Speakers

Rachel Thomas is from the Bilagáana Clan and born for the Tsi’naajinii Clan of the Navajo Nation and a National Board Certified Teacher. A former local business owner, Steven Lamb is a TIG/APS Education Foundation Innovation Award winner. It is through their love of teaching and their desire to help students and teachers leverage technology to improve communication, that brought the pair and their students together. Rachel and Steven used readily available technology to allow their students to share interests and work together on projects from different school locations and grade levels. The result of their efforts was the creation of cross-district collaboration and a learning environment that is rewarding and beneficial to students and teachers.

Steven is an award winning elementary educator who believes in making ludicrous brainstorming ideas into positive learning experiences. Along with Rachel Thomas, he passionately explores Virtual Team Teaching, a method in which two geographically separated teachers digitally collaborate to engage their students in continuous shared learning experiences and lessons. One driving reason to connect the students to peers across the city is to let them share and learn from each other. Getting students to consider what they know from their own sphere of influence, and asking each other questions about it, is the best way Rachel and Steven know how to guide teaching and learning.

André is a high school senior from Las Cruces, NM. He was recently named one of New Mexico’s two delegates to the United States Senate Youth Program. As the Chairman of the Las Cruces Public Schools Student Advisory Council, André’s commitment to developing and expanding sustainable partnerships between local public education officials and youth continues to guide his passion for youth advocacy and public service. André’s unique experiences allow him to discuss student empowerment within New Mexico’s public education system and explore challenges and opportunities of including student perspectives among the numerous community, regional, and national stakeholders.

Twitter: @gonzo8031
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gonzalesandre1

Dominic is an Apple Distinguished Educator, 2015 New Mexico Golden Apple Teacher of Distinction, Apple Foundations Trainer, videographer, public speaker and leader in educational technology. He works with educators and administrators across the world and state providing training on how to empower students through the creative use of technology. He founded and leads the award winning videography program at Washington Middle School in downtown Albuquerque whose films are used across the country to promote social justice and community health. “I am blessed to be a part of a vanguard of talented and passionate educators redefining global education.”

April is a technology integration teacher in Albuquerque. April has a passion to inspire teachers and students with powerful, engaging, and meaningful learning experiences with technology tools in enhancing curriculum. April developed a SWAT Team model (Students Working to Advance Technology) and has been encouraging and sharing ideas with others to promote the creation of SWAT Teams in all schools. April holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership, both from UNM. April is an Apple Distinguished Educator and strongly believes that it’s not about the technology itself, but what we do with it that matters.

Twitter: @AprilRequard
Facebook: www.facebook.com/aprilrequard

JoAnn has over 20 years of experience across the country as a classroom teacher, school psychologist, and building and district level administrator. She earned a B.A. in Elementary Education and Psychology, an M.Ed and an Ed.S in School Psychology, and a Certificate of Advanced Study in School Administration. After helping to start a charter school in NYC, JoAnn moved to Albuquerque to open her own school. JoAnn is a highly dedicated educator who deeply believes in people and is committed to creating educational equality. She leads her staff in providing life-changing opportunities to traditionally under-served student populations.

Dr. Wiburg is a Distinguished Professor of Learning Design and Technology at New Mexico State University. She teaches graduate students about learning, research and technology with a focus on math and English Language learning. She entered education as an outsider, never intending to be a teacher, but while volunteering discovered how to engage kids in math learning. She believes the way in which mathematics is currently taught, K-20, results in the alienation of many students from the subject. She will suggest a radical redesign in how to teach and organize the mathematics curriculum.

Amanda Champany has lived in the border towns of Northern New Mexico, the Bay Area, Denver, England and South Korea and has enjoyed experiencing the traditions of each location. She believes that that there is a place for traditional knowledge in gifted education. The current western, middle class ideal of intelligence, emphasizing linguistic abilities, limits the diversity within gifted programs. This limits society’s ability to access and enhance culturally specify intelligence, which bring about creative solutions to future problems. By building an ideal gifted classroom, we can begin to build ideal schools that honor the contributions of all students.

Twitter @alchampany
LinkedIn alchampany
Instagram alchampany

Natalie Robinson Bruner is the Director of the STEM Gateway program at the University of New Mexico. She is dedicated to ensuring students succeed in their STEM aspirations. In the past, she has managed several educational programs and taught various science courses. Her doctoral research at the University of New Mexico focuses on creating cultural equity in STEM education. Natalie is devoted to causes related to children, education and poverty alleviation.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NRBruner
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nrbruner

Kevin is a science teacher at Coronado Middle School. Kevin is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University, and Columbia University where he studied genetics, bioinformatics, and cellular biology. He believes children should begin every morning with an argument. Not just any argument, but a passionate debate about the exciting world of science. Using reality pedagogy, an approach to teaching that focuses on understanding student realities, Kevin finds stories that our students are passionate about as a starting point for instruction. “It is our responsibility to create scientifically literate students with a zeal for learning. Why not start everyday with #science?”

Twitter: @kpramirez
Instagram: @kpramirez

Amidooli grew up on a reservation known as Santo Domingo Pueblo, aka “Kewa.” He attended a four-year military school in Roswell, New Mexico then enlisted and served honorably in the United States Marine Corps. Amidooli graduated from Central New Mexico Community College with an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts. He currently attends the University of New Mexico studying Native American Studies and Philosophy. Amidooli speaks Keres, Spanish, English and studied Arabic. He expresses thoughts from the heart about conditions facing Indigenous people that he personally experienced.

Facebook: Amidooli Pacheco
Instagram: amipacheco
Twitter: @amidoolipacheco

Growing up in Los Alamos, working at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Justin completed his degree in biochemistry at the University of New Mexico, ultimately acquiring his secondary teaching license. After completing ten years in the classroom as a National Board Certified teacher, Mr. Baiardo stepped out of the classroom to test a new model of learning: the explorer model of education.
He currently operates a charter school founded upon this principle, Explore Academy, which, in its second year, serves two hundred students from Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, as well as the greater Albuquerque area.

Erica is a behavioral/mental health advocate and presenter for NM communities. Erica has provided presentations concerning mental health awareness reaching over 1800 students and over 300 parents in New Mexico. She is a certified QPR gatekeeper trainer through the New Mexico Suicide Prevention Coalition, and a certified core teacher for NM Breaking the Silence. Erica also served as assistant developer for an Anti-Stigma campaign through The New Mexico Department of Health. Her personal and professional passion for community wellness collide to provide any and all applicable prevention and awareness resources in hopes to deplete the staggering rates of suicide.

Facebook- Erica D. Crump
Twitter- @WelpEricaSaid
Instagram- ericadiann