Photo Cradit: Blake Marvin
We would like to say thank you to all who attended and presented at our annual conference on July 24-26, 2023.
This year we are completing 30 years of the New Mexico Charter Schools Act being passed in 1992. We want to commemorate this milestone with a Charter School conference extraordinaire. You are invited to the 2023 Charter School Conference, Celebrating Innovation, July 24-26, at the Tamaya Resort in Santa Ana Pueblo. We have reserved over 200 rooms and are preparing for 500 participants.
Conference Program
Keynote Speakers
Bucks County Community College
President Felicia L. Ganther, J.D., Ph.D.
With a higher education career that spans more than a quarter century, Dr. Felicia Ganther became the fifth president of Bucks County Community College in July 2021, as well as its first African American president. Originally from Los Angeles, Ganther holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from Norfolk State University, as well as a Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in community resources and development from the Arizona State University. Ganther has a remarkable record of accomplishments as an educator, administrator, and a strong advocate for students. She has extensive experience in crisis management, strategic planning and deployment, quality improvement, among others. In addition to her work as an administrator, Ganther also has taught Speech, Interpersonal/Group Communication and law courses. She is a sought-after public speaker and team developer. Ganther received a Proclamation from the Illinois State Senate for her work with the retention of first year students. In 2017, she was selected as an Aspen Institute Presidential Fellow and in 2018 received the John Rouche League of Innovation Excellence in Community Colleges Award. In her more than 25 years of experience in higher education, she consistently infuses her passion in helping complex organizations meet their intended goals for their student-customers by crafting meaningful and intentional programs, services, and initiatives. She also brings this same passion to helping the local community she serves, with methods by which they can transform their employee base from this same educational lens.
Vice-President for Research to Practice at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) Dr. Brooke Stafford-Brizard, Ph.D.
Dr. Brooke Stafford-Brizard is Vice President for Research to Practice at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), where she leads the organization’s grant making in education. These grant programs support researchers, educators, and policymakers in their efforts to bring a more holistic approach grounded in the science of learning and development to schools and classrooms. She has led work within multiple sectors of US education including the New York City Department of Education, as co-founder of a charter school, and as a senior advisor for national non-profits. She regularly authors opinion pieces and speaks at education conferences including keynotes at SXSW EDU, Aurora Institute (formerly iNACOL), and Fusion. Stafford-Brizard holds a doctoral degree in Cognitive Science in Education from Columbia University.