NM TSTM Team
Rebecca Sherry (she/her) is a Professional Learning Coordinator for PropelNM and is based in Albuquerque. She has worked for more than 20 years as an ESL instructor and program coordinator in urban and rural communities in New Mexico, Washington, and Texas. Her professional interests include curriculum design, integrated and contextualized ESL instruction in career pathways courses, online instruction, and, of course, supporting instructors. Rebecca has an MATESOL from the University of Washington. She has been a member of the New Mexico TSTM Team since its inception in 2020.
Contact Information
Email or Google Chat: rasherry@nmdelt.org
Bill Hladky has been a member of the TSTM Team since 2020 and works out of Las
Cruces. He has worked for WNMU for the past 10 years as a HSE instructor and has taught graduate business courses at Marlboro College and undergraduate math courses at Vermont Community College. Bill has an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University with a concentration in human resources. He endeavors to motivate adult learners by encouraging them to take responsibility for their learning progress and engaging in lively classroom discussions via the Harkness learning methodology.
Contact Information
Email or Google Chat: hladkyw@nmdelt.org
Meriah Lira is currently the Adult Education Instructional Coordinator at Clovis Community College. She had tutored English and taught ESL and HSE at Clovis Community College since 2014. Meriah began working with the Distant Learning Team in 2020 and has been working closely with the team and teachers across the state to provide technology support and trainings.
Contact Information
Email or Google Chat: mlira@nmdelt.org
Nina Bar-Giora (she/her) As part of Taos Education and Career Center (TECC) at UNM-Taos, Nina teaches IET courses in the I-BEST co-teaching model. These include CNA, EMT-B, and alternative building in Construction Technology. She is also an integrated science/language arts instructor in TECC’s high school equivalency program. While relatively new to adult education, she enjoys the challenges and fulfillment that come from helping students empower themselves through their educational and career journey. Before working at TECC/UNM-Taos, Nina worked in environmental education, Philadelphia public schools, and with at-risk youth in Northern New Mexico.
Contact Information
Email: nina.bg@nmdelt.org
Tina Hite has served in many different positions in adult education during the past three decades. Early in her career as an instructor, she was introduced to theme-based instruction and found that it helped students maintain interest in classes, improved participation, and improved learning outcomes. She also followed the research of Equipped for the Future (EFF) and the skills that "adults need to know and be able to do in order to carry out their roles and responsibilities as workers, parents and family members, and citizens and community members." (Stein, 2000) Teaching Skills That Matter (TSTM) takes these ideas to another level. Tina participated in the national TSTM project in 2020-2021 as the state lead and is excited about bringing this project to New Mexico adult educators. She enjoys working collaboratively with adult educators and appreciates the hard work and dedication of the NM TSTM Team.
Contact Information
Email or Google Chat: tina@nmdelt.org
TSTM: A Train the Trainer Initiative
Teaching the Skills That Matter in Adult Education (TSTM) is a national training initiative from the American Institute for Research (AIR) and the U.S. Dept. of Education. This training offers adult educators research-based, field-tested curriculum and strategies designed to help learners gain critical skills for education and employment in meaningful and engaging ways. New Mexico was invited to participate in the national TSTM training in 2020-21, and an initial group of four instructors were chosen through an application process to join with colleagues across the country for an 8-month learning journey into the TSTM content, skills, approaches, and implementation. The first NM TSTM Team was comprised of William (Bill) Hladky (WNMU), Meriah Lira (Clovis CC), Eva Rivera-Lebron (SIPI), and Rebecca Sherry (CNM) with Tina Hite as the state professional development lead.
TSTM is a train-the-trainer initiative, so our state team continues to evolve to meet the needs of New Mexico adult educators. In 2022-23, Nina Bar-Giora, an instructor who completed our first New Mexico TSTM Cohort from the prior year, joined the NM TSTM Team as a consultant and coach.