WHO WE ARE
Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences is an independent expeditionary learning school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, serving 135 students in Preschool through 8th grade.
Mission
Our mission is to achieve academic excellence in an environment of respect, inclusion and diversity, utilizing expeditionary learning, global perspectives and a multicultural art and science enriched curriculum.
Vision
Each child’s talents are fully developed leading to a lifelong passion for learning and exploration in a caring environment, where each child has opportunities for self-expression and growth. The school exemplifies and encourages the values of compassion, leadership, world citizenship and service.
EXPEDITIONARY LEARNING
Expeditionary learning is an approach that combines rigorous academic content and real world projects, called "learning expeditions" with character development and community service. Teachers at EL Education schools receive intensive professional development in curriculum and teaching practices and are able to model ongoing learning to their students.
EL Education schools create a culture of respect and high expectations for staff and students alike. One of the hallmarks of the EL Education model is an emphasis on high quality student work that inspires craftsmanship and deeper learning. Building a culture of reflection, critique and revision leads students to create better work. This work is created in in-depth, interdisciplinary learning expeditions, which require students to engage in sophisticated research, use the community in authentic ways, and represent their knowledge with high quality products which are presented to authentic audiences. The energy and sustained creativity of the staff is what helps make an EL Education school successful.
FACULTY AND STAFF
Adelyn Smith
Adelyn, Middle School Math & Science Teacher, was born and raised in Santa Fe and is really happy to be back home close to mountains and family. She has a Bachelors of Science degree from Boston College in biochemistry and environmental studies and a teaching license from Santa Fe Community College. She taught math and science to at-risk youth in Santa Fe working towards their GED before teaching science and math in India for two years at a non-profit girls’ school in rural Jharkhand. She learned how to read and write Hindi and speak enough Hindi to get around. Adelyn also coaches youth soccer in Santa Fe and also plays with various teams. She likes to hike with her dog, garden using permaculture techniques, learn woodworking, travel, snowboard, and ride her bike. adelyn@santafeschool.org
Amy Anderson
Amy is the assistant teacher in the Preschool/Pre-K Unicorn classroom. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Minnesota State University Moorehead. She is also a licensed practicing massage therapist. Amy has spent the last two years as a substitute teacher in the Santa Fe Public Schools, and has worked with children throughout her life in many capacities – from teaching swimming lessons to accompanying inner-city kids from Seattle into the wilderness. She loves the creativity and beauty of the unfolding of a child’s mind during the learning process. Amy is happy when she is outside tending her garden or being in nature. She and her husband have one daughter. amy@santafeschool.org
Andrew Lescht
Andrew is our 3rd/4th grade teacher. Prior to Arts & Sciences, Andrew taught third and fourth grades in Colorado, including Tollgate Elementary School, an EL Education school. Recently, Andrew and his wife moved from Colorado where they lived for almost two decades. He has a B.A. in Anthropology from State University of New York Plattsburgh, and for many years he split his seasons between working as an archaeologist and a ski instructor. His passion for teaching led him back to school to obtain an MA in Elementary Education from the University of Northern Colorado. His classroom experience includes teaching in an international school in Ecuador and Tollgate Elementary in Aurora, Colorado. In his free time he enjoys reading, hiking, travel, music, and skiing. andrew@santafeschool.org
Arin Dineen
Arin is in her 7th year teaching at Arts & Sciences as Middle School Visual Arts teacher, and her 6th year as our Moving Images teacher. An alumna of the very first graduating class of Arts & Sciences (Class of 2005), she graduated from Wesleyan University with a BA in Studio Art in 2013. She is a painter whose work is represented by the Ellsworth Gallery in Santa Fe. Arin will also be teaching afterschool (and sharing her passion for Dungeons and Dragons) at Arts & Sciences, and helping aspiring art students with their portfolios. arin@santafeschool.org
Aurora Hvidsten
Aurora is in her 9th year at Arts & Sciences. She is the Co-Teacher for the preschool and pre-k students in the Unicorn classroom. She received her BA in Literature and Feminist Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz in 2008 and her MS in Early Childhood Education with an endorsement in Dual Language Learning at the Erikson Institute of Chicago in 2015. Aurora enjoys integrating her love for stories into the classroom and looks forward to another rich year of using the Reggio Emilia approach to collaborate with children and families as we explore learning together. Aurora is an active member of the Collaborative Teachers Institute, a Birth 2 Career collaborative working group at the Santa Fe Community Foundation. She is a Board member for the New Mexico Association for the Education Young Children. She also is a lead instructor for our after school Reading Is Magic tutoring program. aurora@santafeschool.org
Austin Stockwell
Austin has been an Afterschool Teacher at Arts & Sciences for grades 5-8 for the past three years. He is also an Assistant Teacher with the Unicorn class and leads the Rhythm Club for grades 2-6. After earning a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Puget Sound, he gravitated towards the field of youth development, gaining experience working as a supplemental education instructor with at risk elementary and middle school students in south Seattle. After spending a year working as a program developer for an after school organization in Auckland, New Zealand, Austin joined the Arts & Sciences community in 2016. Austin is an avid musician (drums/guitar) and artist (collage), with a passion for sports, the outdoors, and traveling. austin@santafeschool.org
Avery Armstrong
Avery is our 3rd-8th Elementary/Middle School Drama Teacher and has an extensive background in theatre education and a passion for using the arts as a creative and emotional outlet. She graduated from Southwestern University with a dual track major in English and Film. Through her work with children in the foster care system she discovered a love for education and the potential it has to radically alter the course of a child’s life. Since graduating she has become a tutor for Reading Quest and a teacher for the Reading is Magic Literacy Program. Avery is a published poet and enjoys making short films, writing, and doing cosplay in her free time.
Cassandra Perez
Cassandra Perez is our American Sign Language (ASL) teacher. She is currently in her second year of teaching. ASL has been always her first language, English to the second. Her background is diverse; currently, she is a river guide, a teacher aide and substitute in past, a former ski technician, and a former community garden manager. She has taught several times during ASL Immersion programs at the New Mexico School for the Deaf. She has the pleasure of raising her two boys (10 and 6 years old) where she was born and raised in Santa Fe. cassandra@santafeschool.org
Chintan Kess
Chintan has more than 25 years teaching experience and is the 1st and 2nd grade Lead Teacher in the Stargazer Room. Chintan is also the Summer Camp Director at Arts & Sciences. She began her teaching career as a preschool teacher and is committed to bringing early childhood best practice to her primary students, offering them a curriculum rich in inquiry, play and the arts. She has been teaching at Arts & Sciences since 2001 and holds an A.A. in Early Childhood Multicultural Education from Santa Fe Community College, a B.A. in Early Childhood Education from New Mexico Highlands University and a M.Ed. in Integrated Teaching through the Arts from Lesley University. She is licensed to teach in New Mexico with a Level Three-A Instructional Leader B-3 Early Childhood License. chintan@santafeschool.org
Cynthia DelBello
Cynthia joined Arts & Sciences in 2018 as our Volunteer Coordinator and Office Assistant. She brings over 20 years of Administrative work experience and 6 years of them in Management. She attended Marymount Manhattan College in New York City studying Communications and Media Arts. After a decade in Seattle, she moved to Santa Fe so their children could grow up closer to their Grandparents. She enjoys spending her free time exploring small towns, reliving her childhood playing with her kids and has a passion for cooking and gardening. She and her Husband, Amo are proud parents of Mia (Stargazer) and Rosie (Unicorn). cynthia@santafeschool.org
Debbie McFarland
Debbie is our Bookkeeper and has been happily working at Arts & Sciences since 2016. She did her undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and also has an AA in Accounting. She owns Eldorado Bookkeeping and serves many clients in the Santa Fe and Eldorado areas. Debbie teaches payroll and accounting workshops to small business owners throughout the year and is a Quickbooks Proadvisor. She is also a knowledgeable herbalist and owned an herb and natural medicines shop in Eldorado named Rowan’s Leaf Herbal. She has lived in New Mexico for over twenty years and is grateful to call such a magnificent place home. eldobooks1@gmail.com
Eddy Segura
This is Eddy’s 13th year teaching at Arts & Sciences as our K-8 Physical Education teacher and Facilities Director. For the past eight years, Eddy has also been the Lead Coordinator for the 8th grade service trip to Costa Rica. Eddy received his BA in Physical Education at the Universidad Nacional in Costa Rica. He has 14 years of experience teaching P.E. and coaching soccer in schools in Costa Rica and coaches soccer at Academy for Technology and the Classics in Santa Fe, where he previously taught P.E. He is the father of an Arts & Sciences alumna Emily (Class of 2015) and Allison (Class of 2018). eddy@santafeschool.org
Elisa Boyles
Elisa was born in Venezuela and grew up in many places, including Santa Fe. She has always enjoyed working with children and got her BA in Early Childhood Education with a teaching license for PreK-3 from Tufts University in 1998. In college, she studied art history and Italian in Florence, Italy and delved into learning about the schools in Reggio Emilia. She jumped right into teaching in the New York City Public Schools as an Art teacher and then as a 3rd grade Bilingual Classroom teacher. Later, she moved to The Peck School, in New Jersey, as Assistant to the Upper School Head, Spanish teacher, and tutor. She and her husband Patrick, a native Santa Fean, happily returned to Santa Fe to start their family. In Santa Fe, she taught the 3 and 4 year olds at Dragonfly School, before homeschooling her son. She has fun being in nature, gardening, cooking, supporting local organic farmers, and being creative with life. She is a proud mama to Luca and Valentina, both students at Arts & Sciences.
Elli Hindmarch
Elli is in her 10th year as the School Administrator. She has a B.B.A. in Management from New Mexico Highlands University and eighteen years of administrative and financial experience. She also enjoys teaching and performing in swing dance, blues and tango dance in Santa Fe with the Dance Station and other groups. Some families may remember Elli’s parents, Willy & Phil, who helped start Arts & Sciences and taught at the school, and her sister Lucia, who was in our first graduating class. Her son Sebastien is a 5th grader at Arts & Sciences. elli@santafeschool.org
Gina Kinstle
In her 6th year at Arts & Sciences, Gina is our Program Assistant. In addition to coordinating many details of student and school activities, Gina is the graphic designer for our school’s yearbook and many of our expedition products. After living in New York City (Brooklyn) for 8 years, working in the fashion industry as a handbag designer, the great big blue and cloudy skies finally called her back to Santa Fe. As a creative person with experience in the hospitality industry, Gina happily brings attention to detail and thoughtfulness to the complex task of keeping the wheels in the office running smoothly. Gina’s daughter is a 5th grade Badger. gina@santafeschool.org
Joseph Smith
Joseph is in his 4th year at Arts & Sciences. He teaches Middle School English/Language Arts, as well as Creative Writing. Joseph also teaches our Wednesday after school Homework Club for 5th-8th graders. Born and raised in Santa Fe, he earned his BA in English from UNM in 2004. He previously taught as a Special Education Teacher, with a focus on Gifted Education, and most recently was the Education Coordinator at Santa Fe YouthWorks. Joseph has also tutored students in the Santa Fe area for many years. He is the proud father of 4th grade Centaur, Cruz, and 3rd grade Centaur, Lea. joseph@santafeschool.org
Lani Ersfeld
In her 7th year at Arts & Sciences, Lani is our Preschool-8th Grade Spanish Teacher and 1st-4th grade Afterschool Teacher. Lani is from Placitas, NM and attended the Albuquerque Academy for middle and high school. She then attended Lewis & Clark College in Oregon, majoring in Hispanic Studies and English. During her studies, Lani lived in the Dominican Republic and in Chile, where she solidified her love of the Spanish language and various cultures, and her desire to teach it to others. She earned her Master of Arts in Teaching at Lewis & Clark Graduate School with an emphasis in ESOL. She holds licenses in both New Mexico and Oregon for Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education. Lani is instrumental in organizing and planning our 8th grade International Trip to Costa Rica in the Spring. lani@santafeschool.org
Leilani Maloney
Liza Stanton Hitt
This is Liza’s 10th year teaching at Arts & Sciences and her 7th year as lead teacher in the “Grasshopper” Kindergarten class. Liza is a graduate from the College of Santa Fe, with a BA in Elementary Education with a TESOL endorsement. Liza is committed to creating a developmentally appropriate early childhood classroom, which instills a love of learning within our little ones. This is accomplished through an environment that nurtures wonder, discovery, exploration and learning through play. Liza’s has two daughters attending Arts & Sciences in the Middle School and Centaur class. Liza is looking forward to another year in the Grasshopper class! liza@santafeschool.org
Matt Burke Newsum
This is Matt’s 16th year teaching our 5th-6th grade Badger class. Matt has a BS in Environmental Biology and Resource Management from UC Davis and has teaching certifications in all subjects from San Francisco State University with endorsements in Math and Science. Prior to teaching in Santa Fe, Matt worked for several years in the business world before deciding to become an educator. He then student taught for two years in Mountain View, CA, coached middle school basketball and helped run the Farm and Wilderness camp programs at Hidden Villa. Matt loves spending his free time in the mountains and in the ocean with his family. Matt’s daughter is a 5th grade Badger. matt@santafeschool.org
Nate Moore
This is Nate’s 12th year at Arts & Sciences. Nate is a core teacher in the Middle School and teaches science, algebra, and STEM electives. In addition to his teaching duties, Nate is the Middle School Coordinator, spearheading organization of many Middle School activities, such as 100 Elk. A fluent Spanish speaker, Nate has also been a lead teacher during the 8th grade service trip to Costa Rica. Nate received a BA from Oberlin College in Environmental Studies, Hispanic Studies, and Latin American Studies and a Master’s degree in Science Teaching at New Mexico Tech. He also has his New Mexico Teaching License with a Secondary Science certification. In 2009 he was a fellow in the New Science Teacher Academy. He has taught Spanish in Oberlin’s SITES program, worked at the Big Sky Summer Camp, and volunteered at Escola Bosque in Brazil. nate@santafeschool.org
Perli Cunanan
Perli Cunanan is starting her 9th school year as the Arts & Sciences Executive Director. Perli has worked as a volunteer and a development professional in the nonprofit sector for more than 25 years, including positions as Development Officer of Con Alma Health Foundation, Vice President of Development at United Way of Santa Fe County and Development Director at Youth Shelters. Before joining the Arts & Sciences staff, she served on the school’s Board of Directors. She co-chairs The Reading Group, an Opportunity Santa Fe Working Group at the Santa Fe Community Foundation, focused on supporting striving readers in Santa Fe. Perli is proud mom to 8th grader Isa and alum, Tom (Class of 2018). perli@santafeschool.org
Ronny Beeman
This will be Ronny’s fourth year at Arts & Sciences. She is our K-6th grade Art teacher and the 3rd/4th grade Assistant teacher. Previously she served in a variety of roles at Tacoma Waldorf School in Washington, including program director of after care, 5th grade lead teacher, and art teacher in the early elementary grades. Ronny received her Waldorf teaching certificate at Sound Circle Center in Seattle. Before moving up to the North West, she was a fine art teacher at Mission Renaissance in Southern California. Ronny enjoys spending time with family, painting impish fairies or old broken down Fords. She is currently enrolled at the Santa Fe Community College to complete her teaching degree. ronny@santafeschool.org
Stephanie Carter
Stephanie is joining the Arts & Sciences community in the 2019-2020 school year, after working as an art therapist in New York City for the last three years. She helped create the art therapy department at a therapeutic day school where she also led individual and group therapy sessions. Stephanie received her BA in Art History, Psychology and Art Studio at Tulane University. During the summers while in college she worked at a backpacking camp in Colorado. She went on to become a program coordinator for the middle school girls camp for several summers, developing an inclusive, empowering and colorful program. She also attended the School of Visual Arts in NYC where she graduated in 2016 with her Masters in Art Therapy. Her clinical experience includes trauma work, addiction treatment, LGBTQIA groups, foster care, anxiety, depression and victims of abuse. Stephanie is also a registered yoga teacher and loves integrating yoga into to her clinical practice. stephaniec@santafeschool.org
Stephanie Smith
Stephanie joined Arts & Sciences in 2017 and is the Aftercare Teacher for our youngest age group, Coordinator for the school’s aftercare program and Assistant Teacher in the Unicorn classroom, as well as directing our summer camp program. Stephanie has worked with young children for over 25 years, both in California and in northern New Mexico where she has been living for 20 years. She studied early childhood education at Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA, though she has learned largely through her experience in education. Co-founder and director of Dragonfly School in Santa Fe for ten years prior to joining Arts & Sciences, Stephanie holds the National Administrators’ Credential for directors of preschool programs. Her expertise includes facilitating compassionate communication, dynamic curriculum planning, implementing dramatic storytelling in the classroom and teaching early literacy skills. stephanie@santafeschool.org
Suzanne Maheshi Shakespeare Jones
Suzanne Maheshi has been teaching young children for over 20 years, and this is her 18th year at Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences. She is the Lead Co-Teacher for the Preschool/Pre-K Unicorn class and the Director of the NAEYC Accredited Preschool-Pre-K Program. Suzanne has a fine arts background and worked as an arts resource teacher for young children in Santa Fe before becoming a classroom teacher. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Pasadena Art Center College of Design in CA, and has a Level Two Professional Teaching License in Early Childhood from the State of NM. Suzanne and is an active member of the Santa Fe Opera’s Early Childhood Initiative and a member of the Collaborative Teachers Institute. She was a recipient of a Fund for Teachers grant in 2011, which enabled her to attend an International summer study in Reggio Emilia, Italy, and this summer returned to Reggio Emilia to attend a Five State Study Tour. suzannem@santafeschool.org
Tatjana Sabo
Tatjana is our Middle School History Teacher. Born and raised in Southeast Europe, she moved to the United States and graduated from Lindenwood University (St. Louis, Missouri), with a Master’s degree in Education. Teaching was not her original career intention. Her undergraduate degree was in corporate law. To pursue her true passion – teaching, she turned from law to education, obtaining a Social Studies/Humanities Teaching Certificate. She began her teaching career as a History teacher in St. Louis, moving on to become an IB History teacher in international schools in Germany, China and finally Singapore. Tatjana’s passions outside of the classroom include photography, reading, gardening, cooking, and interior decorating. She is a true believer in lifelong learning, and she is always looking to challenge herself. She feels very fortunate to have the opportunity to live and work in Santa Fe and share this great adventure with her husband and son. When not at school, you will find her exploring the many historical sites in New Mexico and studying creative ways to teach the rich history of our Land of Enchantment.
Todd Stiewing
In his 14th year at Arts & Sciences, Todd serves as our Principal and Leadership Teacher. For eleven years, Todd taught our 3rd and 4th grade Centaur class and has served in a variety of leadership positions, including Assistant Principal, Elementary Curriculum Coordinator, Staff Liaison to the Board; lead member of the Campus as Curriculum Committee; and Summer Director of Facilities. Todd received a B.S. in Elementary Education and a Master’s in Education from the University of Connecticut. He has 20 years of teaching experience both in the classroom and working with children and adults in outdoor experiential settings. Before moving to New Mexico in 2004, Todd taught 4th grade and Pre-K through 5th elementary science in Maryland. Todd has many years experience leading wilderness and experiential education courses at the Santa Fe Mountain Center and the Deer Lake Wilderness School, and has shared his outdoor experience in his leadership classes and by running several hiking and backpacking camps in the summer. Todd’s daughter is a 5th grade student and his son is in Kindergarten, both at Arts & Sciences. todd@santafeschool.org
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The dedicated volunteer members of our Board of Directors oversee our school’s policies and are the guardians of our mission and vision. The Board meets regularly, and is happy to provide access to Board Meeting Minutes.
Allan Oliver
Allan Oliver is the Executive Director of the Thornburg Foundation. He oversees the Foundation’s Strategic Initiatives in early childhood education, good government reforms and food and agriculture, as well as Community Funding grants for human services and civil rights, opportunities for children and youth, environmental protection and public policy. Previously Allan has served as Cabinet Secretary-Designate and Deputy Secretary for the New Mexico Economic Development Department, and Director of Cabinet Affairs, Deputy Communications Director. He also established the Partnership for Responsible Business and the New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce, a business association with over 1100 members supporting renewable energy technology and responsible business practices. He earned a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and was named a William Hodson Fellow for International Public Service. He also served as an NGO specialist and initiated the municipal development program for the US Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala. His son is in 3rd grade at Arts & Sciences.
Elege Simons Harwood
Elege Simons Harwood is a 4th generation New Mexican, and was born and raised in Santa Fe. She is very grateful to be able to raise her family in Santa Fe and has been fortunate to be able to be home while raising her three boys (students at Arts & Sciences) Steck (11) , Meyer (9), Archer (6) with her husband Kyle Harwood. Elege received her A.A. in Philosophy from New York University and B.A. in Psychology from the College of Santa Fe. She received her J.D. at the University of New Mexico School of Law. Elege is a lawyer by training, focused on domestic relations with a practice including divorce, domestic violence, custody and child support issues. When not enjoying the outdoors or snuggling with her boys, she enjoys running up mountains with her dad and siblings, cooking, reading, puzzling and sleeping.
Leigh Fernandez
Leigh Fernandez was born and raised in Santa Fe. She has been married to her high school sweetheart, Joey Fernandez for 26 years. Leigh has an M.A. in Human Development and Family Relations. She is the Early Childhood Training and Development Consultant at UNM. She also serves as Adjunct Faculty in Early Childhood Education at Santa Fe Community College. Leigh’s deep understanding of the myriad of complex issues of early childhood in Santa Fe makes her an invaluable voice on the board. Leigh and Joey have two daughters. The older daughter, Isabel, 20, started at Arts & Sciences in 2006 (2nd grade) and graduated in 2013. Younger daughter Jenna, 11, started at the school in 2012 as a unicorn and is currently going into 6th grade. Fall of 2019 will mark the start of the families 13th year at the school…the longest track record so far! In their free time, the family travels North to Taos to visit with family and friends. Leigh particularly enjoys watching other people fish.
Lucy Foma
Born in Santa Fe to a family of West African dance and drum artists, Lucy Gent Foma is a mother, dancer, city planner, and writer who has lived in Senegal, Cameroon, and Brazil. She has received merit-based funding to conduct research and implement projects in American and African cities alike. After graduating from Smith College, she was a Fulbright Fellow and a Rotary Scholar in Senegal before attending Cornell University with a Foreign Language and Areas Studies Fellowship for her master’s degree. Her book about finding funding to pursue life’s passions, Funded, came out in 2016. She currently works as a community planner for Santa Fe County, facilitating and writing long-range plans with traditional communities like Galisteo and Tesuque. In her free time, Lucy enjoys studying West African and Haitian dance with her mother and occasionally substitute teaching. After traveling around the world, Lucy and her husband bought a house around the corner from her childhood home so their children could grow up with their grandparents and cousins. Lucy’s elder daughter attends Arts & Sciences.
Michael Coop
Michael Coop founded Coop Consulting, Inc. in 2002, as a small research, planning, facilitation and evaluation firm. The firm now has a staff of eight. Michael has led the firm in major initiatives in substance abuse and mental health prevention, intervention, crisis response and treatment, recovery and harm reduction; and in early childhood services system development and evaluation. Michael leads the state’s implementation of the PAX Good Behavior Game in about two dozen school districts and tribal communities across the state. Michael has also worked extensively in children’s behavioral health services, and aging and long-term services program and system evaluation. Michael received his BA in Fine Arts from the University of the South, and his Masters in Education from Columbia’s Teachers College. He spent nine years as a financial aid officer at Columbia University, Barnard College, and Manhattan School of Music, followed by six years as Manhattan School of Music’s Director of Development, moving to New Mexico in 1993. As a volunteer in Santa Fe, Michael led the College of Santa Fe Fine Arts Department Advisory Committee in fundraising initiatives for most of a decade; was a member and board chair of Fine Arts for Children and Teens for eight years, and for the Railyard Stewards/Railyard Park Conservancy for another eight years. Michael has been on the board of Santa Fe School for the Arts and Sciences for a decade, and has been board chair for about half of that time. Michael is a painter, and a jazz and mid-century design fanatic. Michael and his partner, Emily Kaltenbach have a daughter Geneva who is a Grasshopper at Arts & Sciences.
Patrick Lambert
Patrick Lambert was born in Augusta, Maine. He received a Geological Sciences degree from the University of Maine, and cooked his way through college. He has been cooking professionally ever since, He lives in Santa Fe with Heather Hasita Harrington and his twin sons Shanti & Raine. He is the owner and executive chef of the Cowgirl BBQ. He enjoys kayaking, backpacking, traveling and Buddhist meditation.
Ricky Bejarano
Ricky Bejarano, CPA, CGMA, is the Vice President of Finance & Administration at Northern New Mexico College–a position he has held since June 2017. He has over 40 years of experience in the areas of financial accounting, governmental and non-for-profit accounting, tax accounting, financial auditing and state tax auditing. The previous positions he has held include State Controller, DFA Deputy Cabinet Secretary, Deputy State Treasurer, and Assistant CEO of the largest electrical cooperative in New Mexico. From 2003 until 2012, he taught at least one accounting or finance course per semester at Santa Fe Community College as an adjunct instructor. Over the last ten years, he has specialized in establishing or re-establishing financial internal control structures within troubled entities in order to set them on sound financial footing. In November 2018, he was recognized state-wide by the New Mexico Society of CPAs when he received the Outstanding Member in Government Award. Ricky was born and raised in Lordsburg, New Mexico. For the last 20 years, he has resided in Santa Fe with his life partner of 24 years, Dr. Jake Adams. They have a 14 year-old son, Rico. Rico graduated from Arts & Sciences in May 2019. Rico’s experience at Arts & Sciences was his most positive and inspiring educational experience to date. It is Rico’s past experience at Arts & Sciences that fuels his Papa Ricky’s ardent desire to maintain a continued relationship with Arts & Sciences through participation in its board of directors even though Rico has now moved on to Santa Fe High.
Karen Ramage
Karen Ramage moved to Santa Fe from Los Angeles after a successful career in the field of Workforce Development. She began her work in the non-profit sector where she developed an interest in public benefit programming and grant management and was soon involved in models of performance based social service delivery that would transform the industry. For decades she expanded the businesses she led with a social conscience; improving people, programs and services for the disenfranchised and disadvantaged. For almost 20 years she served in executive roles for 3 corporations; first as Chief Operating Officer and also President of The Training Institute, Inc., Vice President of PDQ, Inc., and Regional Vice President of ResCare Workforce Services. In 2007, Karen and her husband John traveled to Santa Fe on vacation and soon found themselves ready to make a lifestyle change! Within a few years they had found a home, retired their Los Angeles based careers, and moved to New Mexico. Once in Santa Fe, Karen worked for the State of New Mexico’s Department of Finance, Local Government Division managing various federal and state programs. John worked as a teacher at the Santa Fe Community College and Monte del Sol Charter School. Karen is a lifelong member of the National Association for Workforce Development where she held numerous board seats. She is an enthusiastic Santa Fe Master Gardener and is currently a Project Lead at the El Zaguan Historic Garden on Canyon Road. Karen and John were delighted when their Son Graydon, Daughter In-Law Ronny, and Grandson Odin moved in 2016 to join the Santa Fe community. Odin is currently an aspiring drummer and a 3rd Grader with the Centaur Class of the Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences.