OUR STAFF


Name   Title   Phone   E-mail Address
Navarro, Susana   Executive Director   (915) 747-5778   navarro@utep.edu
Parra, Alicia   Deputy Director   (915) 747-5778   maparra@utep.edu
Aldaz, Dominga   Financial Manager   (915) 747-7610   domaldaz@utep.edu
Castillo, Leticia   Administrative Services Officer   (915) 747-5473   lcastill@utep.edu
De Bellis, Michele   Consultant    (915) 747-5778   mwells@utep.edu
De Leon, Dannette   Program Assistant   (915) 747-5778   dde5@miners.utep.edu
Gutierrez, Maria   T-STEM Program Manager   (915) 747-5759   mrgutierrez3@utep.edu
Hernandez, Susana   Program Assistant   (915) 747-6733   shernand@utep.edu
Fierro, Romeo   Student Assistant   (915) 747-5778   rafierro@minuers.utep.edu
Madrid, Cindy   T-STEM Coordinator   (915) 747-7680   cjmadrid5@utep.edu
Pena, Isela   Program Manager   (915) 747-8638   ipena3@utep.edu
Pinon, Natalie   Student Assistant   (915) 747-5778   npinon3@utep.edu
Torres, Alicia R.   T-STEM Coordinator   (915) 747-6949   atorres28@utep.edu

                                                        

M. SUSANA NAVARRO
Susana Navarro is the Executive Director of the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence, an organization which she founded and has headed since its inception in 1991.  The Collaborative is now in its eighteenth year of operation and has become a national model for communitywide partnerships aimed at improving education K-16.  She serves as Principal Investigator (PI) for the El Paso Mathematics and Science Partnership, an effort supported by a $34 million grant awarded to the Collaborative by the National Science Foundation in 2002, and as PI for the El Paso T-STEM (Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Center) Center supported by a Texas Education Agency award since 2006.

Prior to returning to her hometown of El Paso in 1991, she helped create the Achievement Council, a statewide non-profit organization in California aimed at improving student achievement among low-income and minority students, where she served as Associate then Executive Director.  She has also served as National Director of Research and Policy Analysis at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and as a key author of the first major study of Mexican American education, undertaken by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in Washington.  She received her Ph.D. in educational psychology at Stanford University.

ALICIA PARRA
Alicia Parra graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in 1966, with a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Masters in Education, Curriculum and Instruction in 1978.  She received her certification in Supervision from Sul Ross State University in 1983 and her Mid-management Certification in 1984.  In May, 2002, she completed her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Administration at UTEP.  Her dissertation focused on leadership in systemic reform, discussed the need for creating infrastructures for partnership and collaboration, and examined the roles that external reform organizations play in influencing school change and reform.  One recent article that Ms. Parra co-authored with Dr. John Daresh for the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) journal was titled Crossing Borders for School Leadership (October 1999).

Parra began her career in education as a first grade teacher in the El Paso Independent School District, then taught in California for five years.  She returned to El Paso to work in the Ysleta Independent School District as an instructional supervisor in the bilingual education program, and later, as the Executive Director of Professional Development.  As head of Professional Development at YISD, Parra focused attention on urban school reform and principal leadership development.

Parra is currently the Deputy Director of the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence where she has primary responsibility for overseeing all Collaborative school improvement programs and program evaluation efforts.  She has presented at many national conferences, including those sponsored by the Education Trust and the National Science Foundation.  She is also an associate of the Institute for Educational Inquiry, an affiliate of the National Network for Educational Renewal in Seattle, Washington, and is a member of the Southern Regional Education Board Leadership Academy.  Now that she has completed her doctorate, Parra will continue her work with the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence.  She also intends to undertake research projects that seek to understand and document the impact of school change and reform on student academic achievement, K-16.

Dominga Aldaz
Dominga Aldaz is currently the Financial Manager for the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence.  In this capacity, she administers all the financial functions of the organization, including accounting, management, preparation and analysis of the department’s budgets.  Additionally, Ms. Aldaz also sets up and oversees all fiscal and accounting operation of the Collaborative and ensures compliance with funding agencies and UTEP (fiscal agent) regulations and guidelines.  She hold a B.A. in Accounting from New Mexico State University.  Upon graduation, Ms. Aldaz worked as a federal auditor for the Department of Interior in Houston, TX.  Before returning to El Paso, she worked auditing oil & gas companies.

Leticia Castillo
Leticia Castillo is currently the Administrative Services Officer for the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence.  Ms. Castillo has been employed by the University of Texas at El Paso for over twenty-three years.  She was hired as a clerk-typist in the Graduate School at UT El Paso.  She was promoted to an administrative assistant with the Physics Department in 1991. In 1993, she was hired by the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence.  She is currently attending classes toward her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work.

Michele W. De Bellis
Michele's professional work for the last nine years has focused on educational reform prioritizing the understanding of both content and leadership development within all levels of a PK–16 system. At the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence, Michele was the Director of K–12 Math and Science Partnership and previously served as the Director for Leadership Development and Director for Literacy. During these nine years she provided leadership for school administrators and over 75 school-based coaches in standards-based teaching and learning. Also, her work as a past special education teacher and district level administrator adds to her knowledge and understanding of systems. Central to all of her work is a commitment to building collaborative infrastructures within systems that support self-directedness within any group. As a trainer and practitioner of Adaptive Schools and Cognitive CoachingSM, Michele has the skills, knowledge and understanding to support and assist in developing collaborative schools and systems committed to excellence for all learners.

Dannette De Leon
Dannette De Leon is a Program Assistant with the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence.  She is an El Paso native and recently graduated from UTEP with her B.A. in Psychology and Criminal Justice.  She is currently attending UTEP, working on her Master’s in Sociology.

Romeo Fierro
Romeo Fierro is a Student Assistant with the El Paso Collaborative, where he has worked since his freshman year at UTEP.  Currently, he is pursuing his B.A. in Communication-Print Media with a minor in Creative Writing. He will be graduating in December 2009.

María R. Gutiérrez
María R.Gutiérrez has been the El Paso T-STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Science and Leadership Development Program Manager for the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence since 2006.  She coordinates the staff development program for the High School Science teachers as well as the Instructional Coaching training and the Leadership Academy for principals and administrators. Prior to working with the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence, she taught for ten years in San Antonio, Texas, as well as the El Paso area.  She has also served in various administrative positions including Executive Director of Staff Development and Interim Associate Superintendent for Academics for the Ysleta Independent School District in El  Paso, Texas.  She received a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at El Paso in addition to a M. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction.

Susan Hernandez
Susana Hernandez is a Program Assistant with the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence. Before joining the Collaborative in 1997, Ms. Hernandez worked for over 15 years in the customer service. While at the Collaborative, she has provided administrative support to the Literacy in Action Initiative and the Math and Science Partnership. Currently, she works closely with the T-STEM Center, coordinating training sessions, and workshops. She also supervises student assistants, and serves as a resource to the director, deputy director and supervisor.

Cindy Madrid
Cindy Madrid serves as one of the managers for the El Paso T-STEM (Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Centers that is supported by a Texas Education Agency award.  She has been with the center since September 2008. She was an elementary school teacher for 16 years before serving as a Mentor Teacher and Staff Developer under the USI (Urban Systemic Initiative) Grant awarded to the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence by the National Science Foundation. Before retiring from Ysleta Independent School District she served for 8 years as a Principal of an elementary campus. Ms. Madrid received her B.S in 1979, M.ED in 1989 and Mid-management certification in 1998 from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Isela Peña
Isela Peña serves as the Program Manager for the Think College Now Initiative at the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence. Her work focuses on issues concerning college readiness within all levels of education, PK-16. She has coordinated numerous college readiness conferences and workshops, including the Texas Scholars program, for students, counselors, and parents. In this capacity, she has delivered numerous presentations on college readiness, focusing on topics such as preparation for and gaining access to post-secondary education. Her work also focuses on implementing and developing Go Centers within local school districts. She currently serves on the ESC Region 19 – Parental Involvement Network Committee. Ms. Peña holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Texas at El Paso and a law degree from Columbia University.

Natalie Pinon
Natalie Ann Piñon is a Student Assistant with the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence. She has worked with the Collaborative since October 2004, while pursuing a degree in Health Promotions with a minor in Community Health. Ms. Piñon will be graduating in December 2009, after which she plans on attending the University of Texas of El Paso’s fast-track nursing program.

Alicia R. Torres
Alicia Torres is the TSTEM Mathematics Coordinator/Manager heading the mathematics unit writing and professional development.  Prior to joining the El Paso TSTEM center, she served as the Director for the Math Science Partnership (MSP) for the El Paso Independent School District.  Her other district experiences include high school mathematics teacher, staff developer, and mathematics facilitator.    Other experiences include serving as Regional Conference Program Chair for NCTM 2000 (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics), Program Committee Member for the National NCTM 2001 and CAMT 2002 (Conference for the Advancement of Mathematics Teachers) conferences, and Southwest Region Representative for TCTM (Texas Council of Teachers of Mathematics).