BY KARYL ANN ARMBRUSTER
LWV Los Alamos

The League of Women Voters’ community event,  Lunch with a Leader, will be held Thursday, Sept. 19, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. at the Unitarian Church Fellowship Hall on Sage Loop in Los Alamos. The Director of Inclusive Schools at LAPS, Andrea Determan, is the guest speaker. As a key member of the district’s leadership team she is responsible for overseeing and supporting the district’s work in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives, as well as ensuring compliance with state, federal, and New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) mandates. She supports our Safe and Civil Schools initiatives, Social and Emotional learning efforts and our Equity Council.

Andrea’s career spans more than 30 years at the elementary, middle and high school levels, teaching students who lived in urban, suburban, rural, indigenous and migrant communities. She holds several degrees in education: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and a Masters of Arts. and a Masters of Arts in Educational Leadership (MAEL). She and her husband have lived in Los Alamos for 21 years. During that time, she taught at Los Alamos Middle School, Pojoaque Middle School, and Barranca Mesa Elementary. While at LAPS, she was nominated “Teacher of the Year” and “Educator of Distinction”.