RRPS superintendent finalists' backgrounds revealed

RIO RANCHO — Less than a week ahead of their visit to the City of Vision, Rio Rancho Public Schools released more information about the three finalists for school district superintendent.

The professional backgrounds of Todd Resch, Dr. Heather Sánchez and Dr. Robert "Robby" Dodd came in an RRPS news release Dec. 10, a day after the board formally approved them as the top candidates.

"It was hard to choose from, frankly," RRPS Board President Amanda Galbraith said in an interview, referring to the pool of 31 applicants the district reviewed. "I am confident we are going to have a great superintendent that's going to come from one of these three (finalists)."

Resch, Sánchez and Dodd are expected to participate in a meet and greet, scheduled for 6:30-8 p.m., Dec. 15 in the RRPS Training Center, 500 Laser Road NE, where the school board typically meets.

"We are choosing a superintendent, but they also have to choose us back," Galbraith said.

Whoever is selected by the board would be only the second in RRPS history, following Dr. Sue Cleveland, who began her tenure in February 1994 at the district's beginning and has since become the longest-serving school district leader in the state's history. Cleveland announced in September that she plans to step down in the spring.

During the Dec. 9 board meeting, Cleveland thanked the candidates who applied, stating it takes "a lot of time, effort and courage" to submit their names for consideration.

Here is a look at who the finalists are:

TODD RESCH

Resch, who serves as RRPS's executive director of athletics, is the only superintendent finalist from Rio Rancho.

Resch told the Observer in April 2023, when he was appointed AD, that it would be “the last job in my career.”

Prior to overseeing athletics, Resch led secondary curriculum and instruction for RRPS, according to the news release.

Prior to his move to Rio Rancho, Resch worked for Albuquerque Public Schools as an associate superintendent and as principal at three high schools in the state's largest public school district.

Resch is a U.S. Navy veteran, according to the release.

HEATHER SANCHEZ

A native New Mexican, Sánchez graduated from APS before she taught professionally in the state, the release said.

After earning numerous degrees in education, including a bachelor's from Western New Mexico University in Silver City, Sánchez served in numerous teaching capacities in New Mexico and Colorado before moving to Washington state, according to the release and her LinkedIn profile.

Sánchez worked as a school principal and as a director designing educational programming at numerous Washington state schools before she was tapped as chief of schools for the Bellevue School District, near Seattle. Sánchez currently serves as the district's chief operating officer.

ROBERT "ROBBY" DODD

Dodd serves as director of school leadership and improvement for Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, the state's largest school district that also neighbors Washington, D.C.

With 32 years of professional educational experience under his belt, Dodd has served as an elementary, middle and high school principal in MCPS — one of only a few educational leaders to lead all three school tiers, the release said. 

In 2014, he won The Washington Post's Distinguished Educational Leadership Award, according to the release.

Dodd expressed "his commitment to becoming a part of the Rio Rancho community, honoring its strong foundation, and collaborating with families, staff, and the Board to shape the future of RRPS," the release said.