Board of Directors

Board of Directors – Executive Committee

2021-2022

Amy Miller, MA, MFA, CALP

SWIDA BOARD PRESIDENT

Amy Miller is founder and Executive Director of May Center for Learning, a school, outreach and evaluation center for students with learning differences in Santa Fe, NM. Amy has taught English, reading, and writing for over 20 years at the elementary, middle school and high school levels. She is a Certified Academic Language Practitioner (CALP) and a certified trainer for the IMSLEC accredited SEE Multi-Sensory Language Teaching Program. She is a frequent professional development provider for the New Mexico Public Education Department, school districts, schools, and non-profit organizations, focusing on best practices for students with learning differences, the science of teaching structured reading and writing, and the importance of structuring the learning environment to improve executive functioning skills. Amy also founded Dyslexia Justice League, a community that connects students with dyslexia with adult mentors through superhero stories and artistic expression as a vehicle for learning about self-advocacy and their own personal strengths. Where I Come From, a book that Amy co-authored with May Center students, won the 2014 New Mexico/Arizona Young Adult Book of the Year.

Christine Quesada

SWIDA BOARD VICE-PRESIDENT

Zoe Ann Alvarez

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY

Zoe Ann Alvarez has been an educator for 26 years, teaching at the elementary and middle school levels serving both special education and general education students.   Zoe Ann is a former Adjunct Professor at New Mexico Highlands University, teaching graduate courses in reading.  She is currently a Reading Resource teacher for Albuquerque Public Schools, providing professional development in the areas of Dyslexia, Structured Literacy, ELA, and reading. Zoe Ann is a Wilson Language Trainer, and Certified Wilson Language Therapist. She has presented at a number of conferences, including SWIDA, NICHD, the Council for Learning Disabilities, and the Urban Collaborative.

Alyssa Martinez

RECORDING SECRETARY

Alyssa Martinez is the founder and CEO of A+ Educational Diagnostics. She is a Level 3 Educational Diagnostician as well as licensed K-8 teacher with specializations in Reading and Gifted Education. Alyssa carries a certification in Autism Spectrum Disorder through UC Davis and is a graduate of the UNM-CDD program Partners In Policymaking. As an educator and the mother of two daughters with dyslexia, Alyssa is a strong supporter of early identification and intervention for at-risk readers. In her down-time, Alyssa enjoys gardening, knitting, reading, and vacationing with family.

Cammie Archuleta

TREASURER

Cammie Archuleta graduated with a double major: a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy and a bachelor’s degree in Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management from New Mexico State University (NMSU).  While at NMSU, she was awarded the 2005 SWIDA college scholarship. For four years she worked for a public accounting firm in the auditing department. She currently lives in Las Cruces where she has been a grant Senior Accountant for NMSU since 2016.

Directors-at-Large

Nereida Antúnez Gamon

Anthony, is a District Literacy Specialist for K-6 in the Gadsden Independent School District.  She has been an educator for fourteen years supporting English learners as a lower grade classroom teacher and Instructional Coach.  She earned her Bachelor’s (2007) and Master’s (2011) degrees in education from New Mexico State University specializing in Bilingual Education.  She is National Board Certified (2013) in the content area of English as a New Language-Early/Middle Child. She has co-presented at multiple conferences including La Cosecha and NMABE. After going through the LETRS Professional Learning in her district, Nereida has become an advocate for building teacher knowledge of the Science of Reading to provide students with quality instruction. 

Ann Brooks

Ann Brooks has been an educator for over 20 years. She is originally from Arkansas and relocated to New Mexico in 2017. Her professional experiences include teaching kindergarten through sixth grade as well as Gifted Education. In 2014, she received a Masters in Educational Leadership from Arkansas Tech University and served as an administrator, assistant principal, and Director of Curriculum and Professional Development. 

Most recently, she earned her Special Education license and is now working in dyslexia therapy. Next to literacy and reading instruction, technology and its infinite uses within the classroom, has been a strong professional focus. The support technology offers all learners in knowledge acquisition, as well as the boundless accessibility opportunities it affords our students, make it an integral part of learning and professional development.

Erin Brown, CALT-ICALP, SLDS

Erin Brown is a Certified Academic language Therapist and IDA-Certified Structured literacy Dyslexia who works in private practice in Albuquerque, NM. Erin has trained in various researched-based programs and techniques related to Structured literacy and has served as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, and support interventionist in a variety of school settings. In addition to providing dyslexia therapy services, Erin also serves as an instructor for the Multisensory Language Training Institute of New Mexico, where she works with dyslexia therapists in training. A SWIDA board member since 2008 and past Vice President, Erin currently co-chairs the SWIDA Community Engagement Committee and is a frequent conference presenter. She is also a founding member and current president of the Academic Language Therapy Association, New Mexico Chapter.

Angelica Cuevas-Duran

Angelica Cuevas-Duran has been employed with Rio Rancho Public Schools for seventeen years. Prior to becoming a Director for Rio Rancho’s Special Services Department, she served as the Child Find Coordinator, Bilingual Educational Diagnostician, Bilingual Coordinator, and Classroom Teacher. Before coming to RRPS she was a bilingual teacher in Albuquerque, NM, and Houston, TX. 

Angelica holds a Bachelor’s degree in General Education with a focus on Bilingual Education from the University of Houston along with a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from New Mexico Highlands University. Her Educational Diagnostician Licensure coursework was completed at the University of  New Mexico. Angelica was awarded the First Year Teacher of the Year Golden Apple Award and most recently served on the team that developed the NM TEAM Identification of Dyslexia Supplemental Narrative and Worksheet for the New Mexico Public Education Department, Special Education Division. 

Nicole Florez

Nicole Florez, of Albuquerque, is the Director of the Peterson Learning Center at Manzano Day School. She has 20 years of experience in the elementary school setting, including many years teaching internationally in Spain and Argentina. Nicole holds a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education with a minor in Bilingual Education, both from University of New Mexico. She also holds a certificate in Educational Leadership from The College of New Jersey and is a Certified Orton-Gillingham Instructor from the Institute of Multi-Sensory Education. Nicole specializes in structured literacy, student advocacy, and curriculum development and implementation. She works directly with students facing reading and writing challenges, and supports teachers in developing their understanding of foundational literacy skills, instructional delivery methods, and data-informed lesson planning. Nicole is focused on providing students and families the tools and resources they need to have the most successful learning experience they possibly can.

Claudia Gutierrez

Immediate Past President

Claudia Gutierrez has served on the SWIDA Board for eight years in various positions. She currently serves as the Immediate Past President on the Board. Claudia retired from Albuquerque Public Schools in the Special Education Department as an Executive Director for Student Achievement.

Victoria Pando

Victoria Pando is an educational diagnostician in New Mexico who completed her dissertation at New Mexico State University in which she looked at leadership issues to support English learners with dyslexia. She has also been an adjunct professor in the psychology and ELA departments teaching classes (Intelligence and Achievement) as well as leadership coursework. She has experience and expertise in evaluation of dyslexia for English learners and is a CALT (Certified Academic Language Therapist). “Until everyone can read” is Victoria’s motto which she holds close to her heart. 

Dr. Tanya Ramos

Dr. Tanya Ramos is a bilingual (English/Spanish) licensed clinical psychologist specializing in evaluation and therapeutic intervention with children and families impacted by neurodevelopmental disorders and differences.  She has 15 years of experience practicing in a variety of hospital and outpatient clinic settings in New Mexico, including Southwest Neuropsychology & Behavioral Health, UNM Hospital Young Children’s Health Center, Indian Health Service, UNM Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, and the UNM Center for Development and Disability.  As the mother of two wonderful dyslexic daughters, she is eager to grow a support network for families of dyslexic children and to raise awareness and understanding of ways to support thriving social-emotional development among these learners.

Lisa Rhodes

Lisa Rhodes has been in special education for over 35 years. She earned a Master’s degree from the University of New Mexico in special education with an emphasis on Learning Disabilities. She spent the first ten years of her career with Albuquerque Public Schools as a Special Education Teacher, Referral Specialist, and Extended School Year Coordinator. After completing post-graduate coursework, Lisa became a NM Licensed Educational Diagnostician. Lisa recently retired from Albuquerque Academy after 25 years as the Learning Support Coordinator for Albuquerque Academy Peterson Learning Support Program. As the Program Coordinator, Lisa supported students diagnosed with learning disabilities in grades 6-12 to ensure they had full access to the academic program. Throughout her time at Albuquerque Academy, she maintained a part-time practice as a NM Licensed Educational Diagnostician and is currently working part-time as an Educational Diagnostician with Southwest Neuropsychological and Behavioral Health (SNBH). 

Dr. Sunaina Shenoy

Dr. Sunaina Shenoy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of New Mexico. She earned a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of California, Berkeley and completed her post-doctoral work at the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University. She teaches in the Educational Diagnosis Certificate Program at UNM, specializing in courses related to the assessment and identification of students with disabilities. Her research interests are in assessment; early identification of reading disabilities in bilingual and multilingual populations; reading acquisition and dyslexia; bilingual special education; second language acquisition; and international special education.

Mariann Skahan

Mariann Skahan is the mother of two amazing daughters who present their dyslexia in very different ways. Mariann discovered Structured Literacy, the wonderful work of Certified Academic Language Therapists (CALT), and the advocacy of SWIDA while researching therapies for her oldest daughter. As a linguistic anthropologist whose work focuses on critical language documentation; Native American orthographies; and studies of literacy; she would like to bring her research experiences to help open the dialogue about dyslexia. Mariann has two decades of experience serving on national educational policy boards spanning from National Society of Experiential Education (NSEE) to the American Association of Anthropology (AAA) Council of Anthropology and Education (CAE). She has held fellowships from the Spencer Foundation and the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Amy Stanton

Amy Stanton is the Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the May Center for Learning in Santa Fe. Amy is a Certified Academic Language Practitioner, CALP, and is a nationally certified multi-sensory language teacher for the IMSLEC accredited SEE Multi-Sensory Language Teaching Program. With a Master’s Degree in Recreational Therapy, Amy previously worked with children, teens and adults with mental health disorders. After eight years, she earned a teaching certificate and taught first grade. The opportunity to become a SEE Multi-Sensory Language teacher showed her that children with dyslexia needed a different instruction model to help them learn.

Tawnya Yates

Tawnya Yates has worked as a reading interventionist in the public schools, serving students with dyslexia in both general and special education settings. She supports teachers in observing students’ reading behaviors and analyzing assessments in order to determine appropriate instructional next steps. Tawnya currently supports special education teachers, helping them apply knowledge of reading acquisition as they individualize instruction for students with disabilities.  She also assists teachers in appreciating the value of rich complex text and how to make it accessible to students with word recognition difficulties.  Tawnya is also a LETRS facilitator.

Chamisa Roehrig
Office Manager

BOARD MEETINGS in 2022

Board meetings are held on Saturdays. SWIDA members are welcome to attend these board meetings as observers.  Call the SWIDA office (505-255-8234) if interested. Some of our hardest working Board Members were guests who came to volunteer their services.

• January 15
• April 9
• August 20
• September 17
• October 22
• December 10

Would you like to be considered for a Board position in the future?  If so, please CLICK HERE for a Nominee Information form. 

The ballot for electing a new slate of Officers and Board Members will be emailed to all SWIDA members on November 1.