Monica Aguilar, Executive Director

Monica Aguilar was born and raised in Albuquerque. She is married and has two children, Santiago 18 years old and Emily 13 years old. Mrs. Aguilar attended Valley high school, received her Bachelors degree from the University of New Mexico in Secondary Education with a minor in mathematics. Then went on to receive her Master’s degree from New Mexico Highlands University in Educational Leadership. Mrs. Aguilar has been at The Mark Armijo Academy since 2004. She was a teacher for 4 years with APS and then had the opportunity to be and administrator at Mark Armijo Academy. She has enjoyed working with the students, staff, and community at Mark Armijo Academy and is very proud of the success accomplished at MAA.

Bernadette Frietze, Principal / Special Education Director

Bernadette Frietze was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is married and has two children, Davian 5 years old and Julian 2 years old. She attended Sandia High School and received her Bachelor’s degree from the College of Santa Fe in Elementary Education with an endorsement in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).  She also received her Master’s degree from the College of Santa Fe in Multicultural Special Education. She has her Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling license as well as her Educational Leadership license.  This is her second year here at MAA. She has worked for APS the last 10 years. She loves the students here at MAA and feels like the school is a perfect fit for her.

Rhonda Cordova, Business Manager

Rhonda Cordova is the business manager for The Mark Armijo Academy.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and her Master’s Degree in Finance and Human Resources from the College of Santa Fe.  Rhonda has been a business manager for charter schools in New Mexico since 2003.

Angelica Padilla, School Counselor

Bio coming soon.

Mica Trujillo, School Counselor

Bio coming soon.

Jody Antal, Social Worker

As a social worker at Mark Armijo Academy, Jody Antal works directly with students, families, groups and communities in an effort to enhance health and social functioning and overall well-being. She has B.A. in social work from Gordon College and received her Master’s Degree in social work from New Mexico State University. Ms. Antal worked with Albuquerque Public Schools for twelve years before coming to MAA for an opportunity to work closer with students. Originally from St. Croix, Virgin Islands, Ms. Antal hopes to travel the world, especially Greece and Spain.

Maria Trillo, Spanish Teacher

Originally from El Paso, TX., Maria Eugenia Trillo is a UNM lobo. She has a Ph.D. in Spanish Linguistics from UNM; a Master of Arts from the University of Toronto and a BA from the Universidad de las Americas in Puebla, Mexico. She is the proud mother of two daughters who are also lobitas from UNM. She loves pugs, kids, hot air ballons and cumbias.

Diana Garcia, English Teacher

Diana Garcia has been teaching English 11/12, and Media Literacy at the Mark Armijo Academy since 2010. In addition to teaching, she is the assistant coach and general manager of the girls’ varsity volleyball team.
Mrs. Garcia received her Master of Arts in Secondary Education degree and double bachelor degrees in Fine Arts and Spanish from the University of New Mexico. She received her level three teaching license with an endorsement in Language Arts and TESOL in 2015. Before joining the Mark Armijo Academy she had prior experience with substituting, teaching dance, and completing her student teaching at West Mesa High School.  While completing her student teaching at West Mesa, she was elected as a Top Ten Teacher from a graduating senior.
Mrs. Garcia believes that knowledge is power, and she tries every day to insure that her students have all the academic tools possible to not only improve their lives, but the lives of their community.

Adrian Garcia, Math Teacher

My name is Adrian Garcia, I teach Algebra 1 and Algebra 2. This is my second year at MAA, and my 4th year overall teaching mathematics. I attended UNM where I received a B.S. degree in Applied Mathematics, with a minor in Economics. While attending UNM I accepted a fellowship with UNM’s College of Education where in which I earned my teaching certification. I am a native New Mexican born and raised in Albuquerque. I personally believe that the more educated our youth and society are as a whole, the safer and better off all of us will be. I am extremely honored to have a part in helping our youth prepare for and succeed in life after high school.

Cydelia Chavez, Math Teacher

Cydelia Chavez was raised in Durango, Colorado but has been resident of Albuquerque, NM for 17 years. She currently teaches Geometry, Number Theory and the Math Resource Lab. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Pure Mathematics and a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education. She is a level III teacher licensed by the NM Public Education Department in Mathematics K-12.

Ms. Chavez is currently enjoying her 9th year at the Mark Armijo Academy.

She is an avid hiker, mountain biker, and has run a marathon.  Yoga has become her newest obsession.  Her philosophy of training the body and the mind are the same: practice, practice, practice. The body will go wherever the mind takes it.

Christin Carr, Math Teacher

Bio coming soon.

Matthew Salas, Social Studies / Dual Credit Teacher

My name is Matt Salas and I’m a 2010 graduate from New Mexico State University. I graduated in the top 15% of my class, and this is my second year teaching. I obtained a degree in History with minors in English and Government, and hold a license to teach Social Studies, English, and English as a Second Language. My personal interests include sports, traveling, and reading. I am interested in politics, political theory, theology, and both social and foreign affairs.
I truly enjoy the art of teaching and assisting the youth in their development and maturation.
I believe education is a Civil Rights issue and must be adequately served and equated to all young adults.
I maintain a strong ambition to enter government and politics in the future in order to further my contribution to my community.

Derrick Adkins, History Teacher

Bio coming soon.

Demone Curry, PE / Health Teacher

Bio coming soon.

Kacie Desomer, Science Teacher

Kacie DeSomer teaches chemistry and astronomy at Mark Armijo Academy. Originally from Edgewood, New Mexico, Ms. DeSomer attended New Mexico State University and received a B.S. in environmental science. She enjoys working at MAA because she feels that it feels like a family and was initially drawn to the school because she felt connected to the community. She ultimately hopes to obtain her Master’s Degree in education and dreams of traveling the world, playing golf and reading plenty of good books.

Sharon Ostrom, Special Education Teacher

Bio coming soon.

Domenico Tognoni, Office Manager

My name is Domenico Tognoni. I am a single father of two wonderful little girls, Jasmine, 9 and Lilliana, 6. I served in the United States Air Force from 2002-2006 and exited the military with an Honorable Discharge.  I received my Associates’ Degree in Integrated Studies from Central Mexico Community College and I am currently attending the University of New Mexico to receive my BA in Fine Arts. I have been a substitute teacher for the last 3 years and this school year will be my first full year as an Educational Assistant. I am excited to be at Mark Armijo Academy and I believe I can help students accomplish many of the goals our students set for themselves and their future.

Alyssa Jackson, Educational Assistant

Bio coming soon.