Jennifer Bennecke is the Receptionist. She works in the Front Office, where there is never a dull moment! Jennifer and her family live in the East Mountains and she is the parent of two EMHS graduates, David and Jamie. Besides her BA in English from Montana State University, Jennifer holds a certificate in word processing from Central New Mexico Community College. If you need a pet sitter, call Jennifer! She loves animals, especially horses.
Laura Berlin-Martinez spent nine years teaching English, drama, communication skills and dance at Eldorado High School before coming to EMHS as a member of the Humanities Department. She holds a BA in Theater and Dance and Education. In 2009, she earned the National Board Certification in English Education. In her spare time, Laura enjoys spending time with her family, camping, hiking and doing yoga.
Alan Chancellor lives in the East Mountains with his wife and three wonderful kids. A member of the Math Department, Alan spent almost two decades teaching math at Moriarty High School before joining the faculty of EMHS. He says the low student teacher ratio is something he appreciates, along with the longer class periods. When he isn’t teaching, you can find Alan hunting, fishing, and spending time with his wife and three children. Alan holds a BS in Mathematics from Eastern New Mexico University.
Shawn Childers is the EMHS Librarian. She holds a BA in Liberal Arts Education from the University of Central Oklahoma. Endorsed in English, Social Studies, and Library Media, Shawn taught Humanities and Senior English at EMHS before taking on the role of the librarian. In that role, Shawn enjoys helping students research an array of diverse topics, especially during Inquiry and Discovery Projects. Shawn loves both living and working in the East Mountains. Her interests include books, cooking, eating, and gardening. Her twin sons keep her busy the rest of the time!
Lisa Davis is a Sophomore Humanities and Senior English Seminar Instructor. She holds a BA in Political Science with a minor in Peace Studies from the University of New Mexico. She is currently working on her MA in Secondary Education, also at the University of New Mexico. Lisa lives in Albuquerque with her husband and two Great Danes. She appreciates the small charter school setting of EMHS, and all of the dedication seen by the students, staff, and community.
Therese Dorwart is the Physical Education instructor. She is also the cross country assistant coach and the track and field co-coach. She holds a BUS with post-degree certifications in math and PE and a MA in Educational Leadership, both from the University of New Mexico. Therese enjoys outdoor activities like white water kayaking, hiking, biking, camping, running, swimming, and skiing. Spending time with her adult children and playing the guitar are also favorite pastimes. This is Therese’s fifth year at EMHS. Previously, Therese worked at Cibola High School and Eldorado High School for twelve years as a teacher and administrator. She designed and implemented award winning curriculum in Intel’s Applying Computers in Education Institute titled “Architecture from a Geometric Angle.” Therese has also worked as an adaptive aquatics instructor with the Arizona Office of Senior Affairs, YMCA and Special Olympics and coached a USS swim team.
Sandra Fry is a Fine Arts and Humanities Instructor at EMHS and has been with the school since its inception. She is a long time East Mountain resident and is the parent of a student from EMHS’ first graduating class. She holds a BFA in Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts and is also endorsed in language arts, history and AP studio arts. Prior to joining the staff at EMHS she taught in the Boston area, owned three art galleries and exhibited her artwork in art shows classified as in the top ten in the country. Her work is included in many public and private collections.
Kay Girdner is the Business Manager. Kay is the parent of an EMHS graduate and lives with her family in the East Mountains. She is currently completing her associate’s degree in Accounting at Central New Mexico Community College. Kay loves to garden, read, and sew in her spare time. Prior to EMHS, Kay worked at numerous other businesses as well as at non profit organizations. She also home schooled each of her children through eighth grade.
Nancy Holmquist is the Office Manager. Nancy holds a BA in Business Administration and has extensive experience in the private sector as well as working for the Bernalillo County Tax office. She is married, has three grown children, two grandchildren and four dogs. In her free time she enjoys doing needlework and is an avid reader. Nancy is responsible for Human Resources, including maintaining employee files and answering questions about insurance and retirement, maintaining the school and gym calendars, and assisting with deposits, purchasing and payroll.
Michael Jamison is a Humanities Instructor. Michael lives in an historic neighborhood in downtown Albuquerque. He holds a BA in History and Political Science from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania and a MAT in History from Rutgers University in New Jersey. His interests include listening to music, going to festivals/concerts; travel - like not too remote camping and discovering new places; cooking nutritious locally produced meals; environmental awareness - sustainability issues; bicycling- mountain and road; and reading- mostly non fiction.
Michael Kindel is the Registrar and Testing Coordinator. He hails from Michigan and has been a registrar at the college level for the past dozen years – first at a community college in northern Michigan and then in Santa Monica, California. Michael holds a BA in Political Science and Communications from Central Michigan University. Michael enjoys non-fiction reading, golfing, and is a HUGE fan of college football.
Ron Koning is part of our janitorial staff. Ron and his family live in the East Mountains. He is a father of two and grandfather of two. Prior to working at EMHS, Ron was a general contractor for 35 years.
Elizabeth Kuehne is a Senior English Instructor. She holds a BA in Secondary English Education and a MA in English Literature, both from New Mexico State University. She is endorsed in both English and social studies and teaches post-secondary writing and research classes in a pilot program through EMHS and Central New Mexico Community College. She has taught high school and college courses for over a decade, eight of which have been at EMHS.
David Lang is a Math and German Instructor and soccer coach. David holds a BS in Business Administration/Information Systems with a minor in German from the University of Colorado and a MS in Secondary Education from Western New Mexico University. His interests include hiking with his German Shepherds, backpacking, reading, playing soccer, listening to music, and attempting to prove Fermat's Last Theorem. David currently lives in Albuquerque but his heart is in the mountains. He enjoys working at EMHS and says he loves being out of the “mainstream” of public education and working in a community run school. Prior to EMHS, David taught in the Gallup Public School System. He also worked as a technical support representative and as an independent web designer.
Vince Langan is a Humanities and Economics and Government Instructor. Vince holds a BA in History from New Mexico Highlands University and a MA in Education from the University of New Mexico. His interests include travel, most recently to Africa, Asia, and Europe. He makes it a point to go to Mexico or Central America every year. He enjoys physical activities such as skiing (both cross country and downhill), mountain biking and tennis. Vince is a sponsor for Model UN as well as Youth and Government. Prior to EMHS, he worked in sales and management for an automobile dealership as well as in advertising for the Yellow Pages.
Keith Lionberger is a member of the EMHS janitorial staff. He and his family live in the East Mountains. Keith is the proud parent, step parent, and adoptive parent of seven children. His interests include fishing, bowling, camping, and woodworking. Prior to EMHS, Keith worked in the construction industry for 25 years.
Jim Malone is a Math Instructor and holds teaching endorsements in Language Arts, Gifted Education and Math. He has a BA in Psychology with a minor in English from University of Alabama, plus an MA in special education with a focus in gifted child education from University of South Alabama. In addition to his twelve years of teaching experience in New Mexico, Jim also worked in farming and horticulture for twenty-one years. He was the co-owner of the Blue Moon Farm in Moriarty and the Farm Manager of the Rio Grande Community Farm in Albuquerque. Jim is married to Sarah and has one son, Kevin, currently working as a policy analyst in Washington DC. At East Mountain, Jim serves as the school’s Title I Coordinator.
Maeghan McCormick is a Spanish and Humanities Instructor. She holds endorsements in English, Reading, Spanish, English as a Second Language and Social Studies. Maeghan has a BA in Spanish and a MA in Secondary Education from the University of New Mexico. She loves the smaller class sizes at EMHS because they foster a more individualized learning environment.
Amanda Forkasdi Millea is the Assistant Principal. She also teaches College Success, a dual credit in the high school course through Central New Mexico Community College. Prior to becoming the Assistant Principal, Amanda was the Dean of Students and a Math Instructor at EMHS. She came to EMHS from Roosevelt Middle School. Amanda holds a BS in Elementary Education with a minor in Math and a MA in Secondary Education, both from the University of New Mexico. Her interests include traveling, quilting, cross-stitching and spending time with her husband and her sons Miller and Sullivan.
Xochytl Nakai is a Humanities Instructor. Xochytl holds a BA in Business Management and a MA in Secondary Education, both from the University of Phoenix. Before coming to EMHS, she taught middle school in Albuquerque and in Guam, Dubai and Japan. Her interests include technology, especially web design and PowerPoint, anthropology, reading, and cultural exchange. Xochytl discovered her passion for teaching when she worked in a peer tutoring program in high school. She believes her love for children was instilled by her father because he is a pediatrician.
David Naylor is a Fine Arts Instructor, Coach, and the Athletic Director. David holds a BS in Secondary Education and Science from the University of Nevada. His interests include art, painting and drawing, woodworking, lapidary work, reading, sports, physical activities and his lovely wife and their three children. His artwork has been shown nationally, as he was included in New American Paintings in 2001 and was recently selected to participate in a lithography workshop at the prestigious Tamarind Institute in the fall of 2010. David’s work was shown in two separate shows in Nevada during the summer of 2011 that featured work by contemporary artists from the Great Basin area. David coaches cross country and baseball, for which he has guided EMHS teams to state competition berths 15 times and has been selected as the statewide AA baseball Coach of the Year in 2007 and the Coach of the Year by the Mountain View Telegraph for the 2010-2011 school year. In the fall of 2011, the 2011 Girls Varsity Cross Country Team captured the first state trophy of any type for charter schools in New Mexico history. Prior to EMHS, David taught and coached at a junior/senior high school in Nevada. He also worked as a bar and restaurant manager and a sommelier for a multi-million dollar Italian restaurant in a casino. David and his family live in the East Mountains.
Nicole Naylor is a Spanish Instructor and the Languages Department Chair. She holds a BA in Secondary Education/Spanish from the University of Nevada, Reno. Her interests include golf, scrap booking, gardening, crossword and other word puzzles, spending time with friends and family, watching movies and snuggling with her sons and daughter. He and her husband (also a teacher at EMHS) live in the East Mountains. Nicole enjoys the small class sizes at EMHS as well as the sense of community. She has been teaching at EMHS since 2003. She taught middle school in Nevada before coming to EMHS and has always been a Spanish teacher. She became a teacher straight out of college and loves to share Spanish and the Spanish speaking culture with her students.
David Nicol is the Technology Administrator. He received his BA in Education from Indiana University and his Masters from UNM in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technology. Besides teaching Photoshop and managing the technology at EMHS, David is an avid motorcyclist and an upright bass player with two bands, Quality Retreads and Alpha Blue, and sits in with numerous other musical groups. He lives in Albuquerque's North Valley with his wife, Nan, has a son at Colorado State University, a daughter who works as a Physical Therapist in Scottsdale, AZ, and another daughter who is a waitress and aspiring writer living in downtown Seattle.
Donna Overson is the School Nurse and Business Office Assistant. Donna holds a Level II School Nurse License and a Level II School Business Official License. She is a member of the New Mexico School Nurses Association as well as the New Mexico School Business Officials Association. She is on the board of the New Mexico Paint and Palomino Horse Clubs and enjoys working in her garden. Donna has worked for Kaseman/Presbyterian Hospital, the Estancia Public Schools and PAPA, a charter school in Albuquerque.
Autumn Pearson is the Gifted Coordinator and Art Department Chair. She holds a BA in Art Education and Special Education from Indiana University. She attained her MA in Educational Leadership from the University of New Mexico. She began her teaching career on the Zuni Pueblo in 1999, teaching elementary school. Autumn then moved to the East Mountains in 2003 and began working on her masters while teaching art at EMHS. Upon completion of her masters, she worked as an Assistant Principal at a charter school in Albuquerque. Autumn is very excited to be back at EMHS and working with the students and families of her community. In her free time she enjoys creating art, gardening, and tending to her small farm on South 14.
Bird Podzemny is the Student Advisor and Psychology Instructor. She is the parent of an East Mountain High School student and three younger children. Before coming to East Mountain, she worked for the University of New Mexico.
Donna Rose is the Special Education Coordinator. Donna holds a BS in Recreation from the University of Southern Mississippi, a secondary education license from the University of New Mexico and a MA in Multicultural Special Education from the College of Santa Fe. Her interests include nature, art, adventure, and cooking. Prior to EMHS, Donna directed recreational programs, set up education programs in residential treatment centers and at Sandia High School and was a mentor teacher for the APS/UNM Partnership in Severe Disabilities.
Marisa Salazar is in her ninth year of teaching, six of which have been enjoyed at EMHS. She holds a BS in Earth and Planetary Sciences and a MA in Education: Curriculum Design and Instructional Leadership, both from the University of New Mexico. As a third-generation East Mountain native, Marisa has come to love the beauty, culture and community of the area. The opportunity to develop curriculum and projects that connect students to the community amidst an amazing staff and wonderful, wildly entertaining students keep her continuously motivated and excited to be at EMHS.
Bradd Schulke is an Environmental Science and Martial Arts Instructor. He holds a BS in Biology from New Mexico State University and a MS in Evolutionary Ecology from the University of California. Bradd is a certified Russian Martial Arts Instructor and a graduate of the 27th Citizens Police Academy with the Albuquerque Police Department. He also attended the 2008 Marine Corps Educator’s Workshop. He was awarded the American Star of Teaching Award in the fall of 2006. His interests include martial arts, self defense, environmental and wildlife conservation. Bradd has been a teacher at EMHS since the school opened in 2000. Before EMHS, he taught at the college level for five years and also at Manzano High School. Bradd and his wife live in the East Mountains. His son, Arana, graduated from East Mountain High School in 2011.
Wanda Sena is an Educational Assistant. She is a therapeutic massage therapist and received her certificate as a Non-Violent Crisis/UNM Attention Deficit Disorder paraprofessional. In her spare time, Wanda raises cattle and enjoys working at Wholesale Fireworks during the summer. She particularly enjoys hanging out with her children and grandchildren. Her youngest son is currently serving in Iraq.
Jim Smith is a Science and Technology Instructor. He holds a BS in Wildlife Management from Northwestern State University in Louisiana and a BA in Secondary Science Education from the College of Santa Fe. Jim is also a Cisco certified instructor. His interests include hiking and backpacking with his three sons, live music, cooking, and volunteering in the community. Prior to EMHS, Jim taught at Moriarty High School and Hayes Middle School. He also managed an oil and gas service company office and a soils engineering office. Jim was elected to represent District 22 in the New Mexico Legislature in 2010.
Trey Smith is a Sophomore Humanities and Speech and Debate Instructor. Trey lives in Albuquerque and is also a part-time professor in UNM’s Honors Program. He received his BA in English and Philosophy and his MA in Public Administration, both from the University of New Mexico. Trey is the Director of the Forensics Program at EMHS, which is ranked as the top Speech and Debate team in the state and in the top ten percent nationwide. He is currently a Diamond Coach with the National Forensic League, the President of the New Mexico Speech and Debate Association, and was voted the 2010 and 2011 Debate Coach of the Year. Trey recently received the ‘Top 40 Under Forty’ award by the New Mexico Business Weekly, the only educator to receive the honor. Trey has been published in several scholarly journals and magazines on topics ranging from J.R.R. Tolkien to wedding planning. He enjoys literature, current events, philosophy, politics, pop culture, traveling with his wife, and hiking with his dog.
Olga Vazquez is a member of the Science Department. She received her BS from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida and her MA in Science Teaching with an emphasis on Environmental Science from New Mexico Tech. Besides teaching high school, Olga also teaches dual credit MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) classes for CNM and UNM. Olga enjoys flying high performance gliders, traveling/hiking to areas where volcanism is present (one of the reasons why she is so happy living in New Mexico), baking, and gardening. She wishes she had more time to go scuba diving. Olga is happily married and has a daughter who attends East Mountain High School.
Brandy Walsh is the Social Worker and Psychology Instructor. She holds a BA and MA in Social Work from New Mexico State University. She is also a Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW). Brandy graduated first in her class at NMSU with honors. Her interests include traveling, reading, and spending time with her animals. Prior to working at EMHS, Brandy was a behavioral therapist and worked with children and adults with developmental disabilities. Brandy became a parent when Grace was born in 2011.
Lori Webster is the Development Director and Yearbook Instructor. She works closely with the East Mountain High School Foundation and is responsible for fundraising, event planning, grant writing, volunteer coordination, and community relations. Lori holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan and is endorsed to teach language arts in Louisiana and New Mexico. She is currently attending New Mexico Highlands University and will soon have her MA in Educational Leadership. Lori lives in Albuquerque with her husband and daughter Mina. Her interests include reading, politics, camping, and hiking. Prior to working at EMHS, Lori taught middle school in New Orleans and served as the Executive Director of the My House Center for Learning.
Brenda Wilvert is a Math and Science Instructor. She holds a BS degree in Civil Engineering from the University of New Mexico and received her teaching certification from the College of Santa Fe. Prior to EMHS, Brenda worked in the motorcycle industry, was employed as a civil engineer and worked as a choir director. In addition to math and science endorsements, Brenda has endorsements to teach gifted education and performing arts, specifically music. She also holds certificates from the College Board to teach AP Calculus and AP Physics as well as a National Board certification in Adolescent and Young Adult Mathematics. Brenda’s interests include skiing, riding motorcycles, singing, cooking. She is the parent of three East Mountain High School alumni.
Douglas Wine is the Principal. He is a board member of the New Mexico Coalition of Charter Schools, a member of the State Data Warehouse Council, and a founding member of Leadership Charter. He is currently working on his EdD. in Educational Leadership at University of New Mexico. In addition, he was named a Top CEO in the New Mexico Business Weekly. Doug comes to EMHS from Virginia where he was the Upper School Director at Cape Henry Collegiate School, a private college preparatory school located in Virginia Beach. He holds a BBA in Accounting from Pace University in New York, a BA in English from SUNY-Stony Brook in New York, and a MA in Liberal Studies from St. John's College in Santa Fe. Doug and his family live in the East Mountains. His interests include biking, hiking, skiing, working out, and reading. Prior to EMHS, he was also an English teacher and an accountant. In 2006-2007, Doug was selected by the National Association of Independent Schools to the "Aspiring Heads of School" cohort.
Michael Wood is the Music Instructor. Michael is a guitar player from Las Cruces, NM. He received his BFA in Classical Guitar Performance from UNM under Michael Chapdelaine. He teaches beginning and advanced guitar, as well as the recording arts classes. On the weekends he plays guitar in the “CalQl8rz”, the house band at Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino. Michael and his partner became parents when their daughter, Grace, was born in 2011.
Kristin Yerkie is a math instructor at EMHS. Kristin teaches Algebra 1 and Algebra 2. She lives in Edgewood with her 2 year old husky shepherd mix named Scout. She holds a BS in Mathematics and Psychology, and received her teaching license from William Smith College in Geneva, NY. Kristin is currently working towards her MA in Adventure Learning from Plymouth State University. In her ‘off time’ she enjoys working with adolescents in an outdoor setting; specifically through adventure programming (ropes courses, challenge courses, etc.). Prior to EMHS, Kristin was a math teacher and softball coach at Mount Markham High School in West Winfield, NY.