N.M. Advisory Board
Dr. Brian Ormand
Director, New Mexicio Learning Network
Dr. Brian Ormand is Director of the New Mexico Learning Network Program, and Director of ICT Strategic Relations at New Mexico State University. Dr. Ormand has a passion for advancing educational practice through the effective, prudent, and systemic implementation of instructional technology. A primary research focus for Dr. Ormand is the diffusion of innovation, related to eLearning and instructional technologies. His research has included a quantitative study of faculty adoption of instructional technologies, and ongoing analysis of student adoption. His background also includes an MBA with an emphasis on implementation of educational technology systems. He has worked extensively with eLearning at a state level providing leadership in both the statewide virtual college (higher education) and virtual school (PK-12) initiatives. He has served as the Chair of the IDEAL-NM Advisory Board, a board member on the NM Coalition of Charter Schools, and an affiliate member of CHECS ETC (statewide Higher Education IT organization). Dr. Ormand has also been a leader in many of the student and faculty technology support services at NMSU including the Institute for Technology Assisted Learning (ITAL), Student and Faculty technology advisory committees, eLearning Management System (eLMS), Association of Computer and Network Support (ACANS), and numerous other support systems and technologies.
Veronica Chavez-Neuman
CIO, New Mexico Higher Education
Veronica Chavez Neuman is NMHED’s first Chief Information Officer (CIO) since the Department was formed in 2005. As part of the Governor’s state-wide IT consolidation initiative, Ms. Chavez Neuman has led the consolidation efforts for the Department, and has participated on many planning committees and councils during her service with the State. Ms. Chavez Neuman’s prominent accomplishment in the last year has been her participation in the implementation and development of the joint Higher Education and Public Education Department’s IDEAL-NM eLearning program. Ms. Chavez Neuman is a member of the Information Technology Commission, the Council on Technology in Education, and provides support to Innovate-Educate NM. She has nearly twenty five years in the information technology field with experience in private business, state and municipal government, higher education, and teaching. She is also an advocate for persons with disabilities, and is exceptionally devoted to her very special family.
Carlos Atencio
Director, Northern New Mexico Network
Carlos Atencio is the Executive Director of the Northern New Mexico Network for Rural Education and is also Principal Investigator for the Northern New Mexico Rural Systemic Initiative under the National Science Foundation. Carlos has also served as the Coalition Leader for UCAN, a coalition of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and NM Rural Systemic Initiative. He was previously a school development field specialist for Learning NM, a project coordinator for Math/Science School Reform Initiatives, NM Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities, and a Superintendent of Schools in Las Vegas, New Mexico. He served as Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Cuba, NM and was a Mathematics/Science Teacher in Tierra Amarilla, NM, Cuba, NM and Dulce, NM. Carlos has consulted with the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs, Southwest Educational Development Lab, Education Commission of the States, Hispanic Radio Network, School to Work Transition Project, Project SEEDS and Project Connections. Carlos works closely with the 28 Northern New Mexico Districts to elevate professional development of teachers, work with technology and advance education across the Northern Region. Carlos is married and has five children, fluent in Spanish and English. He has a B.S. in Mathematics from NM Highland University, a M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Utah and has done Post-graduate work at University of California at Santa Barbara in Educational Administration, School Administration and Curriculum Development.
Phyllis Baca
Chair, Department of Computer and Information Technologies
Santa Fe Community College
Phyllis Baca is the Chair of Computer Information Technologies at Santa Fe Community College. She aligns herself with the American Competitiveness Initiative in that her over-arching goal is to double the number of underrepresented minorities graduating in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs. Her engineering background coupled with her alternative teaching licensure allows for a unique perspective to serve the students of New Mexico.She serves on several committees including the NM Higher Education Department’s Engineering Task Force, the NM Higher Education Department’s General Articulation Committee, the NM Higher Education Department’s Advisory Committee for Private Post-Secondary Schools, Santa Fe Community College’s President’s Diversity Task Force, The Math & Science Advisory Committee, and the local Dual-Enrollment Committee. She and a partner have owned an engineering consulting business and also worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and received licensure from New Mexico for teaching secondary math, science, and computer technology education.
Three years ago, she began her career in academia and focused on revitalizing the Pre-Engineering and Engineering Technologies program through clear career pathways tied to State and National career clusters. The program includes grades 9 through 16 with multiple exit and entry points using project-based curriculum to retain underrepresented minorities. Her passion is to present STEM opportunities to low-income, Hispanic students through high school dual-enrollment and eventually retain them as first generation college students.
Dr. Susan Wightman Brown
NMSU College of Education, STEM Outreach Director
Dr. Susan Brown is the STEM Outreach Director for the College of Education at New Mexico State University. She has her PhD from NMSU with a Doctor of Philosophy, a Major in Curriculum and Instruction and a Minor in Multicultural Education. She also has a Master of Arts in Education, Curriculum and Instruction from NMSU and a Bachelor of Arts from Highlands University in Las Vegas, NM.
Susan has enormous teaching experience and works with many NM programs including NSF, Academies for Young Scientists, Scientifically Connected Communities, NASA, Enlace, SEMAA, MAXIMA and has been an instructor of Science and Math methods for Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Teachers at NMSU.
Susan has received many professional awards including NASA Innovation Program Award, NMSU Research Achievement Award, NASA Trailblazer Award, NASA Pipeline Award, NASA Partnership and Sustainability Award, Outstanding Science Engineering Mathematics and Aerospace Academy Presidential Star Award, NASA Explorer Award and many more. Susan has also been recognized as Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers (1996, 1998) and is a Fulbright Scholar. She also received the Outstanding Teacher Achievement Award from the NM Legislature in Spring 1996 and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching in Spring 1994. Susan has written many publications and has received millions of dollars in grants and earmarks in her years of working to advance STEM education in New Mexico.
Dr. Jill Brown
Co-Founder, NMSTE
Dr. Jill Brown has been an educator since 1988. She taught elementary school in New Mexico, Florida and Virginia. In addition she has been a school technology coordinator in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a technology-integration professional development facilitator for the UNM (University of New Mexico) College of Education faculty and pre-service teachers as well as her current district position, since 2000, as Director of Educational Technology for Albuquerque Academy.
She earned her Ph.D. in Multicultural Childhood and Teacher Education with an emphasis in Educational Technology from UNM in 1999 with a dissertation investigating the skills’ teachers need to effectively integrate technology into the classroom. She has developed and implemented technology integration courses, online and face-to-face, at the University of New Mexico, through the RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance) program, the ACE (Applying Computers in Education) program, Intel’s Teach to the Future program and the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.
Jill has been deeply involved in many professional associations, serving as president and co-founder of NMSTE (New Mexico’s ISTE Affiliate), chair of the NM CTE (New Mexico Council on Technology in Education), a board member of NMANS (New Mexico Association of Non-public Schools), a member of NAIS (National Association for Independent Schools) 21st Century Task Force and a board member (and treasurer) of ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). Jill has seen how effectively integrated technology by educated and supported teachers, transforms education into an applicable experience for students. She firmly believes that this transformation is what will enable students to be competitive, serve as effective citizens and fulfill their personal/professional goals throughout their lives.
Michael DeWitte
Senior Manager, Sandia National Laboratories
Michael is a Senior Manager for Sandia National Laboratories. He is currently the Group Manager of External Relations and Communications at Sandia National Laboratories. He is also the Director of K-12 Science and Engineering Education Programs and Partnerships. Overall responsibilities include business and education partnerships, local government relations, media relations, internal/external communications, technical consultation, the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, community outreach, video services, creative arts, printing and publishing as well as general internal and external communications. He also acts as an executive management consultant.
He is a registered professional engineer with a BS from the US Air Force Academy and an MS from the University of Illinois. He also has an MBA from the University of New Mexico and has completed Executive Programs at Northwestern University and Harvard University.
His technical experience includes work in both the nuclear fuel cycle and alternative energy systems; state-of-the-art clean room design; structural dynamics and blast resistant design; vulnerability and targeting studies; and the design and construction of unique R&D facilities and systems. His experience also includes strategic planning and partnerships; organizational and leadership development; and negotiation with local, national and international communities and governments. Michael specializes in the integration and management of complex issues and programs with diverse sets of customers and stakeholders.
Michael is the Chairman of the NM Business Roundtable for Educational Excellence and immediate past-chair of the Economic Forum. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Presbyterian healthcare delivery system in central NM. Michael is also an elected member of the Governing Board for Central New Mexico Community College. He was a member of the Charter Leadership New Mexico class and is a recipient of the Governor’s NM Public Service Award. He was inducted into the UNM Anderson School of Management’s Hall of Fame in 2005.
Michael and his wife, Barbara, have three sons. He and his wife are originally from the Chicago area and have been residents of Albuquerque for 30 years.
Claire Ellen Dudley
Advisor, Child and Youth Policy to NM Lt. Governor Denish
A native New Mexican, Claire serves as the Child and Youth Policy Advisor to Lieutenant Governor Denish. One of Claire’s responsibilities in this position is to direct the New Mexico Children’s Cabinet. The New Mexico Children’s Cabinet brings together the cabinet secretaries of sixteen state departments with the aim of coordinating and organizing the provision of services to improve the lives of children, young people and families in New Mexico. On an annual basis, the Children’s Cabinet publishes the children’s report card and budget which provides a comprehensive overview of state and federal funding on programs that support children and young people.
Prior to serving in this position, Claire served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Office of Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish, Deputy Director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, Policy Manager for New Mexicans Concerned About Tobacco, and was a staff to many members of the New Mexico State Senate.
Claire has served on the board of Las Adelitas: Women in Politics and was a founding member of Las Estrellas: Young Women in Politics. In 2001, Claire was nominated for the YWCA of Central New Mexico Women on the Move Award. In the fall of 2008, Claire was selected to participate in the Leadership New Mexico Connect program.
Claire currently serves as the Board of Directors of the Central New Mexico Community College Foundation. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the United Way of Central New Mexico Young Leader Society and is a member of the Future Fund of the Albuquerque Community Foundation.
Claire received her Bachelors of Arts in American Studies from Franklin and Marshall College and received a Masters of Public Administration from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. At the LBJ School, Claire’s area of research was child and family policy.
Dr. Bill Flores
Interim Secretary for Higher Education
State of New Mexico
Dr. Bill Flores was appointed by Governor Bill Richardson for this position. Governor Richardson describes Flores as “one of the great educators, not just in New Mexico but around the country.” As Interim Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Flores oversees all public, private and proprietary institutions, and is responsible for financial aid, capital outlay, institutional budgets and all programs, including approval of new degrees.
In 2001, prior to joining NMHED, Flores served as Executive Vice President and Provost of NMSU for six years. In 2003 he was appointed by the Regents of NMSU as Interim President. While at NMSU, Flores increased student enrollment; expanded distance education offerings including online degree programs; and opened new offices in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. He previously served as Dean for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Cal State Northridge and as Associate Dean for the School of Social Sciences at Fresno State. Dr. Flores has taught at California State University at Fresno and Hayward; Santa Clara University, and at Stanford University where he also served as Associate Director of the Inter-University Program for Latino Research. He has an extensive service record in the community, and served as Executive Director of the Gardner Community Health Center in San Jose. He has published and conducted research projects in such areas as voting rights, at large elections, organizational behavior, community empowerment, health care policy, and violence prevention. He also co-edited the book Latino Cultural Citizenship.
Born in San Diego, California, Dr. Flores attended the University of California in Los Angeles where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1970. He received his Master of Arts in Political Science from Stanford University in 1971 and his Ph.D. in 1987 also from Stanford in Social Theory and Public Policy, with foci in Organizational Behavior and Health Care Policy.
Dr. Flores is active nationally in several higher education organizations, including the American Council for Education, the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. From 2005-2007 he chaired the Economics of Higher Education Committee and serves on the Executive Committee of the Council of Academic Affairs of NASULGC.
A graduate of Leadership New Mexico, Dr. Flores served as co‐chair of Governor‐elect Bill Richardson’s Transition Committee and was appointed by Richardson to serve on the Educational Roundtable of the Western Governor’s Border Conference. He served for two years as a board member of the NM National Hispanic Cultural Center. In addition to having received teaching and research awards, he has been recognized by the Hispano Chamber of Las Cruces, the Las cruces Forum, the Mayor and City Council of Los Angeles and the California State Legislature for his outstanding public service. He received the prestigious New Mexico Distinguished Public Service Award in 2005 and is recognized in Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in Hispanic America and the America’s Registry of Outstanding Professionals.
Dr. Lisa Grover
CEO, NM Coalition for Public Charter Schools
Lisa S. Grover, Ph.D., has been the Chief Executive Officer of the New Mexico Coalition for Public Charter Schools since 2005. Over the last four years, she grew the budget by more than 100% and increased membership from 24% to 97%. Dr. Grover has significantly advanced state charter school policies, like establishing an $80 million lease assistance program, a $5 million charter school capital outlay fund, gaining access to local tax dollars and creating dual authorizing powers. She is the founder and past president of Moreno Valley Charter School, recognized in 2008, as the 51st best high school in the country by Newsweek’s Challenge Index.
Dr. Grover is a member of the National Policy Committee for the National Alliance of Public Charter School, in Washington, DC, and serves on the advisory board for Innovate-Educate NM, an industry-based education organization dedicated to education reform. She has worked with the US Department of Education, Office of Innovation, on several charter school publications. In 2006, she worked with the National Association of Charter School Authorizers as a reviewer of start-up charter applications for the New Orleans Recovery School District, after Hurricane Katrina. She is a trained mediator, and began her career as a high school Spanish teacher and bilingual educator in the Pennsylvania and Los Angeles Public School Systems. She holds a doctorate degree in Romance Languages and a Masters Degree in Linguistics and Bilingual Education from the University of New Mexico. She has two children who are thriving at an Albuquerque charter school.
Dr. Eric J. López, New Mexico State University
Alliance for Advancement of Teaching and Learning
Dr. López received his Bachelor’s Degree in History from Texas A&M University. He went on to receive both his Ed.S. and Ph.D. in School Psychology from THE University of Iowa. He worked as a Bilingual School Psychologist for the Las Cruces Public Schools for several years, his last year serving as the Mental Heath Team Co-Lead. He has served on the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) National Certification Board and on the Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC) Council for Educational Diagnostic Services (CEDS) FIRST National Certification Board of Directors. He is a consultant for the MONARCH Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago, The National Technical Assistance Center for Culturally Responsive Doctoral Preparation Programs in Special Education at Minority Serving Institutions.
Currently, Dr. López is an Associate Professor and Interim Department Head in the Department of Special Education/Communication Disorders at New Mexico State University. He is faculty for the Educational Diagnostician, School Psychology and Bilingual/Multicultural Special Education Programs. Dr. López is also the FIRST Stan Fulton Endowed Chair for the Improvement of Border and Rural Schools directing the Alliance for the Advancement of teaching and Learning and serving as the Principal Investigator for Southern ENLACE (Engaging Latino Communities in Education). Dr. López has consulted at the local, state, national and international levels. His research interests are in the areas of multicultural assessment, consultation, and interventions.
Sharon Marie Oizumi
Executive Director
College Success Network of New Mexico
A graduate of Western New Mexico University, Bachelors of Science in the field of Sociology, minor in Political Science and 12 credits toward a Masters of Business Administration. While completing her bachelor’s degree, Sharon was appointed to serve in 2001-2002 as the student commissioner of the New Mexico Commission on Higher Education concurrently serving as the Student body President of WNMU. Sharon was later appointed to serve as the Student Board of Regent at Western New Mexico University completing a two year term, 2002-2004. After working in management and Sales, Sharon became the Executive Director of the College Success Network.
Andrew T. Rendón
Bureau Chief, NM PED Educational Technology Bureau
Mr. Rendon has 32 years in public education. He is currently the Bureau Chief for the Educational Technology Bureau within the New Mexico Public Education Department. In this position, he oversees educational technology work in 90 school districts and four state charter schools. He maintains close personal relationships and monitors networks in both rural and urban New Mexico schools and deals frequently with students, administrators, educators, technology coordinators, and divisions within the Public Education Department. With the emergence of new technologies, Mr. Rendon believes that together we can unite to serve the underserved and ensure a bright future by igniting the passions of students of all ages to fearlessly pursue the paths they desire to travel. He shares a vision to “support the human connections” for the purpose of allowing a great learner to become a contagious learner. The mission of education is essentially the passing of knowledge.
Mr. Rendon received both his BS and MS in Education from New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico. He has served as a principal, assistant principal, and classroom teacher in New Mexico. Mr. Rendon sincerely believes that equipping students with the necessary tools for an ever-changing world is key to 21st century learning.
Dr. Tom Ryan
CIO, Albuquerque Public Schools
Tom Ryan is currently working for Albuquerque Public Schools as the Chief Information Officer. He has worked for public education for over 29 years as a teacher for 14 years, a principal, and district administrator. He has a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Learning Technologies from NMSU. He is an IDEAL-NM Advisory Board, past chair of the NM Council of Technology in Education, NM Technology Council Board member, and ISTE member. He has served as adjunct faculty for UNM designing and teaching courses online. He works with several national committees such as iNACOL, and the Council of Great City Schools.
As a principal of Del Norte High School, Tom received a Milken Educator Award. He has received several awards for technology innovation and has presented as several conferences across the country. Tom was a four-year letterman at UNM in football and wrestling and an All WAC center. He is married with four children. His wife and daughter are both teachers, and two of his sons are still in college.
Dr. Steven Sanchez
Associate Superintendent, Las Cruces Public Schools
Dr. Steven Sánchez was a public school teacher for 23 years. He currently works for Las Cruces Public Schools as the Associate Superintendent for Learning, Teaching, and Research and as an analyst for the New Mexico Legislature’s Senate Education Committee. Dr. Sánchez has served on many boards including the Cable in the Classroom’s National Education Advisory Board, T.H.E. Journal, the George Lucas Educational Foundation, and the Educational Broadcasting Corporation’s Video in Teaching and Learning (VITAL) initiative. In January 2004, Dr. Sánchez retired from his position as the Acting Assistant Superintendent for Learning Services, the Director for Curriculum, Instruction, and Learning Technologies, and State Technology Director for the New Mexico Department of Education. Under Dr. Sánchez’s leadership, New Mexico received a Reading First award, implemented a five-year phase of full-day kindergarten in all public school districts, revised the state content standards in Language Arts, mathematics, and science, and advanced the use of technology to support teaching and learning. From 1995-1997, Dr. Sánchez served as an Associate Program Director in the Networking Infrastructure for the Education Division of the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Rick Scott
NM Higher Education, Policy and P20 Programs Director
Before taking the P20 position with NM Higher Education to lead P20 Statewide, Rick was previously the Bureau Chief of Math & Science Bureau in New Mexico Public Education Department. He retired in 2006 as Professor of Bilingual Mathematics Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at New Mexico State University where he taught elementary and secondary mathematics education courses, and directed a Math and Science Partnership program called Mathematically Connected Communities. A member of the U.S. Commission on Mathematical Instruction and NCTM’s Research Access Committee, Rick serves on the boards of the National Association of State Science and Math Coalitions, the Interamerican Math Education Committee, and the New Mexico Partnership for Math and Science Education.
Rick is married to Dr. Carmen Gonzales, Director of NMSU Curriculum and Instruction Learning Technologies Program. They share their time in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Las Cruces, New Mexico, advancing education across the State.
Dr. Kurt Steinhaus
Director of Community Programs
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Dr. Kurt Steinhaus, a native New Mexican, serves as Director of Community Programs at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Community Programs include education, economic development and community giving.
His professional career began in Alamogordo, New Mexico with eleven years as a classroom teacher. While in Alamogordo, he started the International Space Hall of Fame Science and Technology Camp. The next stage in his career led to the New Mexico Public Education Department as state Director of Educational Technology and then he was promoted to Assistant Superintendent for Accountability and Information Services. His work included statewide strategic planning for integrating technology into the classroom and passage of the Technology for Education Act. Most recently, Kurt has served as education policy advisor for Governor Bill Richardson and subsequently was asked to serve as Deputy Cabinet Secretary of Education.
Kurt has a Masters degree in music and a second Masters in computer science. His Doctorate is in Educational Leadership and Organizational Learning with a dissertation about the impact of the state Technology for Education Act.
T. J. Parks
Assistant Superintendent
Hobbs Municipal Schools
T. J. Parks is a native New Mexican, graduating from Tucumcari High School in 1976. He attended the New Mexico Military Institute and received his Associate of Arts. He then attended The Citadel and received a BS and MS from Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, NM.
T.J. was with Tatum Municipal Schools in Tatum, NM for many years, serving as High School Principal from 1997-1997 and as Superintendent from 1997-2007. He became Assistant Superintendent for Operation in Hobbs in 2007 and works closely with the technology in the District. TJ also coached football, basketball and track at Tatum Junior High and Varsity boy’s basketball in Tatum.
T, J. was recognized nationally by eSchools News and received the Tech Savvy Superintendent Award in 2006. He was also recognized by the New Mexico Activities Association in 2007 and names to the Hall of Fame.
Dr. Peter Winograd, Director
New Mexico Office of Education Accountability
Dr. Winograd has served as the Director of the New Mexico Office of Education Accountability (OEA) for the last five years. The OEA was created in 2003 as part of New Mexico’s landmark Public School Reforms Act, and its purpose is to work cooperatively with the Public Education Department, Higher Education Department, school districts and other agencies of the state in order to provide an independent source of information about the progress of education reform; and to provide leadership assistance and problem solving support to the Governor, Legislature, state and educational agencies, and citizens in their efforts to improve New Mexico’s educational system.
Dr. Winograd directs the Wallace Foundation Educational Leadership Grant and also directed the New Mexico Title II Teacher Quality Grant from 1999-2003. Since coming to New Mexico in 1996, Dr. Winograd has obtained and directed more that $17 million in grants aimed at improving the quality of teacher and principal recruitment, preparation, and support.
Dr. Winograd’s previous experience includes serving as Director of The Center for Teacher Education & Educational Policy in the College of Education at the University of New Mexico; Chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Kentucky; Director for the University of Kentucky Institute for Educational Research; and Co-Director for The University of Kentucky and University of Louisville Joint Center for the Study of Educational Policy. Over his career, Dr. Winograd has published more than 60 books, book chapters and refereed articles dealing with literacy, assessment, and education reform.
Dr. Winograd received his doctoral degree from the University of Illinois in 1981.