Faculty and Administration
Administrative Staff (in alphabetical order)
DEBORAH CASILLAS dcasillas@montedelsol.org
Debby has a BA in English from University of California, Berkeley and an MA in Spanish Language and Lierature from UNAM (Universidad Nacional de Mexico) in Mexico City. She has worked for ten years in admissions at The College of Santa Fe, the last five as Associate Director of admissions. This is Debby's first year as our College Counselor.
EDELMIRA FRANCO efranco@montedelsol.org
Edie is our school counsellor and came to us after seven years as counsellor at Santa Fe Indian School. Edie has great experience in social work in Texas and in New Mexico both in the public arena, in schools and in private practice. She is bilingual and has been with Monte del Sol since Spring 2006. She plays tennis in every spare moment.
GRETCHEN GORDON ggordon@montedelsol.org
Gretchen is our school nurse. She has been a Case Manager for Santa Fe Health Care and a staff nurse with Kaiser Hospital Foundation in San Francisco. Gretchen is a Registered Nurse in New Mexico as well as in California. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bacelors of Science degree in Health Science as well as Nursing. At Monte del Sol, Gretchen also teaches in our Health and Wellness program and works closely with our lunch program to ensure that students who qualify for free or reduced lunch are well fed.
PAQUITA HERNANDEZ mentorship@montedelsol.org
A founding faculty member, Paquita is the Director of our award-winning Mentorship Program which connects students with mentors in our wider community. Paquita is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico, has a Master's Degree in Latin American Affairs from UNM, and served in the Peace Corps in Colombia for two years. She founded and directed the internationally recognized program, "Celebrate Youth" from 1986 to 1998--an educational model that connected young people with mentors in the community. Paquita's dream is to make learning in the community an integral part of leadership education.
Carly is a founding staff member and a Monte del Sol parent. She came on board in June 2000 as our school secretary and director of admissions. Carly grew up in England and worked on the staff of Amnesty International in London as a research assistant and later headed a three-year peace initiative based on the Planetary Citizens model. Prior to Monte del Sol, Carly was on the editorial team of Mothering Magazine. Additionally, she is a published author of two books about the groundbreaking Findhorn Community in the Scottish Highlands where she lived for eight years, and has also produced and hosted her own radio shows in Santa Fe since 1994.
TINA OSSORGIN tossorgin@montedelsol.org
Tina joined the Monte del Sol team as registrar in 2004 after many years in various positions with Santa Fe Public Schools--from school bus driver to classrooms to the Early Childhood Center. She handles all records and our complex adminstrative software that includes schedules, report cards and transcripts. In addition to navigating her way through our database, Tina holds the title of School Bus Rodeo Queen from her bus-driving days.
TOBY ROYBAL
Toby is our maintenance department and director of our janitorial team. He has been with the school from the very beginning. Toby handles every odd job from electrical and plumbing problems to cutting off stuck locks. Students and staff would be lost without his care and willingness.
ANNE SALZMANN asalzmann@montedelsol.org
Anne joined us in 2003 as Assistant Head Learner and this year takes the helm of Monte del Sol as Interim Head Learner. She came to us after being Head of School at the Verde Valley School, a private boarding school in Sedona, AZ. Prior to that, she was head of the counseling department at Phoenix Country Day School in Phoenix for twelve years. She holds an M.Ed. in Counseling and Consulting Psychology from Harvard University and provides private educational consulting. Anne heads our discipline program through her counseling orientation.
KAYLOCK SELLERS ksellers@montedelsol.org
Kaylock was our founding Business Manager coming on board early in 2000 to set up the complex financial logistics of starting a Charter School. After getting us on the right track fiscally, Kaylock left Santa Fe to pursue a teaching career in Ecuadore. After two years in South America he returned to Monte del Sol to teach 7th Grade Math and last year resumed his original post at the helm of our business office. In additioin to his skills in algebra and accounting, Kaylock is also a gifted, published poet.