El Paso, TX – CREEED, an El Paso based non-profit organization exclusively focused on improving education outcomes, as a baseline to improving the El Paso economy, has welcomed two new members to its staff: Nadia Tellez, Choose to Excel Director and Mariana Gutierrez Vega, Parent and Community Engagement Coordinator. Their additions will help CREEED advance its mission of proactively working to increase the number of “college-ready” students in the El Paso region and ensuring more students go on to obtain a post-secondary degree.
Tellez joins CREEED after spending over 20 years working within El Paso’s public education system first as a teacher in Clint ISD as well as an instructional coach, teacher mentor and most recently as Assistant Principal at Montana Vista Elementary. As CREEED’s Choose to Excel Director, Tellez will expand and continue to support CREEED’s efforts to strengthen El Paso’s educator workforce through initiatives like the teacher residency program at UTEP as well as the new teacher mentorship program at various school districts. Additionally, she will add to CREEED’s focus on improving academic attainment through curriculum options and programs.
“Throughout my years as an educator and administrator, I witnessed firsthand the experiences that students, teachers, and parents face when navigating our region’s education system,” said Tellez. “I am excited to use what I have learned from those experiences to expand CREEED’s efforts to support more parents, students and educators in El Paso County.”
Gutierrez Vega began her role as CREEED’s Parent and Community Engagement Coordinator in April 2021. Since stepping into this role, Mariana has hosted over 30 parent workshops which equip parents with resources and information to support their children’s educational needs, launched a parent leadership fellowship program, and partnered with dozens of community organizations to discuss El Paso’s state of education. Before joining CREEED, she served as a Partnership Specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau and as a Fundraising Assistant and Community Engagement Coordinator for the United Way of El Paso.
“I am proud to help inspire and guide parents and guardians to advocate for higher quality education for their child and all students in El Paso,” said Gutierrez Vega. “CREEED continues to work with tremendous partners that are helping parents become more knowledgeable about El Paso’s public education choices and advocate for every student in our region to have the opportunity to attend a high-quality school that prepares them for college.”
“Both Nadia and Mariana are integral parts of our team and critical to fulfilling CREEED’s mission,” said Richard A. Castro, CREEED Board Chair. “The work they are doing provides a positive impact for families, students and educators across the region and deepens our commitment to increase educational attainment and create a globally competitive workforce in the El Paso region.”
For media inquiries, please contact Laura Rodriguez at (915) 209-2230 or media@creeed.org.
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About CREEED:
The Council on Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development (CREEED) is a notfor-profit organization focused on increasing the number of high-performing seats in El Paso’s public education system. This is accomplished by investing in initiatives that are creating measurable outcomes to close the achievement gap for El Paso students. CREEED supports organizations, initiatives, and policies that prepare students to succeed in college and in our future workforce. CREEED’s efforts are focused on increasing the quality of education that students receive in El Paso. Our efforts fall into three categories: Increasing Student Attainment; Increasing Teacher Talent & Leadership Development; and Increasing Parent and Community Engagement. Each of which contributes to the formation and sustainability of a quality workforce with quality career paths and opportunities.