Leadership Santa Fe

Guest Speakers

2007 • 2008 •

Maria Cristina Lopez

Spokesperson , Somos Un Pueblos Unidos
María Cristina López, spokesperson for Somos Un Pueblo Unido, an immigrants' rights organization that worked for over four years to pass the state driver's license law said, "In its zeal to punish immigrants, Congress and the President have placed an enormous burden on all residents of the United States. The REAL ID Act, if implemented, would not only cost our state millions and wreak havoc at our MVD offices, but it would undermine the progress New Mexico has made in integrating the immigrant community and promoting public safety." She added, "It's important for all New Mexicans to know the negative ramifications of the REAL ID Act.

Dr Camilla Bustamante

Scientist & Board Member for SCZ , Sustainable Communities Zeri & Alamoworks Inc
Dr. Bustamante is a native New Mexican who is Director of Environmental Science and co-Director of the University Center Program at Northern New Mexico College. She also is a Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives (ZERI) Practitioner, Chair of the Sustainable Santa Fe Commission (comprised of citizen volunteers that advise the City Council on issues of sustainability in a variety of areas). She also is a board Member of Zeri, Sustainable Communities, an organization that believes that by finding ways to reuse all "wastes" as value-added raw materials, we can create economic opportunities and jobs while simultaneously preserving our environment and strengthening local conditions. With Northern, she is founding Director of the College's Sostenga! Center for Sustainable Food, Agriculture and Environment in the interest of local food security and community economic development. Her research areas are water quality, environmental epidemiology and risk management.

Joe Traugott Ph. D

Curator of 20th Century Art , New Mexico Museum of Art
Joe is author of THE ART OF NEW MEXICO – HOW THE WEST WAS ONE. He is curator of 20th century art at the New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe. He earned a PH.D in American Studies with an emphasis on Southwestern Studies at the University of New Mexico, and held curatorial positions at the University's Jonson Gallery, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, and the University Art Museum.

Taylor Selby

Executive Director & Co-Founder , Earthcare International
Co-founder of Earth Care International. Taylor holds a Masters in Environment and Community from Antioch University. Taylor has a graduate certificate in Integrated Skills for Sustainable Change and a Bachelor's in Computer Science. He is an entrepreneur, having founded and managed three businesses prior to co-founding Earth Care International. Taylor has created and run organic gardens for teenagers, participated in the creation of sustainable businesses designed and run by youth, taught sustainability courses at public and private high schools, and led workshops at international conferences. He has worked as specialist for Paul Hawken and was the Vice chair for the Permaculture Credit Union. Taylor is currently a member of the mayor appointed committee that advises the City of Santa Fe about sustainable city practices.

Mary Ellen Gonzales

President, Region II , New Mexico School Boards Association
Mary Ellen Burns Gonzales, is a Member of the Santa Fe Public School Board of Education and Past President of SFPS Board of Education. She is currently President, Region II, of the New Mexico School Boards Association and 2007 Honoree, NAACP Award for Fairness of Allocation of Resources. She is a lifelong rancher in Northern New Mexico and Founder and past president of Rancho del Oso Pardo. She has a B. A. from Occidental College, 1966 where she majored in Diplomacy and World Affairs with an emphasis in social studies, history, and political science. She has volunteered as Past State Liaison, National Storytelling Network, Past President, New Mexico Storytellers. She was also member of the Blue Ribbon Task Force for the Santa Fe Public School District, Member of the Violence Prevention Committee of the Santa Fe Public School District, President and Fundraising Chairman of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Santa Fe, Board Member of Little Earth School, Santa Fe, and Chairman and organizer of the Newsletter Project for Agua Fria School. Mary Ellen also organized and delivered a world literature program in the public schools in Chama, Los Lunas, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe in grades K through 8 and 12.

Tom Chavez

Former Executive Director , National Hispanic Cultural Center
Thomas E. Chávez is a historian with a Ph. D. from the University of New Mexico. In December of 2004, he retired as the Executive Director of the National Hispanic Culture Center in Albuquerque. Before that he was director of the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, New Mexico for twenty-one years. He has published numerous book reviews, articles, seven books, and wrote a monthly Sunday article for The Santa Fe New Mexican. He recently helped the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art begin to raise an endowment and is currently consulting for the University of New Mexico Press and the New Mexico Women’s Forum.

Bill Baxter

Steward , Archaeological Conservancy of the San Marcos Pueblo
Prior to retirement, Bill's careers included teaching, cameras, and computer systems; altogether 30 years in San Francisco. For ten years now he his wife and a gaggle of animals have called San Marcos, the south side exurb of Santa Fe, their home. There he indulges his love of history and archaeology. He is lately the chair of the Santa Fe County Open Space and Trails committee, and is currently the steward for the Archaeological Conservancy of the San Marcos Pueblo, an officer of the Cerrillos Hills Park Coalition, and the historian for the Ortiz Mountains Educational Preserve, He is the author of THE GOLD OF THE ORTIZ MOUNTAINS, and has been working for some years now on a history of Los Cerrillos.

Bill Enloe

Chairman , Los Alamos National Bank
Mr. Enloe, has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Trinity Capital Corporation since 1979. He is a member of the Board’s Loan, Funds Management, Technology, Trust and Strategic Planning Committees. Mr. Enloe has also served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Los Alamos National Bank since 1994. Mr. Enloe has been employed by Los Alamos National Bank since 1971 and served as the President and Chief Executive Officer from 1978-1994; Vice President from 1975-1978; Cashier from 1973-1975; and as a Loan Officer from 1971-1973. Additionally, he has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Title Guaranty since May 2000 and TCC Advisors since its creation in February 2006. In addition to his service to Trinity Capital Corporation, Mr. Enloe is committed to New Mexico charities and economic development efforts. Mr. Enloe is Chairman of the Boards of the Governor’s Business Advisory Council, Los Alamos Economic Development Research Park Committee, the Los Alamos Economic Development Corporation and the New Mexico Economic Development Partnership. Additionally, he serves as a member of the Boards of Directors of the Santa Fe Institute, the Delle Foundation, the New Mexico State Private Equity Investment Advisory Committee, the North Central Accreditation, Los Alamos Technical Associates, Inc., MIOX Corporation, and as a member of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation, and the Industrial Business Development Advisory Board. Mr. Enloe is also a managing member of KKSE, LLC.

Donnie Quintana

Team Leader, Community Development Team , New Mexico Economic Development Department
Mr. Quintana previously he has served as, Deputy Director for the Economic Development Division, Director for the State Enterprise Zone Program, Bureau Chief for the Planning Bureau of the State Housing Division. He has an Accounting and Economics Degree from New Mexico State University and is completing a Masters of Public Administration from the University of New Mexico. He also serves as a Lieutenant Colonel with the New Mexico Army National Guard and is the Battalion commander for the 515th CSSB in Socorro, New Mexico. Quintana has recently been selected for attendance to the U.S Army War College.

Stephanie Spong

Principal , Epic Ventures
Ms. Spong heads up the New Mexico office of EPIC Ventures, where she evaluates investment opportunities in New Mexico and the Southwestern/Rocky Mountain region, participates in community outreach events to assist New Mexico entrepreneurs and represents Wasatch on the boards of several portfolio companies. She brings experience in strategic management consulting, new product development and commercialization, energy, internet services and investment banking. Prior to joining EPIC Ventures (formerly known as Wasatch), Ms. Spong consulted with startups and corporate R&D groups on high technology innovation and commercialization projects through her consulting firm Greystone Management Consulting. Other experience includes running the Los Angeles office of Razorfish, serving energy and financial services clients as an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company, improving operations for Citibank in Mexico and working as a business analyst with Monitor Company in Tokyo and as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs. She was awarded an M.B.A. from Harvard Graduate School of Business and received her B.A. degree from Brigham Young University, cum laude, in Economics and Asian studies with minors in Physics and Japanese. She currently serves on the boards of the New Mexico Venture Capital Association, the New Mexico Angels, and the ASU Technopolis Board of Advisors, chairs the Selection Committee for the Phoenix-based InvestSouthwest conference and serves on the boards of portfolio companies Lumidigm and Aspen Avionics.

Ike Pino

President , SunCor New Mexico Inc
Mr. Pino is a graduate of New Mexico State University with Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1974. His extensive work career started as a Project Planner for Daniel International in 1974. He was City Engineer from 1975 to 1978, managing the Engineering office for City of Roswell, NM. Mr. Pino was also Vice President of Bohannan-Huston Inc., one of New Mexico’s largest engineering consulting offices, from 1978 to 1985 managing the El Paso and Santa Fe Branch offices. Mr. Pino was also the Director of Public Works Department for the City of Santa Fe from 1985 to 1987, Project Engineer, Bellamah Development Corporation from 1987 to 1988, Special Assistant to the Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department from 1988 to 1990, Director of Planning and Land Use Department for the City of Santa Fe from 1990 to 1991, City Manager of the City of Santa Fe from 1991 to 1993 and again from 1994 to 1996, and Director of the State Transportation Authority from 1993 to 1994. In 1996 Mr. Pino opened and managed The Isaac Pino Consulting Company dedicated to working projects through the government process at the municipal and county levels in northern New Mexico. In 1999 to 2003 Mr. Pino became the Land Development Manager and Vice President of Rancho Viejo de Santa Fe Inc. where he managed all land development projects for 2,300 acre parcel in Santa Fe County including design and construction of all infrastructure, grading, and utilities for residential/commercial development. Currently Mr. Pino is the General Manager and Vice President of, Rancho Viejo de Santa Fe Inc. where he manages oversight for Rancho Viejo master planned community including development issues, Ranchland Utility Company, sales, home construction, marketing and planning. In 2006 he was promoted to President of SunCor New Mexico with continued management of Rancho Viejo Inc. and projected communities in New Mexico.

Clare Fenton

Assistant VP for Continuing Education and Customized Training , Santa Fe Community College
Claire is the Assistant Vice President overseeing the Division of Continuing Education and Customized Training at Santa Fe Community College. The CE/CT division provides many noncredit classes in arts, computers, fitness and a host of other interesting topics. The division also provides credit and noncredit workforce training, which can be customized to the needs of employers and workers. Claire Fenton has been at SFCC for four years. Prior to coming SFCC, she was the principal of a career academy high school, a math teacher and held several other positions in public and nonprofit education organizations.

Zane Fischer

Freelance culture critic and award-winning columnist for the Santa Fe Reporter , Santa Fe Reporter - Freelance
Zane is a freelance culture critic and writes an award-winning column for the Santa Fe Reporter focused on arts and culture, economic development and public policy. He is the founder of disCOARSE.com. His previous experience is in non-profit arts management.

Kathy McCormick

Community Development Director , City of Santa Fe
Kathy McCormick is currently the Director of Housing and Community Development for the City of Santa Fe, New Mexico. In this capacity she oversees the affordable housing programs, green building initiatives, long range planning and economic development strategy for Santa Fe. Prior to coming Santa Fe, Ms. McCormick ran her own consulting firm for seven years and was the Executive Director for Boulder Housing Partners and worked in the City of Boulder for 13 years. She has over 20 years experience in all aspects of affordable housing. This includes program and policy development, working with volunteer boards and community leaders, developing strategic plans and acquiring, developing, financing and managing rental housing, including single family homes, duplexes, apartment complexes and mobile home parks. . She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northern Arizona University. Prior to coming to the City of Boulder, Ms. McCormick worked with Community Development Organizations in Arizona who provided housing and other services for the elderly.

Professor Robert Schwartz

Ethicist & UNM Law Professor , UNM School of Law
Professor Robert Schwartz is Professor of Law and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of New Mexico, where he has been teaching since 1976. He is the author of numerous articles on bioethics and health law, and co-author of the leading health law textbook. He was President of the ACLU of New Mexico from 1995 to 2000, and he has also served as Chair of New Mexico’s Health Policy Commission and General Counsel to the State’s Human Services Department. He has been a WHO consultant on health policy in Tonga, Cambodia and Vietnam, and he began his legal career as law clerk to the High Court of American Samoa in Pago Pago. In 2005 he was awarded the Jay Healey Award as the national health law teacher of the year by the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics.

Gaile Herling

Program Director , SFPS Adelante

Norma Moreno

Norma Moreno was born on December 24, 1973 in McAllen, Texas, but was raised across the border in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, by her relatives. Her mother, Alicia Irene Delgado, and father, Manuel Moreno Flores, had separated when she was about 3 years old. Mrs. Delgado was a former farm worker from the Bracero program and Ms. Moreno was the editor for an afternoon newspaper, La Tarde.

Ed Zendel

Risk Services Director , New Mexico Municipal League
Ed Zendel has been the Risk Services Director of the New Mexico Municipal League since 1990. As the Risk Services Director, Ed is responsible for the day to day operation of the New Mexico Self Insurers’ Fund. The fund provides all lines of insurance to its member governmental entities. Prior to joining the staff of the league Ed was the Administrative Services Director/Finance Director of the City of Roswell; the Clerk/Treasurer of the City of Artesia and prior to relocating to New Mexico in 1982 was the City Controller of the City of Hammond, Indiana. Ed is a 1976 graduate of Indiana University and has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting.

Dan Burke

Chief Planning Officer , El Centro Family Health
Dan Burke is the Chief Planning Officer at El Centro Family Health, formerly Health Centers of Northern New Mexico. He has been there for nearly 7 years, and previously worked for 10 years with the Department of Health. Dan lives in Santa Fe and commutes to Española, which is where the administrative offices of El Centro are located. He works on grants, fundraising, marketing, facilities and legislative liaison.

F. Gregg Bemis Jr

President , CFC International
Gregg Bemis has over 50 years experience in economic development and has started over 40 companies. Besides serving as Chair of 3-4 current companies, he also has served on the Boards or as Chair of various local community activities such as St. Vincent Hospital, Santa Fe Prep, TRADE, The Trinity Forum and the Santa Fe Adult Soccer Club. His current greatest interest is the investigation of the sinking of the Estonia in 1994 and the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania, which he owns.

Kristen Krell

Manager , ENLACE - GEAR UP Collaborative, SFCC
Kristen Krell serves as the manager of the ENLACE/GEAR UP Collaborative at the Santa Fe Community College. In this role she works closely with students, parents, and teachers to increase college awareness and readiness among students from low-income families. For over 10 years Kristen has developed and delivered leadership curricula focused on creating positive social change in schools and communities. Kristen holds a BA in Social Psychology from the University of Oregon and has extensive training and experience in team development and facilitation.

Capt. Gary Johnson

Police Captain , Santa Fe Police Department

Carolina Flores

Student Leadership Coordinator , ENLACE - GEAR UP Collaborative, SFCC
Carolina Flores is currently a student at UNM. She will be graduating this spring with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing. As a high school student at CHS, she was trained to be a facilitator, a presenter and to help others develop leadership skills. Currently, she works with the Northern New Mexico ENLACE/GEAR UP collaborative program as the student leadership coordinator. She works with high school students in helping them become leaders in their lives and in their communities.

Dr George Otero

Co-Founder , Center for Relational Learning
Dr. George Otero is a well known international educator, keynote speaker, and workshop presenter. He is the co-founder of a national and international educational consulting organization in Santa Fe, New Mexico called the Center for RelationaLearning (CRL). CRL assists schools, businesses, public agencies, and communities target mutually identifiable areas for change, opening new avenues of learning, growth, productivity, and collaboration. George is also the founder and director of Las Palomas, a non-profit educational center created in 1977, devoted to creating innovative educational programs for the 21st century. Creating tailored programs for hundreds of diverse organizations, George has served over 200,000 people in the last 35 years. George believes passionately in the power of dialogue to address the multi-cultural issues facing our rapidly changing global society. As an international educational consultant, George has worked extensively with students, teachers, administrators, communities, and policy-leaders in the public and private sectors of Australia and England offering expertise in the areas of relationalearning, community schools, leadership development, and student engagement.

Dr. Melville Morgan

Associate Superintendent of Public Schools , Santa Fe Public Schools
Dr. Melville (Mel) Morgan joined Santa Fe Public Schools in February of 2006. Dr. Morgan came to SFPS from Las Cruces Public Schools where he served as Director of Data Management. He also previously served as Assistant Superintendent for Accountability and Information Systems for the New Mexico State Department of Education, where he developed the accountability system for the State of New Mexico to meet the No Child Left Behind requirements. Dr. Morgan is also noted for his work at the Gadsden Independent School District in Anthony, New Mexico, where he coordinated data collection efforts and provided direction to that district in improving student achievement. He has also held administrative posts and university-level teaching positions in New Mexico and Texas, and began his career in education as a classroom math teacher in El Paso. Dr. Morgan holds a Doctoral degree in Educational Administration from New Mexico State University and an M.Ed. and B.A. from University of Texas at El Paso.