Our Story

From school program to independent nonprofit

Our story began on the beautiful high-desert campus of Bosque School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Nestled against the cottonwood forest along the Rio Grande, the school served as our home ground from 2013-2020. It was at Bosque that we built and nurtured a vibrant professional learning culture and launched our public programs, providing a vital resource to educators from diverse schools and organizations throughout the community. It is there that we have our roots.

From the beginning, our dream was to create a space in which educators from diverse schools and organizations could come together in community to learn from and alongside one another, eschewing top-down training models of professional development. We have always believed that teaching and leading well depend not only on content knowledge and skills, but also on artistry, nuance, and heart — on wisdom that is developed through shared expertise, reflective practice, and experience. Drawing inspiration from sophia — the Greek word for wisdom — and adopting the Spanish spelling familiar in our local community, the Sofia Center got its name.

After eight joyful and energizing years at Bosque School, we became an independent nonprofit organization, allowing us to deepen our programs and expand our design and facilitation work with schools, individuals, and organizations across the country. Since 2013, we have welcomed educators from over 330 schools and organizations to our programs. Sofia Center participants teach and lead in public schools, private schools, community programs, museums, detention centers, and more. The common ground they find — regardless of background — continues to be their passion and commitment to teaching and learning.