Meet Our Team
Great Teachers Inspire
Our tutors and staff in Albuquerque consist of passionate educators who love inspiring children to succeed. Warm, caring and great at relating to kids, our tutors in Albuquerque know how to engage and motivate each child in a personal way—building confidence and smiles, as well as skills and better scores. We selectively choose tutors who know local curriculum and can link Sylvan lessons to what’s being taught in school.
Get to know our tutors and staff in Albuquerque!
Maria Romero
Executive Director
Ms. Romero joined Sylvan Learning Centers in 2022 as the Director of Education working directly as an instructor and assessment proctor for new student enrollment. She was promoted to Center Director overseeing all administrative operations, staffing, scheduling and center instruction; and within a year to her current position as the Executive Director overseeing both centers located in Albuquerque (East and West).
Ms. Romero has a passion for helping students to have a personal learning experience that surpasses the competition. While she knows that all parents have choices when it comes to helping their students overcome their academic struggles, she helps to make the experience not just a journey to achieving their academic goals but to also to make learning fun.
She brings an array of experience from both the private and corporate sector of business in areas such as Banking, Engineering, Technical Writing, Process Engineering, Manufacturing and Multi Medica Communications and Public Relations. She was a certified teacher for APS as an “Art in the School” instructor.
She served on many boards, most recently as a voting member for a charter school, has served as various committee chairs and is a past member of the Junior Leagues of Albuquerque, the Symphony Guild and very active as a sponsor of many community projects such as Boo for the Zoo.
She is Sylvan Certified in Early Reading, Reading, Writing, Study Skills, Advanced Study Skills, Math and as an Assessment Proctor.
Please feel free to reach out to her personally if you are interested in learning more about Sylvan and what it can do to help with your students’ academic goals.
Andrea Toledo
Educational Instructor (Early Literacy, Reading, Math, Study Skills, Advanced Study Skills and Assessment Proctor)
Ms. Toledo joined Sylvan in 2022 as an Educational Instructor of Early Literacy, Reading and Math. Her passion for teaching brought her to Sylvan and as a current teacher at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho, Ms. Toledo has brought her experience as a teacher in Government, Civics, Math and English to our centers with a great sense of knowledge in helping students to better understand subjects that are sometimes overlooked as being of importance.
Donna Philips
Director
Mrs. Philips joined Sylvan Learning Center in 2023 as an Early Literacy Instructor. She has loved being at Sylvan and is now not only teaching all subjects as a result of her desire to do more for her students, she was recently promoted to Center and Education Director.
“Miss Donna” as her students call her, has been in education for over 32 years having just retired from Albuquerque Public Schools where she was a middle school and high school teacher – most recently at Jimmy Carter Middle School. She served on various committees to oversee an array of programs in her vast career. She has a love for teaching that exceeds many expectations and it is evident by her passion for putting all of her students at ease with learning. She makes sure that her students leave with a smile knowing that they’ve done a great job.
Mrs. Philips has a Bachelors Degree in Education from Highlands University and a Masters Degree in Education from the University of New Mexico.
She is Sylvan Certified in the areas of Early Reading, Reading, Math, Study Skills, Advanced Study skills and Assessment Proctoring.
Analysa (Ana) Miranda
Director
Miss Miranda joined Sylvan Learning Centers in 2023 as a Teaching Assistant. She transitioned into the role of instructor and now serves as a Center/Education Director. Miss Miranda loves teaching and has shown such a passion for the students she works with, they absolutely love her. “Miss Ana” shows great detail for making sure that each of her students have the opportunity to think beyond their lessons and allows them to “think outside the box” from what they are doing to see how far they can go. She challenges them to learn and as they grow academically, she assures them that when they work hard, they can do anything as a result of their success.
Miss Miranda is currently attending the University of New Mexico working to obtain a Bachelors of Science in Biology.
She is Sylvan Certified in the areas of Early Reading, Reading, Math and as an Assessment Proctor.
Brent Apgar
Educational Instructor (Math, Reading, Science and Homework Support)
Mr. Apgar joined Sylvan Learning Centers in 2019 as an instructor specializing in all areas of Math. He has over 20 years of experience in the classroom and as an instructor for higher education. His approach to teaching students is to use math in their everyday lives, he helps them connect using math with sports, cooking, eating, and games. Most students don’t realize that they are learning, they just know its now something the understand and can use to show results.
Mr. Apgar served in the United States Navy in the area of nuclear power field and through his education and degree in Materials Science and Engineering, from Seattle Central Community College and the University of Washington gave him the opportunity to show students that math can be fun.
He is Sylvan Certified in Math, Study Skills and Homework Support in all areas of Science.
Start your child on the path to academic success today
Give us a call at (505) 545-8361 or fill out the form to discuss your child’s learning goals.
* Indicates required field