New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department Advisory Council
Advisory Council
The Advisory Council fulfills a requirement established in SB 22, the 2019 legislation that created the Early Childhood Education and Care Department. Members were chosen from a pool of over 300 applicants by an independent panel composed of participants from New Mexico’s Public Education Department (PED), Higher Education Department (HED), and ECECD. In making its selections, the panel followed a rubric of applicant requirements outlined in SB 22, prioritizing members who reflect geographic, cultural, linguistic, gender, ethnic, and racial diversity and experience in a range of early childhood and higher education settings.
To launch this effort, ECECD announced an open application for volunteers to serve as members of the Council. After a thorough inter-agency review and selection process, 41 individuals were selected to serve on the Advisory Council. Individuals were chosen based on their experience and expertise in a variety of early childhood education and care settings. The Advisory Council held four sessions, each lasting four hours, beginning in summer and ending in autumn 2020.
The Council discussed many important challenges and opportunities facing ECECD and New Mexico’s early childhood community. Following the conclusion of the four sessions, the professional facilitation team drafted a report outlining the Advisory Council’s establishment, purpose, work, and recommendations. The recommendations developed by the Advisory Council will impact the development of ECECD’s policies and practices and will be implemented wherever possible. The recommendations of the Advisory Council will also guide ECECD’s budget and legislative priorities and strategies.
Members of the Council include:
- Alma Martell
Organizer, OLE
Albuquerque - Amber Cadena
Educator, Chins
Alamogordo - Amber Wallin
Deputy Director, NM Voices for Children
Albuquerque - Amelia Black
ECE Faculty, Dine College
Crownpoint - Anita Rios
Facilitator, Community Partnership for Children
Silver City - Anna Marie Garcia
Vice President of Early Childhood Education, LANL Foundation
Espanola - Barbara Tedrow
Owner, A Gold Star Academy & Child Development Center / Smiling Faces Child Care Center / F.A.C.E.S First, Ltd Home Visiting
Farmington - Candace Keams Benally
Principal and PreK Administrator, Central Schools
Shiprock - Catron Allred
Director, Central NM Community College
Albuquerque - Coda Omness
Department Chair CTE, ENMU-Ruidoso
Ruidoso - Crystal Tapia
Executive Director and Owner, Noah’s Ark Children’s Academy & Early Childhood Solutions
Albuquerque - Dana Bell
Interim Director, Cradle to Career Policy Institute UNM
Albuquerque - Diana Hammond
Pre-K Coordinator and Special Education Teacher, Ruidoso Municipal Schools
Ruidoso - Doris Salazar
Lead Pre-K Teacher, Desert Montessori
Santa Fe - Elsa Begueria
Superintendent, Lake Arthur Municipal Schools
Lake Arthur - Elizabeth Beers
Director of Community-Based Programs, Presbyterian Healthcare Services, Socorro General Hospital
Socorro - Elizabeth Torrison
Early Intervention Executive Director, NAPPR Inc.
Albuquerque - Elsa Rojas
Lead Nursery Teacher, Partnership for Community Action
Albuquerque - Francine Cachucha
Program Director, Jicarilla Child & Family Education Center
Dulce - Franz Joachim
General Manager & CEO, New Mexico PBS and KNME-TV
Albuquerque - Gil Vigil
Executive Director, Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council
Tesuque Pueblo - Hope Morales
Executive Director, Teach Plus
Roswell - Janis Gonzales
Maternal Child Health Director, NM Department of Health - Joan Baker
Executive Director, BEFORE
Albuquerque - Julie Lucero
Executive Director of Special Education, Santa Fe Public Schools
Santa Fe - Kelly Dineyazhe Hunter
Assistant Professor, Navajo Technical University
Crownpoint - Lori Martinez
Executive Director, Ngage New Mexico
Las Cruces - Maria Elena Salazar
Lecturer III, UNM Early Childhood Education Degree Programs
Albuquerque - Mark Sparenberg
IT and QA Coordinator, Child & Family Services Inc. of Lea County
Hobbs - Melanie Skinner
Principal and NMPreK Coordinator, Brown Early Childhood Center
Portales - Michael Armendariz
Director, Tresco Children Services
Las Cruces - Noemi Langley
Center Coordinator and Family Advocate, Child & Family Services Inc. of Lea County
Hobbs - Nora Hernandez Cordova
Equal Justice Paralegal Fellow, New Mexico Immigrant Law Center
Albuquerque - Ruth Ann Ortiz
Board of Directors President, New Mexico Association for Infant Mental Health
Las Cruces - Sally Green
Preschool Supervisor, Roswell Independent School District
Roswell - Taylor J. Etchemendy
UNM Taos Mentor Network Coordinator and Director of INSPIRE Bilingual Early Learning Center
Taos - Terry Anderson
Executive Director and Project Coordinator, Community Partnership for Children
Silver City - Trisha Moquino
Founding Executive Director and Guide, Keres Children’s Learning Center
Cochiti Pueblo - Representative Rebecca Dow
Truth or Consequences - Kelly Klundt
Legislative Finance Committee - Secretary Debbie Romero
Department of Finance and Administration (Meribeth Densmore, Representative)