Isaac Rivas-Savell is a seasoned education leader with two decades of experience advancing equity, instructional excellence, and systems-level change across New Mexico’s public education landscape. He began his career in 2006 as an elementary classroom teacher and later taught middle school science, building a strong instructional foundation across grade levels and content areas. Over time, Isaac served as a fifth-grade English Language Arts Lead Teacher, Instructional Coach in ELA and Math, District Mentor for new educators, and Assistant Principal, grounding his leadership in curriculum, coaching, and school culture.

Isaac expanded his impact beyond the school site as County Director of School Turnaround, supporting improvement efforts in underperforming schools. He was later recruited to the New Mexico Public Education Department as Teacher Liaison Policy Director, where he worked at the intersection of classroom practice and public policy. In this role, Isaac designed and delivered statewide professional development, trained educators to provide public testimony during legislative sessions, and led three teacher leadership cohorts serving more than 750 teachers statewide. He also coached teachers to write and publish op-eds, co-hosted a statewide education podcast, and co-designed and co-hosted the New Mexico Teacher Summit, the largest professional learning event in the state, serving over 1,600 educators.

Isaac was selected to participate in a highly selective Build. Excel. Sustain. fellowship, completing a rigorous, year-long leadership program focused on founding and leading high-performing charter schools. His preparation included over 75 leadership development days, site visits to 40 exemplar schools nationwide, and a leadership residency at a middle school in the Bronx.

Today, Isaac serves as the founding chief executive officer of Voz Collegiate Preparatory Charter School in Albuquerque, a computer science-focused middle and high school that is outperforming the district and city in reading and math growth while centering student voice, access, and opportunity.