We are delighted to extend a warm Sophia welcome to several new colleagues in administrative roles at Sophia Academy: Miche Fontes, Marleni Suazo, and Angie Duran. One name–Angelia (Angie) Duran–is likely familiar to you; she served as the Director of Enrollment and Guidance for the past four years and now is moving into a new role as Director of Development and External Affairs at Sophia. Miche Fontes is our new Dean of Students, and Marleni Suazo is moving into the role of Director of Enrollment and Guidance.
From left to right, Miche, Angie, and Marleni.
Michele Fontes, Dean of Students
Miche'le L. Fontes or, as she likes to go by, Miche, is entering her first year as the new Dean of Students at Sophia Academy. Miche holds a Master's in Urban Teaching from Providence College and a Bachelor's degree in Organizational Leadership and Change from College Unbound. Ending up at Sophia Academy was a combination of hard work and sacrifice, strong community connection, and a little bit of magic and divine alignment. Being the parent of a current 8th grade girl who has attended Sophia Academy going on 3 years, she has had the opportunity to be a part of and fall in love with this community. In fact, her focus on restorative practices, trauma informed education, and cultural competency makes her a perfect match for her new role at Sophia and have allowed her to transition flawlessly into the role. Miche brings years of deep community involvement to the role from her experience coaching youth sports for the West Elmwood Intruders to managing arts programs through AS220 Youth to leading family and community engagement at Nowell Academy.
Miche has developed a unique approach to building relationships and school culture focusing on positive reinforcement, healthy competition, and play in the classroom. Her focus this school year is observing what exists, sustaining what helps students thrive, and creating, alongside the community, new programming moving forward. By embedding a restorative approach to building community and growing youth and care centered practices at Sophia Academy, she feels excited for what is to come.
Her children, Kam’Ryn and Kassidy, and her mother, Cathleen, are the solid foundation on which she stands. She draws strength from them and her beloved ancestors. At the core of her being she is an aspiring beam of light. Aspiring to be a beam of light comes from her own journey with challenges and adversity. She found beams of light in coaches, mentors, teachers, and family within her community who helped guide her, helped raise her children, and showed her the way in dark times. One adage she has come to understand well is that “it takes a village to raise a child”; a village to support, love, and encourage you as well as one that will correct, redirect, and grow you. Anti-racism, restorative practice, and trauma informed education are the pillars she rests her educational practice on. Love, community, and grace are the ones she rests herself on.
Angelia Duran, Director of Development and External Affairs
Angelia (Angie) Duran is a proud Latina whose family immigrated to Rhode Island from the Dominican Republic over 30 years ago. She was born and raised in South Providence. She attributes her leadership skills to her strong-willed mother, Josefina, who raised her and her two siblings against all odds. She has a 13 year old daughter, Jaslene, who is a current 8th grader at Sophia Academy.
Angie always had the dream of having a career where she could help others. She is passionate about creating programs and systems that provide equitable access to resources. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Rhode Island College (RIC) in 2014. She then obtained her Master’s degree in Social Work from RIC in 2019 with a focus on macro concentration social work and nonprofit leadership. She is the 2019 recipient of the National Association of Social Worker’s Promising Practitioner in Macro Concentration Award for the Rhode Island Chapter.
Currently, Angie is the Director of Development and External Affairs at Sophia Academy. She dedicates her time working towards the continued financial sustainability of the school and creating a platform that elevates the mission of the school. Her goal is to open up amazing opportunities to empower Sophia students. She currently serves on two boards: Interim Board Chair at Montessori Community School of Rhode Island and board member for The Heart Tree Rhode Island. She believes in the importance of giving back and feels blessed to be able to have multiple platforms to stand up for human rights and create equitable systems.
In her free time, she loves dancing bachata, event planning, and spending quality time with family and friends.
Marleni Suazo, Director of Enrollment and Guidance
Marleni Suazo is the new Director of Enrollment and Guidance at Sophia Academy. This is her first exciting year working at Sophia. Prior to joining the Sophia Academy community, Marleni worked at Young Voices RI located in the heart of Providence from 2017-2023 where she first served as Multilingual Program Coordinator Intern and then moved into a full-time position as Program Coordinator. In her previous role she worked with high school students to help them find their voice and create policy change at the state and district level. Marleni's passion for social justice and for connecting with the greater Providence community led her to a partnership with Sophia: she worked with the previous Director of Enrollment and Guidance to create a pipeline for graduating Sophia students to enroll in a six week paid summer workforce program before heading to high school.
Marleni graduated from Rhode Island College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Youth Development and a concentration in Youth and Families Mental Health and a certificate in Nonprofit Studies. She is a proud Providence native and has deep roots in her Dominican culture. If you need some insight on where to get the best food, she is your go-to person!
Marleni is so excited to be part of the Sophia Academy family and share her enthusiasm with students, their families and her fellow faculty and staff. In her new role, she will be overseeing the enrollment process to Sophia, providing high school guidance and graduate support, and shepherding the mentor program