Around Northern New Mexico

Marcia Barton, a National Board Certified teacher in Environmental Science and a Santa Fe High School science teacher, has been selected as a national Albert Einstein distinguished educator fellow by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

Barton is one of a dozen 2012 Einstein Fellows selected nationally. She’s the first from Santa Fe.

The Einstein Fellowship, which began in 1990, gives K-12 science, technology and mathematics teachers an opportunity serve in the national policy arena by spending a school year in Washington, D.C., within a federal agency or Congressional office. Einstein fellows are intended to provide classroom insight and “real world” perspective on programming and policy making.

Each fellow receives a monthly stipend of $6,000 plus a $1,000 monthly cost of living allowance.

Burton will be serve her fellowship at the National Science Foundation, in the Geosciences Directorate, GEO Education and Diversity Program.

Barton was previously the SFHS science department co-chair and a life science teacher at Capshaw Middle School. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in Science Teaching from New Mexico Tech.

“It is an honor to be selected as the first Einstein Fellow from Santa Fe,” Barton said in a statement released by the school district. “I am passionate about using inquiry and project based methods of teaching science to engage learners through the development of critical thinking skills.”

Christus CEO In Top 25 Execs List

Alex Valdez, president and CEO of Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, has been selected as one of the country’s top 25 minority health care executives by Modern Healthcare magazine.

Valdez, of Española, joined what was then St. Vincent Hospital in September 2002, as vice president and general counsel. Two years later he was promoted to president and CEO.

Two years into that job, Valdez and the hospital board initiated a strategic planning process which ultimately led to the hospital becoming part of Christus Health four years ago.

Valdez, a former state Health Department secretary, is a fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives and was recently elected to the board of the Catholic Health Association of the United States.

Las Vegas Man Killed in Rollover

A 24-year-old Las Vegas, N.M., man was killed Monday morning in a rollover accident on Interstate 25 near Rowe, according to State Police press statement.

Nathan Martinez was driving “at a high rate of speed” south on 1-25 before he lost control of his black 1994 Ford pickup, the State Police report said.

The truck rolled two or three times, with Martinez being ejected and dying at the scene.

An open alcoholic container was found near the vehicle, but it’s unknown whether booze contributed to the wreck, according to State Police.