Department: Admin/Staff
Joseph Armijo
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Anna Hastings
anhastings@sfprep.orgFront Office Manager. Anna holds a BA in Art History. She has three children who are Prep Alum and one child currently attending Prep. In her free time, Anna loves gardening, hiking, and reading.
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John Montoya
jmontoya@sfprep.orgLunch Program Staff. John has worked at Santa Fe Prep since 1988. After 33 years in the maintenance department, John retired at the end of the 2022 school year. Since then, John returned to the Prep community as a part-time kitchen staff member.
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Marta Beltran
Lunch Program Pastry Sous Chef. Originally from Mexico City, Marta has extensive experience as a line cook , sous chef, and pastry chef. Marta immigrated to the United States in 2000, where she worked at Ocotillo Golf Resort in Phoenix, Arizona, for ten years. In 2012, she moved to Santa Fe, where she worked at Body Cafe and the original Second Street for five years. More recently, and prior to joining Prep in 2023, Marta worked at Geronimo Restaurant and Tesuque Village Market.
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Leza Lowitz
llowitz@sfprep.orgAssistant to the Division Heads. Leza has a B.A. in English Literature from U.C. Berkeley and an M.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. She has been an Administrative Assistant for years to support her writing habit and feed her need for organization. Leza is an award-winning author of over twenty books in multiple genres and has been an invited speaker at literary festivals and events in the U.S., Japan, Bali, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and the UAE. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Huffington Post, Shambhala Sun, Art in America, the Asahi Evening News, and more. She lived in Japan for over 20 years, where she ran a yoga studio and taught yoga and mindfulness to thousands of students, including Fortune 500 company executives and Hollywood A-Listers. She also taught writing at the University of Tokyo.
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Juli Bray-Morris
jbray-morris@sfprep.orgSchool Counselor. For over 20 years, Juli has offered counseling services in community organizations and schools in Santa Fe. With a masters in Counseling Psychology: Expressive Art Therapy from Prescott College, she discovered a love of working with adolescents and their families. She spent the past 15 years at a charter school and found the work to be dynamic, meaningful, and never boring. Her worldview and perspective arise from her experiences as a child in Papua New Guinea and six years living in the Navajo Nation. She is grateful for trees, pools, books, friends, her large extended family, and, in particular, her three children and their partners.
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Hayley Burke
hburke@sfprep.orgCo-Director of College Counseling. After graduating from Bryn Mawr as a sociology major, Hayley stayed on to pursue her Master of Social Work degree from Bryn Mawr’s Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. While at Bryn Mawr, Hayley was surrounded by extraordinary women who pushed her to become a strong advocate against social inequity and injustice. Working towards this goal, she co-founded a reading and writing group for local incarcerated women. She recommitted to this mission of making higher ed more accessible by serving as an Admission Counselor at Pitzer College in Claremont, California for five years. Hayley loves to travel, and spends much of her time subtly sending plane ticket deals from Scott’s Cheap Flights to her friends. Her dream destinations include Greece, Montana, Spain, Chile and Mexico City. Outside of work, Hayley is an avid beach-goer and fearlessly experimental baker.
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Matt Ybarra
mybarra@sfprep.orgC0-Director of College Counseling, DEIJ Staff & Faculty Liaison, ROCA NM Program Director. Matt is from the notable, no-stoplight town of Altamont, Kansas, and earned his bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in comparative studies in race and ethnicity. During college, he studied abroad in Switzerland, Russia, and Germany, interned at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, coordinated a scholarship competition, and helped run the Stanford Powwow. Following graduation, Matt worked as a college admission counselor at Stanford and Caltech, often supplementing his experience by collaborating with College Horizons, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Questbridge, and other programs supporting college access and retention for students from low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented backgrounds. Matt also serves as a member of Prep’s DEIJ Committee and operates the Rural Opportunities for College Access program (ROCA NM) in partnership with the Davis New Mexico Scholarship. Along with Sam Ritter (Davis NM Scholarship) and Allie Cooper (formerly of Breakthrough Santa Fe), the trio was named Counselors That Change Lives in 2021.
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Ashley Smith
asmith@sfprep.orgBusiness Manager. Raised in San Francisco, Ca., Ashley moved to Las Vegas, New Mexico, in 1996 and never looked back. She has worked in the financial industry since 1998 in many capacities at banking institutions across New Mexico. Ashley has a degree in Culinary Arts and loves cooking and finding new condiments to add to recipes. When not balancing a checkbook, she can be found camping around the beautiful state of New Mexico with her husband and dogs.
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Kaitlyn Roy
kroy@sfprep.orgDirector of Learning Services. Kaitlyn attended Northern Arizona University as an undergraduate student before moving on to the University of Oregon (Go Ducks!) to complete her graduate studies. Kaitlyn holds a BS in Psychological Sciences (Disability Studies minor), an MS in Special Education, and a PhD in School Psychology. Kaitlyn previously worked as a school psychologist in Durango, CO, where she assisted school teams in identifying children with disabilities and determining their eligibility for special education services and/or accommodations. Originally from Albuquerque, Kaitlyn was eager to return to New Mexico, where there is an abundance of sunshine and fresh chile. Kaitlyn is passionate about equity in education and is excited to provide support to students, families, and faculty/staff within the SF Prep community.
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Kendel Fesenmyer
kfesenmyer@sfprep.orgDirector of Studies, History Department Chair. As the Director of Studies, Kendel oversees curriculum and educational policy in the middle and upper schools and coordinates faculty professional development. Before arriving at Prep, she taught in Massachusetts at Lexington High School and Northfield Mount Hermon School, and before becoming the Director of Studies, she was a teacher in the History Department at Prep. Kendel attended Phillips Exeter Academy, Dartmouth College (B.A.), and Harvard Divinity School (M.T.S.). While at Harvard, she completed educational coursework and teaching licensure through the Program in Religion and Secondary Education, a collaborative program between the Harvard Divinity School and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In 2001–2002, she was awarded a prestigious Klingenstein Fellowship to study curriculum and education policy at The Klingenstein Center, Teachers College Columbia University. She has two children: AJ, Prep class of 2021, and Emery, Prep class of 2024.
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“Prep students are without a doubt tremendously well-prepared. But what really astounds me is their ability to make things happen! Of course, our students believe in themselves, but what sets Prep students apart is truly knowing they can have an impact and doing so with absolute determination.” -Kendel Fesenmyer
Ashley Satterthwaite
asatterthwaite@sfprep.orgAssistant Head of School/Head of Upper School. With the intention of never taking another mathematics class, Ashley completed AP Calculus in high school and declared journalism as her major in college. She now holds a Bachelor’s Degree in pure mathematics and a Master’s Degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, in the epistemology and pedagogy of the subject. Throughout the past two decades, she has designed explorations for her students to see mathematics as a language, art, and powerful system of reasoning, all while simultaneously serving in leadership roles to promote whole-being development, wellness, citizenry, and community responsibility in independent schools in California, Utah, and Wyoming. Outside of school, Ashley can be found supporting individuals as a certified optimization coach, adventuring outdoors with her family on both groomed and un-groomed trails, attending the theater, or simply reading a book.
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“Life is not about finding our limitations, it’s about finding our infinity.” – Herbie Hancock
Heather Robinson
hrobinson@sfprep.orgHead of Middle School. Heather holds a master’s degree from Columbia University Teachers College in Private School Leadership and a master’s degree in Gifted Education from the University of South Florida. She has been either a teacher, administrator, or coach in independent schools for over twenty years. Heather also served as an Academic Coordinator for the Duke University Talent Identification Program (TIP) for three summers. Most recently, she moved to Santa Fe from Austin, TX, where she taught middle school science, coached, and was the science department chair. Prior to that, she lived in Florida, Beijing, China, and New York. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling or spending time outdoors doing just about anything with her dog, Bonni.
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Bruce Sachs
bsachs@sfprep.orgCFO, Co-Director of Tuition Assistance. Bruce holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from American University in Washington, DC, and an MBA from the University of Connecticut. He has been in accounting and finance for over thirty years with many companies.
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Aaron Schubach
aschubach@sfprep.orgHead of School. The 2023-2024 school year marks Aaron’s fourth year as Head of Santa Fe Prep. He brings 23 years of experience in independent school education, working with students, teachers, staff, parents, trustees, and alumni in four independent schools in Colorado and New Mexico. Aaron recently concluded six years as Head of The Colorado Springs School. He earned an undergraduate degree in History from Colorado College and master’s degrees from St. John’s College and Columbia University. In his free time, he enjoys high-country adventures with his family.
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Eduardo Beltran
Lunch Program Chef. Originally from Mexico City, Eduardo moved to the US in 2000 and began working as a sous-chef at Crown Plaza, San Marcos, and Italian Rustic Restaurant in Chandler, Arizona. In 2010, he moved to Santa Fe, where he managed the Body Cafe Restaurant for two years, followed by working as a Chef and Event Captain for Walter Burke Catering, where he has been for the last 12 years. He has recently worked in Prep’s maintenance department for five years. However, Eduardo’s true calling and passion are in the kitchen, where he is skilled in preparing Sushi, Italian, American, and traditional and gourmet Mexican cuisine.
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Nick Stofocik
nstofocik@sfprep.orgDirector of Facilities. Nick was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, where he attended a college prep high school and earned his BFA in Theater from Ohio University. Following graduation, he landed in New York City, managing hotels in midtown Manhattan for about ten years. He moved to The City Different in 2012 and worked as an Operations Manager for a New Mexico-based hotel, a manager of an insurance company, and most recently, a property manager for a 16-acre condominium community on the north side of town. Nick has an amazing filmmaker wife, Terry, and two energetic daughters, and they all love to make films, see shows, hike, swim, and play in Santa Fe.
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Debra Gonzales
dgonzales@sfprep.orgAccounts Payable Manager, Booster Board. Debra is originally from Española and has a large extended northern New Mexico family. She recently retired from the Children, Youth, and Families Department with the State of New Mexico. At CYFD, Debra supported child care, pre-kindergarten, and food and nutrition programs in several capacities, including Background Check Manager and Audit and Policy Manager. She has two daughters. Nicole is a current Prep student, and Raelyn is a Prep graduate of the class of 2021.
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Jillian Tomlinson
jtomlinson@sfprep.orgAdvancement Database Manager and Events Coordinator. A Los Alamos native, Jillian received her bachelor’s degree in English Literature & Creative Writing from The George Washington University and her MFA in Fiction from Columbia University’s School of the Arts. After nearly a decade spent working in New York City’s professional theatre industry, she returned to New Mexico and joined the Prep Advancement team in 2021.
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Eric Wynn
ewynn@sfprep.orgDirector of TAP and Experiential Education. Eric has an experience as a classroom teacher, outdoor education leader, and assistant principal. Eric holds degrees from McGill University and Middlebury College.