni. While at Zuni, she supported the development of the Portrait of a Graduate and Senior Capstone, as well as a move to competency based learning and assessment. Although retired, she remains committed to education and supports schools in the work of developing Graduate Profiles and Capstones as an independent contractor.
About Regina Vigil
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Education Consultant, Educator CoP Coach
Self
Grace Granillo
Organizational Learning Manager
Fututure Focused Education
Grace is passionate about elevating the experience and expertise of young people in New Mexico to improve their educational systems and outcomes. She received her Bachelor in Psychology and Communications and completed her Master in Public Administration with a minor in Community & Regional Planning from the University of New Mexico. Her role as Organizational Learning Manager cuts across FFE’s initiatives including internal evaluations, organizational learning and continuous improvement, and the dissemination of learning. She endeavors to employ diverse methods, such as participatory, collaborative, culturally responsive, and non-Western approaches while applying her education and interest in organizational change and development.
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Organizational Learning Manager
Fututure Focused Education
Emma Jones
Youth Advocacy Internship Coach & Educator CoP Member
Freelance
Emma Jones is a proud Burquena, born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has dedicated her career to empowering youth and families to create change in their communities. She has 17 years of experience in grassroots community organizing, advocacy, civic engagement, organizational development, and positive youth development. Currently Emma serves as an independent consultant to several education and youth based organizations that work toward education justice and addressing inequities in public education. Including Future Focused Education, who is developing holistic assessments that engage community stakeholders to bridge the barrier to language and cultural deficiencies in traditional standardized testing.
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Youth Advocacy Internship Coach & Educator CoP Member
Freelance
Alayna Bowman
Assistant Director of Social Emotional Learning & Internship Support
Future Focused Education
As the Assistant Director of Social Emotional Learning & Internship Support, Alayna’s role is to support the X3 interns and staff as well as our partner mentors and schools. She collaborates to cocreate and implement the curriculum and preparatory experiences for the on-site, virtual, and group internships. Alayna further provides professional development opportunities for X3 coaches and school partners that cultivate adult SEL practices. Prior to her current position, Alayna worked with youth in the International District in Albuquerque, Los Lunas, and Belen. She grew up in the International District and attended the University of New Mexico.
About Alayna Bowman
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Assistant Director of Social Emotional Learning & Internship Support
Future Focused Education
Ali Moore
Director of Social Emotional Learning and Well-being
Future Focused Education
Ali focuses on the advancement of culturally and linguistically responsive social emotional learning and support practices. This work enhances the positive development of youth, and the professional growth of adults working with youth, to transform community and workplace settings. Ali is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) from New Mexico with over 15 years of social work experience domestically and internationally. She is also part of the SEL4NM leadership team, and a certified Youth Mental Health First Aid instructor.
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Director of Social Emotional Learning and Well-being
Future Focused Education
Laurie Smith
Educator, YPAR Co-facilitator & Educator CoP Member
Santa Fe Indian School
My name is Laurie Small Waisted Bear-Smith AKA: Mato’ (Ma toh’) which means “Bear” in my Lakota language. I am an enrolled Sicangu Oyate (Burnt Thigh Nation) tribal member of the Oceti Sakowin (7 Council Fires). I presently teach at Santa Fe Indian School in Santa Fe, New Mexico and my passion is centered in facilitating dialogue at all levels specific to indigeneity and identity and place for the continuation of tribal sovereignty.
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Educator, YPAR Co-facilitator & Educator CoP Member
Santa Fe Indian School
Nina Quintana
Administrator
Bernalillo Public Schools
Nina Quintana is a National Board Certified teacher with 17 years of experience in secondary education. As a classroom teacher, she held many leadership roles including department chair, grant writer and lead for the Career & Technical education department. She is currently serving in an administrative role with Bernalillo Public Schools as the Director of College, Career, & Military Readiness. With a servant leader mindset and a student center focus, her scope of work is geared towards improving school systems to support positive student learning outcomes and developing positive experiences for students, educators, and community stakeholders.
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Administrator
Bernalillo Public Schools
Deborah Good
Director of Organizational Learning and Research
Future Focused Education
Deborah leads Future Focused Education’s learning agenda, internal evaluation, and continuous improvement. For more than a decade, Deborah has explored how community-based and participatory research and evaluation can inform program, policy, and practice. She was born and raised in Washington, DC, and studied social work at Temple University in Philadelphia, where she earned her master’s degree in 2009 with a specialization in research, community, and policy. Prior to joining Future Focused Education, Deborah was Director of Data and Research for Mission: Graduate at the United Way of Central New Mexico, where she led the collaborative development of the Central New Mexico Graduate Profile.
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Director of Organizational Learning and Research
Future Focused Education
Sommer Smith
Creative Director
MediaDesk
Sommer is the co-founder and creative director of MediaDesk, a leading agency in creative communications for the social sector. With nearly a decade of experience in creative leadership, Sommer has a proven success record sharing stories and creating strategies for social impact.
About Sommer Smith
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Creative Director
MediaDesk
Dr. Tim Hand
Education Consultant
Ocotillo Strategies
Dr. Hand's core philosophy as an educator is that student success happens one meaningful conversation at a time. These conversations range from Socratic interactions between teachers and students, encouraging words from a colleague that inspire confidence and hope, and debates at the state legislature about how to most equitably fund public education. He has served in administrative roles in Las Cruces at LCPS and NMSU and also around the state including a stint with the legislature and serving as Deputy Secretary of Education. But his most cherished role is that of a high school coach, where he spent 15 years teaching and learning from high school students. This experience sets his priorities as a strengths-based, growth-oriented champion for the education of the whole child.
About Dr. Tim Hand
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Education Consultant
Ocotillo Strategies
Leticia Archuleta, MSW, LCSW, LSSW
Executive Director/Principal
Health Leadership High School
Leticia is a Chicana and an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation. Her cultural experiences have influenced her professional work. Leticia is an advanced-level provider in American Sign Language and is focused on educational opportunities that support indigenous education, highlighting the needs of underserved and marginalized populations.
Leticia believes in the importance of curriculum that allows for real-world, authentic experiences and service-learning projects. Leticia understands that beyond academics, providing a holistic approach to student growth and development is necessary to expand innovative practices to transform education in New Mexico.
About Leticia Archuleta, MSW, LCSW, LSSW
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Executive Director/Principal
Health Leadership High School
Danette Townsend
Executive Director
ABC Community School Partnership
Danette joined the ABC Community School Partnership as Executive Director in April 2018. ABC is a unique cross-sector, joint powers agreement between Bernalillo County, Albuquerque Public Schools, and the City of Albuquerque. The partnership also includes the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, the United Way of Central New Mexico, the University of New Mexico, Alb. Teachers Federation and NM Department of Workforce Solutions. Danette also served as an ABC board member from 2006-2012 and served as a staff member from 2012-2015. Danette has over 25 years of experience in the areas of out of school time, positive youth development, youth prevention and intervention, and community school development. Danette has a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and a Master's degree in Counseling and is a Certified Dare To Lead TM Trainer. Danette has also owned and operated a NM based business since 2002.
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Executive Director
ABC Community School Partnership
Minea Armijo Romero
CNM Teacher Preparation & Educator CoP Member
Central New Mexico Community College
I am a Ph.D. Candidate in Language Literacy and Sociocultural Studies at the University of New Mexico and faculty at Central New Mexico Community College in the College of Education. Currently, I am conducting research in Santa Fe de la Laguna in the state of Michoacán, México looking at Intercultural high school models for my doctoral dissertation. I have been an educator in K-12 in Dual Language programs in Albuquerque NM, and I am currently a faculty member at Central New Mexico Community College. I began teaching because I felt that students needed academic and linguistic access. I strived to be an educator that shared experiences such as transnationalism, linguistic and cultural diversity, and the joy of learning about transformative pedagogical practices.
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CNM Teacher Preparation & Educator CoP Member
Central New Mexico Community College
Jonathan Barclay
Educator, Educator CoP Member
Gordon Bernell Charter School
Jonathan Barclay teaches English and Social Studies at Gordon Bernell Charter School. Born in Virginia, he spent most of his life in Kansas City, Missouri after spending a few years in Saudi Arabia. His passion for teaching awakened when given an opportunity to teach English in Osaka after which he finished his degree at UMKC with a BA in Political Science. Once completed, he moved to Albuquerque where he began teaching with GBCS. He loves serving the state of New Mexico and is excited to partner in supporting the revolutionary educational possibilities with capstone projects.
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Educator, Educator CoP Member
Gordon Bernell Charter School
Alan Brauer, Jr.
Senior Director Initiatives and Programs, Educator CoP Member
One Generation
Alan spent his formative years on his family’s dairy farm in western Maryland. He moved to New Mexico in 2001 to teach first grade on the Navajo Nation in Smith Lake. Alan entered into teacher coaching and non-profit management with Teach For America in New Mexico and Baltimore. He joined the NACA Inspired Schools Network in 2015 to lead the Fellowship and to manage school support initiatives. Alan served as the Director of the Charter Schools Division at the New Mexico Public Education Department. He is currently the Senior Director of Initiatives and Programs for One Generation Fund, focusing on Indigenous farm initiatives. Recently, Alan was elected to represent District 3 of the New Mexico Public Education Commission. Alan holds a BA from Goucher College, an MAT from Western New Mexico University and an MBA from the University of New Mexico.
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Senior Director Initiatives and Programs, Educator CoP Member
One Generation
Mary Ann Cabugnason Ga
Educator, Educator CoP Member
Cuba High School
My name is Mary Ann Cabugnason Ga. I am currently teaching Mathematics at Cuba High School of Cuba Independent School District. It has been my passion to be able to teach children with the subject that I love which is mathematics and it is evident in the 29 years of being in the teaching profession. I have dedicated and committed myself to helping students improve and extend their skills in Mathematics so that they will be able to use it in real life situations. Being able to share my knowledge and wisdom to my students and seeing them learn inspires me to keep on teaching.
About Mary Ann Cabugnason Ga
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Educator, Educator CoP Member
Cuba High School
Kristen LaVolpa
Capstone Consultant
CNM School of Education
Kristen is a Level III Instructional Leader and Level III-B Administrator in the state of New Mexico. Kristen holds a Master degree in Curriculum Design and Instructional Leadership. She has dedicated her career to creating non-traditional learning opportunities for diverse students in the State of New Mexico. Kristen’s educational framework and pedagogy is grounded in culturally responsive practices and collaborating with community members to provide a more relevant and authentic learning experience for students. Kristen has collaboratively developed and facilitated capstone projects at various charter schools grounded in social justice theory, and community transformation. As an instructor at Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) Kristen coaches new teachers through supervised field experience, and facilitates educational theory courses to enrich our classrooms with equity driven teachers. She is passionate about shifting educational framework and pedagogy to be more authentic and inclusive of diverse populations.
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Capstone Consultant
CNM School of Education
Miguel Maizano
Educator, Educator CoP Member
Zuni High School
Mr. Miguel Maizano was born and raised in the Philippines. “He believes that all students are capable of learning if they are provided with the opportunities and tools for them to grow and develop”. Teaching was not his first choice but a family situation made him change his plan and began his teaching career in 1992. Mr. Maizano is now in his 6th year of teaching in Zuni High School. He teaches English Language Arts 4 and also the Senior Capstone Project. He is also the academic head for the ELA department. He joined the Community of Practice in 2021.
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Educator, Educator CoP Member
Zuni High School
Alicia McClung
Educator, Educator CoP Member
Vista Nueva High School
I currently teach social studies at Vista Nueva High School in Aztec, New Mexico. I earned my undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Northridge. I then earned my Master's Degree in Secondary Education with an additional certificate in Urban Community Teacher Education from University of Colorado, Denver. I specialize in differentiation and restorative justice techniques. My goal is to make classrooms not only places students love to be, but places where every student has access to education despite their individual backgrounds and learning styles.
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Educator, Educator CoP Member
Vista Nueva High School
Kimberlee Peña-Hanson
Educator, Educator CoP Member
Health Leadership High School
Kimberlee Pena Hanson’s educational philosophy--scaffold for equity; differentiate for self-expression - - is founded on the principles of equity of access, thoughtful relationship building, inquiry -based learning, joy and humor, and mastery-based curriculum rooted in high standards that are relevant. Students embrace meaningful learning when they personally connect to the material, are honored for their unique perspectives, and encouraged to reflect on their own metacognitive processes, “How best do I learn, and what does my success look like? How do I want to prosper and thrive? How will I actively engage in developing my interpersonal, educational, and professional skills, while maintaining my identity and voice, to reach my highest potential?
About Kimberlee Peña-Hanson
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Educator, Educator CoP Member
Health Leadership High School
Ronnie Reynolds
Educator, Educator CoP Member
Robert F. Kennedy Charter School
Ronnie Reynolds is a 22 year veteran teacher in Albuquerque, NM, USA. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of New Mexico where he studied English Literature. He has a Master’s degree in the Curriculum and Development of Secondary Language Arts from the University of Phoenix. He taught English Language Arts in middle school for his first 18 years, and has since transitioned to high school where he has taught Capstone for the past 4 years. He currently works at Robert F Kennedy High School in the South Valley in Albuquerque developing their Capstone program.
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Educator, Educator CoP Member
Robert F. Kennedy Charter School
John Rollinger
Educator, Educator CoP Member
Gordon Bernell Charter School
John is the Social Studies and Language Arts teacher at Gordon Bernell Charter School. John works at the Municipal Detention Center campus in Albuquerque. Before coming to GBCS John worked for SequoyahAdolescent Treatment Center, a DOH run inpatient facility for violent teenage boys. John has made a career out of teaching underserved populations. He firmly believes that all students deserve access to basic education and is passionate about sharing his curiosity and wonder for the world around him with his students.
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Educator, Educator CoP Member
Gordon Bernell Charter School
Catherine Szenasi
Educator, Educator CoP Member
Del Norte High School
I am a Capstone instructor at Del Norte. I love to travel and be outdoors! This is my 21st year teaching and my students never cease to amaze me.
About Catherine Szenasi
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Educator, Educator CoP Member
Del Norte High School
