FACULTY AND STAFF
Jocelyn Lyons-Baral - Lead Guide, Ponderosa Classroom
Jocelyn is an experienced Lower Elementary Montessori guide and is excited to be teaching this year at Guadalupe Montessori. Jocelyn was a lower elementary guide in Tucson for seven years and has many other teaching experiences, including teaching ESL both in the US, as well as Russia and China. Jocelyn has four children ranging in age from 8-26. She has worked briefly in Early Intervention social work with 0-3 year olds, has run a small home preschool and more recently , has studied in a holistic culinary program. Jocelyn loves being in nature with her family, hiking, cooking and being of service to her community.
Erin Fitzgerald - Lead Guide, Sunflower Classroom
Erin Fitzgerald was raised in a family that loves travel and new experiences, but their home base was always the beautiful landscape of Southern New Mexico. After completing her degree in Cultural Anthropology and Creative Writing in 2013, Erin moved back to Silver City and found the Guadalupe Montessori School community. Erin had the opportunity to assist at each level of Montessori education offered at GMS (Toddler, Primary, and Elementary) before finding her niche as an Administrator. Erin and her partner have two children, Lydia and Arlo who are also vibrant and lively members of the GMS community. Although Erin’s passion is early childhood development and understanding cultural backgrounds of families, she also loves to hike, craft, cook, read and play with her children, and get her hands dirty while working with the earth. She is currently enrolled in the AMI Primary Training course and is set to complete her training in the summer of 2022.
Dillon Torborg - Co-Lead Guide, Agave Classroom
Dillon Torborg has 11 years experience working with young children. He started at the age of 17 with the non-profit organization Tucson Summer Music. Over the course of the summer, Dillon facilitated workshops on a variety of instruments. Mr. Torborg then went on to teach at Kids First Preschool (KFP), a nationally accredited school in Tucson, Arizona. He worked at KFP for 6 years, where he was promoted to co-lead of the Pre-K program. In 2021 life brought him to Silver City, where he found Guadalupe Montessori School. Dillon was First Assistant in the Primary Sunflower class for the 2022-2023 school year where he was trained in the Montessori method under Erin Fitzgerald and Joanie Morency. He was the Lead Guide for the 2023 Primary Summer Program. Dillon looks forward to sharing his skills with the Agave class, and he can't wait to get to know the Agave families.
Ana Trinidad - Co-Lead Guide, Agave Classroom
Ana Trinidad has been working in youth education since she was 19 years old, when she started a summer theatre program for kids 12-18 in New York's Lower East Side at the New Life Community Center. Ana became a Certified Teaching Artist in 2002 which granted her the ability to facilitate workshops across the country. In 2005, Ana became a New Voices Fellow through a Ford Foundation grant. As a New Voices Fellow, Ana became a Media Literacy educator, training youth on how to deconstruct media images so as not to perpetuate stereotypes when producing and creating their own. During this time, Ana participated in several educational trainings including: Train the Trainer; Non-Violent Communications; Non-Profit Management, as well as Diversity and Inclusivity. Since joining Guadalupe Montessori in the Fall of 2021 as an Assistant and Spanish Immersion teacher, Ana has enrolled in several early childhood education classes. Additionally, she is currently enrolled at Western New Mexico University where she is pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education. In 2022, Ms. Trinidad was awarded the EANS Literacy Specialist position, affording her the ability and autonomy to assist the Agave classroom’s developing literacy skills.
Joanie Morency - Consultant, Agave Classroom
Joanie joined us in 2017 as an assistant and then moved into the Lead Guide position in the Fall of 2018. Joanie is taking the year off to have her second baby and will act as a consultant for the Agave classroom this school year. Ana Trinidad and Dillon Torborg will co-lead the Agave classroom while Joanie spends time with her family.
Nicole Ortiz - Lead Guide, Buttercup Classroom
Nicole moved to Silver City from Douglas, AZ. She has always loved children and started babysitting at the age of 9. Nicole has two sons, and two grandchildren. She enjoys being outdoors helping her husband with his yard cleaning business and woodcutting. She has been with GMS since 2018.
Isabella "Izzy" Blasucci - Garden Supervisor
Izzy has been a dirt worshiper and plant whisperer since she was young. Hailing from New Jersey originally she grew up in a home with two Waldorf teacher parents and has always loved being a part of alternative education and the communities supporting them. She has worked in farms from Morocco to Maine and in Waldorf education as an assistant in New Jersey. The Montessori garden is yet another blessing that combines a beautiful outdoor classroom and beds bursting with produce for the kitchen and Izzy is grateful to be its shepherd for this school year.
