Angelina Canto
Superintendent

Angelina Canto has been part of the Nogales Unified School District team for almost thirty-two years, dedicated to serving our students, staff, and families since being employed by the district in 1992. She began her career as a science teacher at Pierson Middle School, before moving to Desert Shadows Middle School when the school first opened. At DSMS, she enjoyed teaching math and science classes as well as holding various site leadership roles before being selected as the school’s assistant principal. In 2000, she was named the principal at A.J. Mitchell Elementary School, where she proudly served the school community for seven years before being appointed as the district’s School Improvement Director and later becoming the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment.

Ms. Canto has earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Puget Sound. Her post-baccalaureate secondary teaching certification and Master of Arts in Teaching & Teacher Education were both earned at the University of Arizona. Mrs. Canto has also completed doctoral-level coursework at the University of Arizona in educational leadership. Additionally, she has served on several state committees to represent the needs of our students and is honored to give back to the Nogales community as a board member of the Santa Cruz County United Way. Ms. Canto is also an executive member of the University of Arizona Professional Preparation Board and a member of the Arizona Rural Schools Association. 

Aissa Celeste Bonillas
Assistant Superintendent

Aissa Bonillas was born in Nogales, AZ. She attended Mary L. Welty Elementary, Wade Carpenter Middle School, and Nogales High School. Ms. Bonillas graduated from NHS in 1999. She went on to continue her education at the University of Arizona, graduating in 2003 with a double major in Political Science and Secondary Education and a minor in Spanish.

Ms. Bonillas began working at Nogales High School in August 2003, teaching Spanish for five years and AP Government for one year.  While teaching at Nogales High School, she also coached the dance team from 2003 to 2005. Ms. Bonillas received a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership - Administration and Supervision from the University of Phoenix in 2007. She also served as the Honors Coordinator from 2007 to 2009, overseeing the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate program. Ms. Bonillas then became the Assistant Principal at Nogales High School in 2009.

Mayra Zuniga
Human Resources Director

Mayra L. Zuniga has a passion for public education, public service, and personnel management. As the district’s human resources director, her goal is to provide leadership and HR programs that attract, develop, and retain dedicated support staff, teachers, and administrators who are committed to student learning and excellence in education. She is committed to being an exemplary provider of human resources – values, integrity, ethics, professionalism, quality customer service, and teamwork. She began her career in the private sector at US Gypsum Company and, before joining NUSD, served as HR Director for the City of Nogales.

Ms. Zuniga is a native of Nogales and a product of Nogales Unified School District #1. She earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration/personnel management from Arizona State University and has been awarded the following professional credentials: Professional in Human Resources (PHR), Society of Human Resources Certified Professional (SHRM-CP), and Certified Public Manager (CPM) through the School of Public Affairs at ASU. Ms. Zuniga is committed to her community both through her professional work and association with civic community organizations.  

Elizabeth Lopez
Grants Director

Elizabeth Lopez has over 20 years of accounting experience, serving educational institutions and non-profit organizations. She joined NUSD in 2015 and served in various finance positions, including payroll and budgeting & finance services.  In her current role as Grant Director, she oversees and manages federal, state, and local grants.

Lopez holds a bachelor’s degree from Vanguard University and a master’s degree in Human Resources from Chapman University. Elizabeth is committed to serving her community to make a difference in the younger generation. 

Sandra Licet Jimenez
Finance Director

Ms. Jimenez has dedicated twenty-five years to the success of students at NUSD. As a school principal, she implemented evidence-based practices, fostered a collaborative school culture, and facilitated significant improvements in student achievement. Her ability to analyze data, identify areas for growth, and develop targeted action plans has resulted in measurable gains in academic performance and student outcomes.
Ms. Jimenez holds a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University and a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. 
In her role as the Continuous Improvement Director, Ms. Jimenez is responsible for overseeing the district's English Language Acquisition services and strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing the overall educational experience. She collaborates with school principals, teachers, and district administrators to identify areas of improvement, implement effective instructional strategies, and provide ongoing professional development opportunities. 
Ms. Jimenez is dedicated to fostering a culture of continuous improvement and ensuring the success of all students within the school district.

Judith Mendoza-Jimenez
Student Services Director

Judith Mendoza-Jimenez is the student services director for the Nogales Unified School District. She is responsible for registration and students’ health and special needs. The task of his department is to make all student-related services efficient with the ability to solve students’ educational problems using a common sense approach.
Mrs. Mendoza-Jimenez is an example of how someone growing up in the Ambos Nogales area in a rural border town can achieve great heights. She was born and raised in Nogales, Sonora; she attended school there up to the fourth grade before immigrating to Nogales, Arizona.
Mrs. Mendoza-Jimenez is a product of a warm, caring family and the Nogales Unified School District. After graduating from Nogales High School in 1996, she attended and graduated from the University of Arizona in May 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in special education and rehabilitation. She joined the NUSD family in July 2000 by taking a teaching position at Nogales High School, where she taught special education.
While at Nogales High School, she was a curriculum leader served on the School Improvement Team, and Safety Committee, as a class sponsor, and created the Successful Kids Improving Lifelong Skills (SKILLS) Club, where students with special needs were integrated into the school’s community.
She received a master's of arts from the University of Arizona in May 2005 in special education and rehabilitation. In 2008, she earned a master's in education in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University and joined the Nogales High School administration assistant principal in July 2009. She was very instrumental in the implementation of a school-wide professional development intervention and in helping NHS achieve its site goals by meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).
In March 2011, she took the reins as interim principal and applied and was subsequently accepted for the position of school principal for the 2011-2012 school year.

Alejandro Lopez
Information Technology Director

Alejandro Lopez is the information technology director for the Nogales Unified School District. Alejandro manages the technology department staff using a synergistic approach to ensure that the network, computers, software, and all telecommunications are operational, efficient, and secure. He works with the finance director and the superintendent to determine budgetary needs and administers all technology-related purchases district-wide, including E-rate projects.
Alejandro’s focus is to provide up-to-date technology and technology support to teachers, administration, and other district employees, maximizing the learning opportunities for all Nogales Unified School District students.
Alejandro has led the Nogales Unified School District's technology department since September 2008. Before taking on his new leadership role with the IT team, he completed five years of service as a network technician for our district. Alejandro has a bachelor of science in Information Technology with a concentration on Technology Management.  He has also received recognition as a Microsoft-certified professional. 

Oscar Islas Jr.
Support Services Director

Oscar Islas, Jr. is a local Nogales resident, born in Tucson and raised in Nogales. Oscar graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arizona in 1981. After graduation, he worked with a Tucson architecture firm and several development companies (private and government sectors) before moving to Los Angeles. While in California, Mr. Islas was employed by a couple of project management companies before opening his own project management company (Islas Consulting, LLC).
 Mr. Islas’ experience as a project manager has allowed him to manage various types of construction and development projects and has had similarly varied clients with varying complexities and budgets - $5K to more complex projects - $300M. His project management experience has prepared him for the challenges involved with managing consultants, architects, engineers, budgets, and schedules; not unlike what the role of Director of Support Services for Nogales Unified School District necessitates.  In the Support Services Director role, one must collaborate with others, follow local governing rules and regulations, develop budgets and scopes of work, and manage individuals with various backgrounds, experiences, and expectations, along with dealing with people’s expectations and adapting to managing those expectations for a positive outcome of all projects.
NUSD will continue to deal with limited state funding, remodeling, and/or aging buildings & infrastructure along with personnel and community expectations, which will require planning, staffing, and preparedness to deal with these issues now and in the future. These types of issues are exactly what his architectural degree and the past 35 years of work experience have prepared him for. Each project issue has a myriad of solutions that need to be individually reviewed and evaluated reasonably and rationally before being implemented and realized to achieve a positive outcome for everyone’s expectations. Mr. Islas will add value to NUSD in solving these types of issues as he understands the design/construction process, local subcontractor means and ways and has always dealt with the managing of expectations diplomatically between all the different parties which are always part of each project.

Irma Pierson-Fontes
Career and Technical Education Director

Irma Pierson-Fontes joined NUSD in 1977 as a Family and Consumer Science teacher. She taught for 30 years, Early Childhood Education, Fashion Design and Merchandising and Culinary Arts programs. While at Nogales High School in her tenor of 25 years, she was class sponsor, and curriculum leader for Career and Technical Education, Fine Art, and Music programs. Was also a member of the School Improvement Team, Safety Committee, and Parent Senate. Mrs. Fontes joined the administrative team as CTE Director in 2008. She enriched the CTE programs with the Honors option and extended the CTE Career program choices to currently fourteen programs for career pathways. Was a key introducer and promotor of the incentive to adopt the partnership with Pima JTED. Now every CTE program student has the opportunity to leave the CTE program with an industry certification in their hand, opening up entry-level job choices.

Graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor’s degree in Science in Family and Consumer Science. Earned her Master's Degree from the University of Arizona in Secondary Education and has completed many post master’s credits toward an administration certification. Mrs. Fontes is a third-generation born and raised in Nogales Arizona, a product of Nogales Unified School District. Attended Lincoln Elementary School and graduated from Nogales High School, as she states: where the success of Arizona starts. She completed a full circle as a proud member of the Nogales Unified School District serving for the improvement and offering career pathway opportunities for future generations.

TBD
Continuous Improvement Director