Mary Louise Romero-Betancourt doesn't have an office. Her desk looks a whole lot like her vehicle. Her briefcase has wheels and a collapsible handle that allow her to move easily from place to place.

Each weekday morning, she teaches a medication class in restorative justice at Santa Fe High School, and when she's done with that, she starts her real job — visiting students at the school's commons area.

"How is class going?" she asks one student. "How are things at home?"

In about 30 minutes, Romero-Betancourt visits with over 20 students. Not all of them are students she has to see, just students whose lives she has touched.

Then it's off to Charter School 37, where she checks on another student.

"Oh, you have a 'B' in English? That's great!" she said. "I am so proud of you!"

It's pretty much the same wherever she goes, whether it be Capital High or the Juvenile Detention Center. These are the places her work takes her.

Romero-Betancourt runs the Intensive Monitoring Program through District Court Judge Barbara J. Vigil's office, which is funded through the Juvenile Justice Board. These high-risk teens face delinquency charges when Vigil assigns them to Romero-Betancourt. Her job then is to monitor, supervise and support these teens in their daily lives and to help them become productive citizens while the cases are pending.

"What I find is, for those kids who she serves, not only do they not offend again, but they turn their lives around," said Vigil. "All of a sudden, these kids who were getting 'Fs' in school are now getting straight 'As.' Kids who were having problems at home are now just flourishing. That is so amazing."

During her eight years with the monitoring program, Romero-Betancourt has a more than 90 percent success rate. These high-risk teens become productive members of society, willing and able to make positive contributions to everyone around them.

"Her ability to connect with these kids is what is truly remarkable," Vigil said. "It's hard to pinpoint her way of being. In many ways, it is not something that comes natural with some people. She has a gift with these kids."

Romero-Betancourt feels she gets this "way of being" from her mother, Martha, who died last April.

"She never saw bad in anyone," Romero-Betancourt wrote of her mother. "She made everyone feel special and you never left her sight without knowing how important you were. I always thought that if she wasn't a mom, she would have been a nun. She lived to give and taught others to do the same."

Sometimes a high-risk teen fears returning to his or her old ways once the court case concludes. Sometimes that child needs Romero-Betancourt's supervision to stay on the right path. So Romero-Betancourt offers a suggestion — the Santa Fe Teen Center, which is run by recreation supervisor Gordon Betancourt, Romero-Betancourt's husband.

"What we offer is a place where the teens can come and hang out and feel safe," Gordon Betancourt said. "A lot of the teens that come here have personal problems, and we offer advocacy and support for them. Sometimes, these teens don't want anything from you but someone to talk to, which is great as well. We end up being big brothers and big sisters to them."

Romero-Betancourt said it's not part of her program to send the teens she monitors to the teen center. However, because of Romero-Betancourt's closeness with the people at the center, it gives teens the option of continuing their relationship, and from their involvement, their lives flourish. Some teens have gone on to work at the center, either as tutors or event workers who help with field trips.

"We have a summer program where we offer jobs to some of the teens," Gordon Betancourt said. "That not only teaches the teens more about responsibility and taking pride in your work, but also puts a little money into their pocket."

Betancourt started with the teen center 13 years ago when it was created by the city of Santa Fe. Teens from all walks of life have joined the Teen Center family. All of them find something in common. And in that time, he has seen young teens grow up at the center and eventually move on.

"Some have actually come back to tell me about how their lives have changed," Betancourt said. "Some are upstanding members in Santa Fe, working hard at their jobs, starting and raising families. And when they come to you and tell you that they wouldn't be there without the work you did for them ... it means a lot. It proves that the work we are doing is working."

Working with teens takes up all of their working hours and a lot of their personal time, including weekends — the two are also high-school coaches. Betancourt is an assistant varsity basketball coach at Santa Fe High, while Romero-Betancourt is the varsity head volleyball coach at New Mexico School for the Deaf.

Romero-Betancourt is hard of hearing. Most people would consider this a crutch in the work she does. Romero-Betancourt considers it one of her most valuable tools.

"I consider it a gift," Romero-Betancourt said of her deafness. "The people who I talk to I have to look directly at to read their lips and that kind of eye contact goes a long way to gaining people's trust. And when dealing with troubled teens or teaching a class about mediation, gaining trust is a valuable factor."

That's why Romero-Betancourt's restorative justice class sits in a circle. A yellow ball with a smiley face is passed from student to student indicating that they have the floor to speak. The students learn about the characteristics for being a good mediator or advocate. Then they go out into the student population and help resolute any type of conflict, whether it be between students, or between students and teachers. The class also builds social skills that are useful in everyday life.

"It's my favorite class because I really understand what I am learning and I have the opportunity to use what I have learned," said student Katie Damron, who also works at the teen center.

Another key to Romero-Betancourt is her compassion for helping teens and her willingness to show her emotions. Most people introduce each other with a handshake, Romero-Betancourt is known to give hugs and smiles. The teens take notice in that, as well as how she ends every conversation with them.

"I believe in you," she tells them.