Our Team

Scott Hindman

Scott Hindman

Co-founder and Founding Executive Director

Scott Hindman is the co-founder and founding Executive Director of Excellent Schools New Mexico, a nonprofit organization that helps local leaders build and grow transformational schools that put the needs of New Mexico children and families first.

Scott previously served as the Chief Financial and Operating Officer of the Achievement Schools network in Memphis, where he helped lead significant work to improve several of Tennessee’s lowest performing schools. Prior to joining the Achievement Schools, Scott spent several years in various roles at J.P. Morgan and First Solar. Scott began his career in the Anaheim Angels’ minor league system, where he pitched for three years after being selected by the Angels in the Major League Baseball Draft.

Scott earned an A.B. in American History and African American Studies from Princeton University, an M.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Education, and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is a graduate of the Broad Residency in Urban Education, Leadership New Mexico, and Leadership Albuquerque, and serves on the boards of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and the Albuquerque Community Foundation’s Investment Committee. Scott lives in Tijeras with his wife, Meaghan, a lifelong public school educator and the co-founder and co-director of Altura Prep, and their two young daughters.

jane-henzerling

Jane Henzerling

Managing Director of Programs

Driven by an unwavering belief in every child’s potential, Jane Henzerling has dedicated her career to improving K-12 education with a focus on quality, accountability, access, and results. She is the Managing Director of Programs for Excellent Schools New Mexico, where she leads the organization’s educator fellowship work and coaches our partner schools to help strengthen their outcomes. Jane is passionate about adult learning and building positive, high-functioning teams that enable organizations to advance their mission.

Previously, Jane was the Managing Director of Professional Learning at Gradient Learning and Assistant Secretary for Policy, Innovation, and Measurement at the New Mexico Public Education Department. She was the Founder and Head of School of Mission Preparatory, a K-8 college-prep public charter school in San Francisco, CA, which has consistently been recognized as a top school in the Bay Area. Her experiences have taken her from Phoenix, AZ, where she began her career as a bilingual teacher, to Miami, FL, where she led the Teach For America site, to Hartford, CT, where she honed nonprofit leadership skills at Real Art Ways.

Jane was a Fellow of the Johns Hopkins University Institute for Education Policy and has served as a board member of the international NGO Atlas Corps and of DreamHouse, a 6-12 charter school in ‘Ewa Beach on Oahu, HI. She is currently board president of the Upstart Crows of Santa Fe.

Jane graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Spanish from Skidmore College and earned her MEd in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University.  She was a 2017 Presidential Leadership Scholar and continues to engage with fellow alumni on cross-sector, bi-partisan initiatives to address society’s greatest challenges.  Jane lives in Santa Fe with her musician husband and their son, a theatre student at New Mexico School for the Arts.

Steve Ulibarri

Steve Ulibarri

Field Director

Steve Ulibarri serves as Excellent Schools New Mexico’s Field Director, where he helps our partner schools build stronger relationships with families, local community partners, civic leaders, and legislators. He trains parents to find and use their voice to help their children access quality schools.

Steve also helps with our communications efforts. He tells the amazing stories of our parents, school leaders, students, and teachers through video production and creating content for digital distribution.

Steve’s career has included time working in the private, public, and non-profit sectors as an educator, lobbyist, communications leader, and development director. Steve and his wife, Renee, are native New Mexicans, live in the Albuquerque area, and are charter school parents.

Board of Directors

Pat McDonough (Chair)
Founder, True North Capital Advisors

Norm Becker
CEO, New Mexico Mutual (Retired)

Alan Bell
President, Rio Grande (Retired)

Rathi Casey
Chief Creative Officer, Homewise

Sally Corning
Partner, Sun Mountain Capital Partners

Mike Loftin
CEO, Homewise

Joe Lujan
President, HUB International

Patrick Mason
Partner, Mason & Isaacson

Kurt Sommer
Managing Partner, Sommer Udall

Help us ensure that all New Mexico children can access a world-class public school education

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