Education Task Force: New Mexico Forum Panelist Biographies

New Mexico Panelist Bios

Kathi Beardon
Chair, New Mexico Commission on Higher Education

Kathi Bearden is the chair of the Commission on Higher Education, representing district 9, is publisher of the Hobbs News-Sun and owner of DLD Enterprises.  She is currently president of the Economic Development Corporation of Lea County and is an active board member of the Palmer Drug Abuse Program, the New Mexico Foundation for open Government, Rotary Club and National Federation of Independent Business.  She has previously served as chair of United Way of Lea County’s fundraising campaign, president of the Hobbs Chamber of Commerce, and a member of Mainstreet Hobbs.  Among the honors she has earned during her career as publisher are the Hobbs Jaycees' Outstanding Citizen of the Year and The Good Samaritan Award for Ethics in Business.  She is a graduate of the American Press Institute Executive Development Program and the New Mexico Leadership Institute.

Dr. Veronica Garcia
Secretary of Education, State of New Mexico

Dr. Veronica C. Garcia was appointed by Governor Bill Richardson as the state’s first education secretary in 2003. She has served as superintendent of Santa Fe Public Schools and regional superintendent for Albuquerque Public Schools. She was also a classroom teacher, school psychologist, coordinator and assistant director for special education, principal of an alternative high school for pregnant and parenting teens, and executive director of the New Mexico Coalition of School Administrators. In 2003, she was named Educator of the Year (Administrator) by the New Mexico Research and Study Council, was named the 2002 Superintendent of the Year by the New Mexico School Superintendents Association, and was named one of the Top Ten Hispanic Woman in New Mexico by the New Mexico Legislature in 2000. Garcia holds New Mexico certifications in five areas: elementary education, special education (K-12), educational administration, school psychologist and speech/communications. She received Ed.D., M.A. and B.A. degrees from the University of New Mexico.

Michael J. Glennon
President, Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute

Michael J. Glennon is in his sixth year as president of Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute, better known as TVI, the state’s largest and most comprehensive community college. Prior to this position, he served as TVI’s interim president for a year, and as vice president for administrative services. He has more than 25 years of experience in higher education, including 14 years at TVI, eight years at UNM, and four years at the Commission on Higher Education. Glennon is also president of the New Mexico Association of Community Colleges and has played a leading role on the CHE’s Blue Ribbon Task Force for Higher Education Funding. He received the 2001 Zia Award from the University of New Mexico Alumni Association in recognition of his community service. An Albuquerque native, Glennon is a graduate of the University of New Mexico, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration.

Lorenzo Gonzales
Master Teacher, Math Science Academy

Dr. Lorenzo Gonzales is one of three Math and Science Academy master teachers responsible for designing and delivering professional development to 72 northern New Mexico teachers in five public school districts. In his 26-year career as a classroom teacher, he taught various sciences and reading in grades K-12. He designed, coordinated, delivered, and assessed professional development in learning technologies as the Santa Fe Community College Regional Resource Center site coordinator. Gonzales is the recipient of the New Mexico Golden Apple Foundation Award and The Milken Family National Educator Foundation Award. He holds a B.A. from Eastern New Mexico University, an M.A. in secondary education with an emphasis in reading from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on technology from New Mexico State University. In 1997, he completed a two-year education specialist program on integrating technology in the schools at the University of New Mexico.

Joseph Martin
President, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute

Dr. Joseph Martin is president of the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute. From 1997 to 2003, he was associate professor of education in the College of Education at Northern Arizona University, where he managed a Principal’s Leadership Academy. From 1986 to 1997, he was superintendent of schools for the Kayenta Unified School District. Previously, he worked for the Office of Indian Education in the U.S. Department of Education and the National Indian Education Association. Martin received his doctorate from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, and his superintendent’s certification from the University of Colorado, Boulder. His other achievements include: 1995 North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Distinguished Educator Award, 1992 National Indian Educator of the Year by the National Indian Education Association, and 1989 Arizona Superintendent of the Year for his work raising student achievement in the Kayenta District.  

Tony Monfiletto
CEO and Co-founder, Amy Biehl High School

Tony Monfiletto is currently the CEO and co-founder of Amy Biehl High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the first public school in the U.S. to require that all graduates pass two college classes prior to graduation. He is a former teacher and is now the instructional leader of the school. Under his guidance, the school was recently named one of 20 "mentor" schools through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He has served as the president of the New Mexico Coalition for Charter Schools, and he is the governor’s appointee to the Public School Capital Outlay Council Task Force and the Governor’s Progress Agenda task force. His past work experience includes assisting with the decentralization of the Chicago public schools, and he is an expert in New Mexico school finance through his four years as a permanent staff person with the New Mexico Legislature. He holds a B.A. from New Mexico State University and an M.A. from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

Bill Richardson
Governor, State of New Mexico

Governor Bill Richardson was elected governor of New Mexico in 2002 by the largest margin of any candidate since 1964. During his first year in office, Governor Richardson made good on his campaign promises to improve education, cut taxes, build a high-wage economy, develop a statewide water plan and make New Mexico safer by getting tough on DWI, domestic violence and sex crimes. He is continuing to move New Mexico forward in 2004, working to improve access to quality health care, implement an ambitious school reform plan and make the state a leader in renewable energy and clean energy technologies. Governor Richardson served for 15 years in northern New Mexico representing the 3rd Congressional District. He served in 1997 as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and in 1998, he was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. Governor Richardson was nominated four times (1995, 1997, 2000, and 2001) for the Nobel Peace Prize.