Mr. Walter Roybal

President

Current Profession: 

• Commercial Loan Officer at San Luis Valley Federal Bank. 

Education: 

• Adams State University: Bachelor of Science: Business Administration (1994); Master of Arts: HPPE- Sports Administration (2008). 

Length of time in the community:

• Lifelong resident of Sierra Grande School District.  Graduated from Sierra Grande High School in 1990.  Attended Kindergarten through 12th grade. 

Family:

• Married to Emma Roybal and have four children who have all attended Sierra Grande Schools.  Dariana who graduated in 2011, Lukadio who graduated in 2012, Chelsea who graduated in 2013, and Anikah who is a member of the class of 2023.  I have two siblings that graduated in 1982 and 1983, respectively.  My father graduated from Sierra Grande in the 60’s after attending school in Blanca and later Sierra Grande when the schools in Blanca and Fort Garland consolidated.      

How long you have served on the school board:

• I have served on the Sierra Grande School Board since 2017.  I also represent the Board on the San Luis Valley BOCES. I have served on the Sierra Grande School District/Design Advisory Group and the Executive District/Design Advisory Group.   

Other school or community programs:

• President of the Sierra Grande High School Scholarship Foundation, Inc.

• Volunteer Firefighter for the Costilla County Fire Protection District

• Board member for the Costilla County Fire Protection District Board of Directors. 

• Previously served on the Colorado 12th Judicial Performance Commission. 

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Mrs. Esmeralda Martinez

Vice-President

Esmeralda Martinez is the Migrant Education Program Director of the Southwest Region at Adams State University in Colorado.   Previous to being a director, she was a teacher and English Language Acquisition Site Coordinator for the Alamosa School District.  She began her career teaching English Learners in 1997.  This experience motivated her to obtain a Master’s Degree in Linguistically Diverse Education. In an effort to facilitate instruction for Spanish learners in their native language, Mrs. Esmeralda Martinez completed coursework earning her an endorsement in reading. Mrs. Martinez is a former member of the CABE (Colorado Association of Bilingual Education) board of directors.  Her latest educational achievement was the completion of her Principal Licensure in May of 2013.   Mrs. Martinez represents Colorado in the Interstate Migrant Education Council (IMEC) a National Policy Organization Advocating for the Nation’s Migrant Children and Youth.  Mrs. Martinez currently serves as Vice-President for the Board of Directors for the Sierra Grande Scholarship Foundation, a nonprofit organization which provides high school graduates with scholarships to further their education.  Mrs. Martinez was voted by the people of the Sierra Grande community to represent them as a Sierra Grande School District R30 School Board Member in 2015.  She is currently serving on the Sierra Grande School Board as Vice-President.  Mrs. Martinez also serves in the advisory council and steering committee for the College Assistance Migrant Program at Adams State University.  Mrs. Martinez is an active advocate for all students.  She spends most of her time planning and implementing programs that make a difference for those in most need of advocacy.  Her passion embraces the needs of equity, justice and achievement for all youth.

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Mrs. Katherine Lancaster

Treasurer

Current profession

• Real Estate Broker Associate/Property Manager

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Education:

• Graduated from Sierra Grande in 2009. Graduated from Adams State University with a bachelor’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology

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Length of time:

• Born and raised

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Family:

• Husband Shane is the manager of Trinchera Ranch. We have two daughters together-Olivia is four years old and Emersyn is four months old

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Board:

• I have served on the board for one year 

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Mr. Ramon Garcia

Secretary & B.O.C.E.S. Representative

Ramon Garcia is currently the youngest elected Board of Education Director in the history of Sierra Grande at the age of 19, when he took his oath of office in November 2021. On his run for the position of School Board Director he was honored to receive an endorsement from Colorado Representative of HD-62 Donald Valdez, “to continue to further our education in our communities.” Ramon is a graduate of the Sierra Grande Class of 2021, where he attended school from Kindergarten to 12th grade. From 2017 to 2019, he was one of the students that took part in the District Design Advisory Group for the new school. He lived in the community his entire life with his parents Ashley Pacheco and Ray Garcia and his grandparents Tammy Trujillo-Pacheco and Lawrence Pacheco. Ramon is pursuing post-secondary education at Adams State University and is projecting to double major in Sociology with an area of emphasis in Criminology and in Political Science. He currently serves on the School Board, representing District 1, as the Secretary and on the B.O.C.E.S Board as the Legislative Representative. Ramon also helps assist in sponsoring the Sierra Grande Student Council Committee. Ramon’s mission on the Board of Education is to give back and serve the community, create additional opportunities for students and give all individuals involved in education a voice.

You may contact me at rcgarcia002@gmail.com.

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Mrs. Wendy Fischer

Board Member

Current Profession

• Executive Director, UAVWF (Colorado Wildland Fire & Incident Management Academy)

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Education

• Bachelor of Science, Forestry Management and German from University of WI, Stevens Point (1993).

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Length of Time in the Community

• Moved to Fort Garland in fall of 2006. Have been in the San Luis Valley since 1998. 

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Family

• My husband James is the forester for the Trinchera Ranch. We have 2 children that recently graduated from Sierra Grande School. Hannah (2017) is a senior at Northern Arizona University studying environmental engineering. Keaton (2020) is a freshman studying aviation science with a professional pilot license at Baylor University. 

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How long have you served on the school board?

• I was elected to the board in 2009 and served as the treasurer until voted president in 2017. In 2021, I will complete 12 years and term out. It has been my pleasure to serve our children and community.

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Other school or community programs:

• Sierra Grande Accountability Committee 2007-2008.

• Sierra Grande Science Fair Coordinator, 2015 to present.

• Sierra Grande Panther Pride Booster Club, 2012 to present

• SVL Fair Board, Costilla County Representative, 2015 to present

• 4-H Leader and County Council Advisor, 2010 to present

• Civil Air Patrol, Senior Member, 2019 to present

• Beta Sigma Phi member since 1997

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