Staff

THE ADMIN TEAM

Gloria Rael

Executive Director and Founder

A native New Mexican, Gloria earned a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of New Mexico and a Bachelor of Arts in Business from New Mexico Highlands University. Gloria applies her passion to program development and management with public, private and non-profit organizations. Gloria has managed Adult Education programs since 2006 and founded Albuquerque GED®, Inc. (now ABQ-ALC) in 2010. Under her leadership, Adult Education programs include Literacy, Family Literacy, Career Pathways, and Pre-Apprenticeship IET programming. Gloria has increased enrollment by over 30%. She strives to find innovative ways to expand and address the unmet need in Adult Education.

John Glinsman

Education Director

John grew up in Littleton, Colorado, and attended Colorado College in Colorado Springs where he received his bachelor's degree in Classics, Religion, and Philosophy. He also received his Master's in Theology from Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. In addition, John has completed graduate level courses in psychology and counseling. John has over 10 years of experience teaching English to adult and university students, including teaching positions in Vietnam and Sweden. John has also traveled extensively and has been to over 50 countries. He is passionate to help students achieve their goals and loves teaching students of diverse backgrounds and cultures. John feels that teaching is a mutual process and that he learns just as much from his students as they learn from him. In addition to his work at the ABQ-ALC, John owns a personal business through which he teaches trauma informed courses, is the co-creator of Polyvagal Parenting, and offers trauma informed hypnotherapy. He is a polyvagal theory nerd, and spends a lot of his free time studying trauma and neurophysiology, that is, when he's not also outside enjoying the wonderful natural settings of New Mexico and beyond.

Shiva Hardee

Data Coordinator

Shiva Hardee has an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts and has worked in various administrative support roles in the field of education at CNM and UNM for over 22 years. Shiva is passionate about education, and has extensive experience with both customer service and data management. Shiva serves as the administrative assistant for the Executive Director and Data Coordinator for the organization. Her job duties include answering the phone, document management, supplies ordering, documenting meeting minutes and managing student data. In her spare time, Shiva enjoys playing with her granddaughters when they can visit, reading science fiction & fantasy novels and working jigsaw puzzles.

Instructors

Samuel Enka

High School Equivalency

Samuel has a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from Northeastern State University and a Teaching Certification in Education from CNM with endorsements in Art, Social Studies/Humanities, and Special Education. He has two years of teaching experience with adult education and twelve years in K-12 at various Albuquerque Charter Schools. Samuel prefers a phenomenological approach in which student experience is paramount in creating meaningful education. He is a single father who enjoys art, music, and classic auto restoration.

Madeline Brown-Hernandez

High School Equivalency- Distance Education

Madeline Brown-Hernandez, originally from NYC, has been an Adult Education Instructor for 23 years. She has a Master's Degree in Education. In addition, she holds the Adult Education Credential, which was obtained from Texas State University. Her teaching philosophy is centered around guiding the students in realizing their potential and in reaching their individual goals. She loves spending time with her children, teaching yoga and meditation classes, and exploring the Land of Enchantment!

Raul Villarreal

Family Wellness

Raul has a Juris Doctor degree and has taught for seven years in secondary education. Raul is proficient in English and Spanish and his background includes Software Development education. This is his third year teaching at ABQ-ALC in hybrid and virtual modalities. Raul thinks that education is more about the process than the outcome, which is why he founded Parents College. Through Parents College, Raul also brings families together to learn together in a fun setting. The core of his life is his family and he spends as much time enjoying a wide range of activities with them.

Maria Jensen

High School Equivalency- Foundations

Maria has over thirty years of experience in teaching academics and has worked in adult education for over 10 of them. She received her BS in education in the 1980s and since then has earned an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies (writing/psychology) and has done graduate study in sociology as well. Her additional background working in social services makes her passionate about bringing equity to the realm of education so that all students can be successful no matter their background. She also strongly believes that enabling all students to improve their critical thinking skills will empower them to make better decisions in their lives and for their families. Raised in Arizona, she has lived most of her life in the southwest United States but has also lived and taught in northern Colorado, San Francisco, California, and the country of Guatemala.
Her interests include wellness, trail running, writing, gardening, and studying the recovery process for those impacted by trauma.

ESL Instructors

James Padilla

ESL Instructor

James Padilla, an ESL instructor, is a lifelong New Mexican with B.S. and M.S. degrees in behavioral sciences. He spent over 20 years working in public health programs on data analysis, program evaluation, training, and ensuring outreach and services to diverse populations across the state. More recently, he spends his time working and volunteering with non-profit organizations. He is certified to teach English as a foreign language and is excited to be gaining experience teaching English online to refugees internationally and to adults in-person through ABQ-ALC. In his free time, James enjoys hiking, biking, and running in the outdoors, photography, writing, and traveling and exploring in other countries and across other cultures.

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