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About ECECD
In 2019, Gov. Lujan Grisham and the New Mexico Legislature created the Early Childhood Education and Care Department. The Department officially launched on July 1, 2020.
The Department’s aim is to create a more cohesive, equitable, and effective early childhood system in New Mexico. That means coordinating a continuum of programs from prenatal to five – and ensuring that families in every corner of the state can access the services they need.
The Department also oversees child care programs – as well as food and nutrition programs – that serve older children and families.
Cabinet Secretary
ECECD is led by Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky. Sec. Groginsky began her early childhood career in Head Start – first as a family services coordinator, then as an administrator of a Head Start program, and eventually as director of Colorado’s Head Start State Collaboration Office.
Later, she directed early childhood education for United Way Worldwide and steered the Early Childhood Data Collaborative, a national coalition designed to improve state policies and practices around early childhood data systems.
Most recently, Secretary Groginsky served as assistant superintendent of early learning in the District of Columbia, spearheading the District’s efforts toward universal pre-K and focusing on ensuring equal access for all families and young children.
Assistant Secretary for Native American Early Childhood Education and Care
Jovanna Archuleta serves as the nation’s first Assistant Secretary for Native American Early Childhood Education and Care. She works to ensure strong partnerships with New Mexico’s tribal communities and to strengthen government-to-government relationships on early childhood issues.
Previously, Assistant Secretary Archuleta worked for the LANL Foundation and the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council. She lives in Nambe Pueblo with her family.
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.
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
Albuquerque - 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)
The Council will also include two professional facilitators, and will meet four times in 2020 before submitting a series of recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature.