Meet the Staff

---

Mrs. Melanie Chavez, Principal, went to UNM where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with a minor in Political Science. She received her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from The University of Phoenix. Mrs. Chavez has been at St. Mary’s for several years. She has taught fourth grade, a fourth/fifth grade combo class, second grade and was the middle school language arts teacher. She was named St. Mary’s Teacher of the Year in 2012 and 2018, and has received the Catholic Foundation Teacher of the Year in 2016. She and her husband have three children, who are all alumni of St. Mary’s and went on to continue their Catholic education at St. Pius X. 

Mrs. Charlene Baca has been the first grade teacher at St. Mary's Catholic school since 2003. She loves teaching at a Catholic school so that she can integrate faith into all the subjects, and she enjoys the challenge of teaching inquisitive young minds so that they can achieve academic growth that exceeds expectations.  Mrs. Baca is a parishioner at Our Lady of Belen Catholic Parish, where she serves as a lector at the 4pm Saturday Vigil Mass. She has been married to Gilbert Baca since 1989, and has two children, Brenton and Austin. Mrs. Baca received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of New Mexico in 1989 and she is a Level 2 teacher licensed by the state of New Mexico.  

Ms. Susan Barela, educational assistant, is native to New Mexico with family roots in the Manzano Mountains. She attended The University of New Mexico Valencia Campus where she obtained her Educational Assistant Level 3 Licenses Certification. With twenty-two years of experience working in the Belen Public Schools system, she has recently retired in 2020 as an Elementary/Special Education Instructional Assistant at Gil Sanchez Elementary. Ms. Barela has 3 sons and numerous grandchildren, and has a passion for educating and caring for children. With this deep passion, she is excited to influence and educate students at St. Mary’s Catholic School. Beside working with children, Ms. Barela also likes to spend her time gardening, baking, and attending Mass at Our Lady of Belen. 

  Mrs. Vera Gibson is the Middle School Math teacher. She is a product of Catholic Schools (St. Mary’s ABQ & Our Lady of Fatima). She received a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics/Business and a Masters of Business Administration from New Mexico State University in 2007. For 11.5 years, she worked in an alternative education setting, helping youth in and out of the classroom learn through hands on education. She and her husband Roy Glenn have been married for over 10 years and have two sons who attend St. Mary’s. She loves kids and is always excited to get to work in her classroom.   

  Ms. Alex Jaquez is the Middle School Science teacher. She also does the science lab for grades Pre-K through 5 th grades. Ms. Carrillo graduated from the University of New Mexico with a double Bachelor’s Degree in General Education as well as Special Education. In the summer, you may have seen her at the Belen High School pool where she teaches swimming lessons and supervises the life guards. She has certifications in First-Aid and CPR.  

Mrs. Sohaila Lucero, Technology Specialist, System Administrator, Elementary STEM/Makerspace and Middle School Technology teacher. While completing her B.Sc in Computer Science from Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), she worked as an assistant System Administrator at the School of Pharmacy, MUN. In 2003, she began working as a Software Engineer for the ALMA project at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). She started working at Saint Mary's at the end of 2014. She was awarded teacher of the year in 2019 in Albuquerque and in the state of New Mexico by the the Air Force Association for STEM focused curriculum.