Strengthen our Community, Families, & Workforce in Santa Fe County
Staff
LETTY NARANJO
Adult Education Senior Director at SFCC
Executive Director for Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe
Letty Naranjo became the Senior Director of Adult Education in 2010 and her experience and leadership skills have exceeded her reputation. She has worked for Santa Fe Community College for thirty-seven years. How many people can say that about any institution? She has also served as Executive Director for Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe for twenty-seven years. It takes a uniquely dedicated individual such as Letty to commit to the growth and fluctuation of a college that has now become a centerpiece in Santa Fe. Letty deserves credit for institutional growth at SFCC as she has been a long-time ambassador to the local community. There are no statistics for the number of students, volunteers and supporters she has generated over the years, but we’re sure that number would be very high. Letty’s character for professionalism and positivity is what draws folks to SFCC from all walks of life to work together towards the common goal of improving lives and families. She exemplifies the mission of SFCC in her welcoming spirit that is equally respectful to students, colleagues, volunteers, legislators as well as statewide and nationwide affiliates.
Amanda Rivera de Garcia, ESL Literacy Coordinator
Amanda has a BA in Elementary Education with a TESOL endorsement. She has worked in adult education for 10 years and is bilingual in Spanish and English. Amanda likes to garden and cook in her free time.
Mary DuBose, Literacy Program Specialist
Mary delights in living in the desert southwest and appreciates the richness and diversity of our community. With her degree in psychology she is inspired by the challenges and resilience of our students.
Sandra Duran, Literacy Administrative Assistant
Our Literacy Administrative Assistant is Sandra Duran. She was born and raised in Santa Fe, NM, and has a two-year-old daughter. Before working for LVSF, she was a Medical Assistant for four years. Outside work, she enjoys gardening, fishing, and camping with her family.
Matthew Blue
Matthew has a BA and MS from UNM and a Cambridge Celta Certificate. He previously taught in Moscow, Istanbul and Medellin. Matthew is passionate about overcoming learning differences and using those differences as strengths. Matthew is a high school drop-out who took the GED before going to college. In his free time, he likes using his passport, scuba diving and staying active.
Board of Directors
Tom Stewart, President
BA, University of Colorado. JD, John Marshall Law School, Chicago. He is a third generation attorney, who practiced law in Oak Park, IL, before retiring in Santa Fe in 2018. He has participated in homeless, food assistance and social justice issues for over 30 years.
Chris Howson, Vice President
Chris joined Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe in 2017 and became the volunteer director of LVSF’s Citizenship Program in 2018. He is honored to serve on the board of LVSF in support of LVSF’s mission to transform lives in greater Santa Fe through the power of literacy. Born and raised in Brazil, Chris knows first-hand the many gifts that English literacy bestows. He serves on the board of the Upaya Zen Center and Institute in Santa Fe, volunteers for other local organizations and is a docent for the Santa Fe Opera. Chris, a PhD epidemiologist, and his wife, Marie, have lived in Santa Fe since 2016.
Maria Ortiz, Treasurer
Maria was born and raised in Friona, Texas, and moved to Santa Fe in 1994. She has two young adult sons, Luis Fernando Horta and Roberto Jaime Horta. Maria has worked for Zia Credit Union as one of the Mortgage Loan Officers for two years and previously worked as a Housing Counselor with The Housing Trust. Maria’s hobbies are dancing, camping, hiking, and being with friends and family.
Arthur Panaro, Secretary
As an LVSF Board member I have been given a chance to assist our students and our staff, and our tutors on the path toward the attaining of peoples’ most cherished power—literacy.
Athur is a tutor and in his second cycle as a board member. His profession has been clinical mental health counseling since 1994. He also holds an MA in philosophy. He is about to publish a fifth book of essays titled COMMON AND UNCOMMON SENSE. More on his website arthurpanaro.com
Carmelita M. Topaha
Carmelita Topaha is a member of the Navajo Nation near the Four Corners Area. She has taught at San Juan College and Navajo Community College. Carmelita has a Bachelor‘s degree in Anthropology and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Ceramics. She is an Instructor for Indigenous Pottery at Santa Fe Community College. A Native artist in pottery, drawing, painting, and New Mexico Tin Smithing. Carmelita’s quotes: “Literacy is to braid, to interweave, and to unravel the unknown.”
Sophia Garrett
Shannon Chamberlain
Shannon Chamberlain is a language learning enthusiast who moved to Santa Fe with her family in 2020. She majored in history and literature at Harvard and has a Ph.D. in literature and economic history from the University of California-Berkeley. She previously served as a faculty member at St. John’s College and a grant writer for the University of California system and now works as a freelance editor while writing language learning novels with her husband. She speaks Russian, Italian, and French and is learning Spanish and Portuguese.
Jennifer Wise
Jennifer was raised in a small town in Upstate New York. She is an Internal Medicine Physician and appreciates the importance of healthy community which includes access to literacy programs. In 2021, she moved to Santa Fe with her husband after practicing medicine for over twenty years in New Hampshire and Oregon. Jennifer volunteers through the Santa Fe Master Naturalist program and in her spare time enjoys writing and reading, hiking, and lapidary arts.
Jill L. Basso
Jill has been a practicing Behavior Analyst and Educational Specialist for children with specialized learning needs since 1988. She has recently been trained as a Somatic Practitioner with Dr. Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing Program. Her passion is educating young people in literacy in the Santa Fe community, with the hope of personal fulfillment, success and to better their lives. She has lived in Santa Fe since 2007 and enjoys hiking, tai chi, meditation, and wholistic health.