Meet the Staff

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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. 

 Ms. Kimberly Allen is our 4th grade teacher. This is her  first year teaching at St. Mary's Catholic School. She has lived her  entire life in Peralta, NM and this is where she is currently raising  her 6 boys. In her free time she enjoys camping and fishing with her  boys. Although almost all her free time involves going to her sons  football games. She attended school at the University of New Mexico and  is currently furthering her education at Grand Canyon University. She is  very excited to be joining the St. Marys family!

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. 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. Alex Carrillo 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. 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.  

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. 

Ms. Breanne Rocco, Art/Music teacher, went to Adams State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Music. For 16 years she worked as a Trainer/Supervisor with Progressive Insurance company. She has one son who attends St. Mary's and is a member of the Our Lady of Belen parish. She is very excited to teach both Music and Art here at St. Mary's.

 Mrs.  Theresa Sanchez is the Kindergarten teacher.  She has been teaching here at St. Mary's since 2022.  She is married to Juan J  Sanchez and together they have one son named Juan. She has three older children:  Blanca, Gabriel and Sonia.  She has three  step-children (CheyAnne, Lindsey and Elena) and 3 step grandchildren  (Leighton, Johnny and Armando).  Theresa is from Aragon NM and went to school in Reserve, NM for 8 years.  For the rest of her high school  education, she was homeschooled with a correspondence course from Seton  Home Study School in Front Royal, VA.  Theresa received her Bachelorette  of Science Degree with an endorsement in Mathematics at the University of New Mexico college in Albuquerque NM.  Theresa enjoys spending time  with her family, cooking, gardening and working in the yard.  

 Ms. Marina Sweeney is the PE teacher. She doesn’t have much experience  working with children in a school setting, but she has years of  experience being around lots of children. She has 17 nieces and nephews  in total and she is fortunate to have four of them right here in school  with her to offer her guidance. She was a substitute teacher at the  Faith Formation center, where she also dedicated her time to helping in  the office. Children are at the center of her everyday life so she is  happy to be here.