Keith Sánchez

Ph.D. Student

Photo: true
ksanchez@unm.edu

Bio

Keith Sánchez is originally from Belen, New Mexico, but due to his Father’s work with the University of New Mexico’s LAPE (Latin American Programs in Education), he spent the latter part of his youth in the midst of armed rebellion and civil war in El Salvador, Centro America.  

Witnessing stark injustice, political violence, and unfathomable economic disparity, Keith was naturally propelled towards a life in education and the arts with a mission to, as Paulo Friere stated,  “teach students to think democratically and to continually question and make meaning from, and critically view, everything they learn.” 

He is presently a Chicana/o Studies, English/Language Arts, and Music Instructor at RFK Charter High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

His eighteen years of experience as an educator include working in the Albuquerque NM, Oakland and Long Beach CA, school systems in the arenas of Bilingual education, Special education, Music, and English Language Arts. Keith earned a BA in Secondary Education and endorsements in Bilingual Education, and Communicative Arts.  

He is also presently the Founder, Director, and Chief Instructor of a non-profit community music program entitled the New Mexico Academy of Rock and Blues (NMARB). 

As a grassroots arts program, NMARB focuses on providing scholarships for students with limited access to Arts Programs in the community due to socioeconomic factors. 

Keith is also a career musician who has traveled the world as a performing artist. He was the lead singer, songwriter, lyricist and guitarist for underground political sensation Stoic Frame, boasting a #1 single on R&R’s national “rock en español” charts, with music featured on major network television such as MTV Latino, The Shield, Fuse Network and BET.

Through this unique lens of educational and applied community-based experiences, Keith has developed an Arts and Cultural Curriculum that forms the crux of his Chicana/o Studies Program in the heart of the historic South Valley Barrio in Albuquerque, Nuevo Mexico. 

Keith will be pursuing an MA in Chicana/Chicano Studies at the University of New Mexico.