President: Selma Nevarez
Department of Special Education
Gadsden Independent School District
Ms. Nevarez has 28 years experience as a Special Educator and currently serves
as the Special Education Director for Gadsden Schools. She was a classroom teacher
for twenty-four years and worked with children with various forms of learning
problems. She has served on the district's IDEA-B Panel, on the Educational
Plan for Student Success Committee, (EPSS), at the school and district level,
a member of Council for Exceptional Children, Phi Delta Kappa and also has served
on district and state level Special Olympic Committee's. Last but not least,
she is the proud aunt of a niece with special needs, who provides her with input
as to how to improve the world for all children with disabilities.
Vice President: Angelic Ramos
Angelic Ramos – A 2004 Graduate of NMSU with a BS in Early Childhood/SPED.
She is a first year Special Education teacher at Santa Teresa Elementary with
early childhood students and students in a resource room and she is also a parent
and sister of a special needs student. Ms Ramos was involved in the International
Reading Association while a student at NMSU. Angelic is also a sister to a Special
Needs student and is a proud mother of a 6 year old who receives related services
for Occupational and Speech therapy. In her spare time she volunteers for Special
Olympics and is always ready to lend a helping hand for activities that benefit
her sister and other SPED students. She has great organizational skills as well
as technological skills and is ready for a new experience when it comes to her
involvement in NMLDA.
Secretary: Delia Singh
Delia Singh is a parent member of our IDEA-B Committee a surrogate parents and
a top-notch volunteer. Ms Singh has over 30+ years in the field of education
She has served as a parent liaison, surrogate parent and currently as a member
of the District IDEA-B Panel. Delia is also a on the Board of Directors for
Fiesta New Mexico /Gadsden. Ms Singh is a hard worker and ready for new challenges
and would be a great secretary.
Treasurer: Margaret S Villalobos
Margaret Villalobos is an administrative assistant to the Director of SPED.
Margaret has 20+ years of school experience. She helps manage the IDEA Budget
and manages a department of 95+ related staff members. Ms Villalobos is a member
of the District IDEA-B panel as well as a volunteer for Special Olympics. Ms.
Villalobos has great organizational skills and would be a great treasurer. Ms
Villalobos is also a (great) grandmother in addition to being a very proud one.
Past President: Elissa Wolfe Poel
New Mexico State University
Department of Special Education/Communication Disorders
Elissa Poel served as president of NM-LDA for two years. She is the Director
of the Special Education Student Teaching Program at New Mexico State University.
She received her B.S. degree from the University of Pittsburgh and both M.A.T.
and Ph.D. degrees from New Mexico State University. Her teaching areas are:
Teacher Preparation and General Special Education. Her areas of interest are
inclusive practices, international student teaching, specific learning disabilities,
and Assistive Technology.
Board Member: Leticia Mora
Leticia Mora is a retired NM educator with 25+ years of experience in various
fields. She started teaching in a bilingual SPED Classroom and then became a
certified educational diagnostician and later as a school psychologist. Ms Mora
is also a lifelong learner and always ready for new challenges and experiences.
Board Member: Otilia Segura
Otilia Segura is an instructional assistant with the Gadsden School District
in an Early Childhood Special Education Program. She is currently attending
DABCC to obtain an Associate Degree in Youth and Adolescent Para-professional.
Mrs. Segura is the mother of a son with a disability and her hope is help people
with disabilities have a better future.
Board Member: Michael F. Shaughnessy
Michael Shaughnessy is presently Professor of Special Education at Eastern New
Mexico University. He serves on the Gifted Education Advisory Board and the
Governor's Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Council. He has been a teacher, a
coach, a guidance counselor, a school psychologist and college professor. He
is Consulting Editor of Gifted Education International and is on the Editorial
Board of Educational Psychology Review. He has been involved in the process
of evaluating students for learning disabilities for the past twenty five years
at the elementary, secondary and university level. He has edited three books
on education, and written more than 600 articles, book reviews, and chapters
in books.
Student Board Member: Jackie Wood
Department of Special Education/Communication Disorders
New Mexico State University
Dr. Wood has over 35 years as an educator in the area of Special Education.
She was an itinerant teacher of students with learning disabilities and an elementary
principal in Oklahoma. Dr. Wood was the principal and Director of Special Education
at the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Alamogordo before
coming to New Mexico State University. She has served on district and state
level committees and panels for children with various learning problems. She
is the mother of a grown son with a learning disability.