Driven by my commitment to help our most underserved communities, I am eager to build upon the momentum STEM Santa Fe has created over the past few years with our committed partners, volunteers and program expansion. As the new executive director, I intend to keep you informed of our progress and growth as I work toward achieving our strategic priorities — including the improved use of data to evaluate our programs, the continued development of our staff and Board of Directors, and the commitment to solidify funding to enhance programmatic viability and sustainability.
Born and raised in Santa Fe, Etta is interested in community- and culturally-conscious science education. She is an entering PhD student at Northwestern University, studying Learning Science with a focus on K-12 science curriculum. Etta holds a BA in Cognitive Science from Wellesley College. Etta has worked on ensuring Aviation Camp at the Jet Center, 3D printing camps at both San Ildefonso Pueblo and Santa Fe, and all programs run smoothly and is co-leading a Meow Wolf program about oil spills and plans to work on a Kinesiology and Exercise Science at the end of the summer.
JC Ramirez raised in Santa Fe holds a Media Arts and Communications Degree after attending UNM and SFCC. His STEM background includes being a mentor for various STEM camps and college readiness programs such as AVID around Santa Fe and Santa Fe Public Schools from 2017 to the present. Former jobs include Application Technician working on space-grade instruments for aerospace organizations, and his own marketing company Momentos Marketing servicing community organizations throughout the US. JC has worked with STEM Santa Fe as a marketing and program manager for Scaffold and has assisted STEM Santa Fe programs including STEM Pathway For Girls, Meow Wolf "Make and Believe Time", and all summer programs including Aviation and Aerospace Camp, 3D Camps in San Ildefonso Pueblo and Santa Fe, and more. JC's passions include filmmaking, community art events, and learning about STEM.
Theodore McDonald was born in Santa Fe and spent some of his upbringing living in Nambe. He has worked at various STEM summer camps and programs serving New Mexico students. Other past work includes being a tutor and teaching assistant for computer science during his time at New Mexico Tech and interning at Los Alamos Lab for a few summers. He first did work for STEM Santa Fe back in 2019 as a mentor and has been assisting with project development and providing technical support, including building a Rubik’s cube-solving robot for demos. He led this summer’s sundial 3D printing camp at San Ildefonso Pueblo, as well as a 3D printing camp at the Higher Education Center. He is motivated by his experience of being inspired by STEM summer camps and programs as a child and the desire to pass on that opportunity to other New Mexico students. Some of his passions include the natural world, photography and hands-on projects.
Isabel Rodriguez is currently working as an intern with STEM Santa Fe. She holds a BA in Drawing and a BS in Physical Geography and Conservation from Adams State University (2021) and has earned her FDM 3D printing Master Badge from the New Collar Network (2024). Isabel has previously worked as a visiting teaching artist in the ArtWorks program, as well as a summer camp educator at the Randall Davey Audubon Center. She looks forward to helping out with the STEM Santa Fe summer camps, especially the 3D printing camps where she will be utilizing her experiences in art and science. Isabel is a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient. She was a youth Santera in the Traditional Spanish Market for ten years. As a multidisciplinary visual artist who has had art pieces on display at the Memento Mori gallery (Denver), Site Santa Fe Museum (Santa Fe), she has completed a short documentary for the Little Globe 2023 Community Storytellers program.
Originally from Nambe, New Mexico, Lourdes LeDoux is a second year college student at the University of New Mexico. Lourdes is an intern for the summer of 2024. She has worked on this summers Aviation Camp at the Jet Center, 3D printing camps at both San Ildefonso Pueblo and Santa Fe, is co-leading a Meow Wolf program about oil spills and plans to work on a Kinesiology and Exercise Science at the end of the summer. In addition, Lourdes is interested in education and journalism, she has been a ballet dancer for about sixteen years, and enjoys traveling and meeting new people.
Alicia Naranjo is a tribal member of San Ildefonso Pueblo, NM. She is currently an Educational Advisor for the Educational Opportunity Center (EOC). Alicia is also a graduate of Northern NM College, holding a Bachelor's degree in Integrated Studies with an emphasis on Pueblo Indian Studies and an Associate's degree in Arts in Elementary Education.
Esther Lescht was born and raised in Santa Fe. She is a current student at Northern New Mexico College majoring in Electromechanical Engineering. Her passion lies in teaching and mentoring students to introduce them to new concepts and inspire them to keep exploring. When she is not working with students or planning different ways to engage kids, she loves to be outside, hiking, and exploring the numerous beautiful places in New Mexico.
Born & raised in Nambe Pueblo, New Mexico, Edwin is an Electro Mechanical Engineering major from Northern New Mexico College. He is also an Indigenous Language Teacher, and Native Artist
I have been a science educator for over 23 years, 3 years as a science teacher in the Peace Corps (The Gambia, West Africa) and the other 20 at the Santa Fe Indian School. In addition to being a mom to 2 amazing kids (14 and 11), I work with Lina Germann through STEM SF’s amazing summer program. The past couple years I have offered the app building camp that has the students build an entire app in a week and submit their project to the Congressional App Challenge. I love the challenge of coding and introducing students to a new set of skills that can be used in their future endeavors.
