About THE SAVVY SHOOTER FIREARMS ACADEMY

At our training center, we believe in the power of proper firearms education and its profound impact on personal safety and confidence. Our courses are designed by experienced and passionate instructors who bring their expertise, personal stories, and motivations to each session.

• NRA Certified Training Counselor (Instructor’s Instructor)
• NRA Chief Range Safety Officer
• NRA Regional Counselor & Instructor, Refuse To Be A Victim
• NRA Instructor, Basic Pistol
• NRA Instructor, Personal Protection Inside the Home
• NRA Instructor, Personal Protection Outside the Home
• Certified New Mexico Concealed Carry Instructor #514

The Introduction to Shooting/CCL Course syllabus is based on my education and personal experiences, which allows me to teach the information in the way I would like to have learned it.

Being active as a women firearms instructor-led to an appointment as the executive officer for women’s programs with the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association (NMSSA). I have served as the vice president, activities director, and co-founder of The Women’s Shooting Connection of New Mexico, a women’s shooting organization dedicated to providing shooting and educational opportunities for women.

Organized a Lady Appleseed 2-day Rifle Course for women, co-organized a First Shots Shotgun workshop for ladies, and a First Steps Pistol one-day class for women who were new to shooting.

I have given numerous interviews on KKOB radio and have been the subject of a feature news story on KOB-TV with Stuart Dyson.

As one of a seven-member focus group, I assisted NRA-ILA in creating shooting events that benefit the residents of New Mexico. As a certified concealed carry instructor, I was in a twelve-member focus group asked to review and recommend changes to the NM Department of Public Safety’s Concealed Carry Instructors’ rules and regulations. I am a committee member for the NRA Foundation’s Friends of NRA Banquet in Albuquerque.

During college at the University of Colorado, I was employed by the Campus Police Department as a security guard and then as a police officer. In that capacity, I purchased a Smith & Wesson Model 15 revolver in .38 Special, which I still own. There, I received basic firearms training. During my 13 years of service in the Air Force as a pilot and an instructor pilot, I learned that I like to teach and was pretty successful. I never had a student wash out of pilot school.

While stationed in New Mexico, I was able to pursue my interest in shooting pistols, rifles, and shotguns. My pistol shooting skill improved when I took the NRA Basic Pistol Course and learned the correct techniques for shooting.

Over time, I completed the following NRA courses: Personal Protection in the Home, Personal Protection Outside the Home, Shotgun, Metallic Cartridge Reloading, and Range Safety Officer. I am certified as an instructor in both the NRA Basic Pistol Course and the NRA Personal Protection in the Home Course. I have earned the NRA Distinguished Expert Pistol Marksmanship Award and now teach others in what I call the Skills Builder Workshops as a follow-on to our Introduction to Shooting Course.

For rifle training, I attended the Appleseed Rifle Marksmanship Course twice and have also taken a class with Gil & Vicki Ash of the OSP Shotgun School to learn how to shoot Sporting Clays (golf with a shotgun). I have completed Practical Pistol I, II, and III courses at The Whittington Center’s University in Raton, NM, and Advanced Pistol Classes with Global One Defense – Albuquerque, NM, and The MAG-20 Live Fire Course from the Massad Ayoob Group.

The New Mexico Department of Public Safety has certified me to teach New Mexico Concealed Carry Courses. I have been instructing full-time since February 2016. Over that time, I have trained hundreds of new shooters to safely and confidently shoot a handgun.