OUR WORKSHOP PRESENTERS
Cindy Aragon (Navajo of the Tsénjíkiní clan) is an attorney and the associate director for the American Indian Development Associates (AIDA), an organization owned by Ada Pecos Melton (Jemez Pueblo) that provides training and technical assistance to tribes, nationwide, in the area of criminal justice and related policy initiatives.  Ms. Aragon has served on the New Mexico Sentencing Commission at the appointment of the State Bar President, since 2003.  Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors for the Indian Law Section of the New Mexico State Bar and the Peanut Butter & Jelly Family Services, Inc. She is a member of the New Mexico Civil Legal Services Commission at the appointment of the New Mexico Supreme Court.  In 2003, Cindy was appointed by Governor Bill Richardson to the New Mexico Adult Parole Board. 

Patricia J. Bland, MA, CCDC, CDP, is the director of training for the Alaska Network of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. The Network provides services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, offender services, and adult crisis intervention services. She co-authored "Getting Safe and Sober: Real Tools You Can Use: An Advocacy Teaching Kit for Working with Women Coping with Substance Abuse and Interpersonal Violence," to help improve collaborative services for women with domestic violence and chemical dependency issues.

Frank Casaus started in law enforcement in 1989 with the Las Vegas PD as a patrol officer. He went to the New Mexico State Police in 1991 and was assigned to Española as a patrol officer upon graduation. He has worked in the field of domestic violence by working at the Tri-County Family Justice center. Mr. Casaus has investigated domestic violence cases along with Orders of Protection violations. He is currently the domestic violence coordinator and instructor for the State Police.

Sophie Cooper supervises felony attorneys at the State Public Defender office in Albuquerque.  She has been a public defender in the felony division for over 15 years and her caseload consists of any and all felony crimes, including domestic violence, child abuse, sex crimes, drug crimes, and property crimes.

Rosemary Cosgrove-Aguilar has been a special commissioner for domestic violence in Family Court at the Second Judicial District Court since May 2003.  Prior to joining the Domestic Violence Division, Ms. Cosgrove-Aguilar was a civil litigator at Guebert, Bruckner and Bootes, P.C.  A 1990 graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law, Ms. Cosgrove volunteered for the Domestic Violence Legal Helpline beginning in 1990 and was its Volunteer of the Year in 1997.  She was also on the Albuquerque Rape Crisis Center Advisory Board for six years and its chairperson from 1992 until 1995.  She has presented at many New Mexico seminars on the issue of domestic violence and orders of protection. 

Lee Deschamps is currently the managing director of Deschamps & Kortemeier Law Offices, PC. His general law practice includes being a domestic violence commissioner since 1998, a contract public defender, and Drug Court Team member in both Sierra and Socorro Counties in the 7th Judicial District. As the elected district attorney for the 7th Judicial District from 1989 through 1992, he instituted both a domestic violence and a victims’ assistance program, and is currently on the Board of Directors of El Puente, the Socorro Domestic Violence Agency.

Samuel F. English, see his biography in keynote presenters.

Lois Fraley, see her biography in keynote presenters.

Josephine Gallegos has served as a victim advocate for the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council Peacekeepers Domestic Violence Program for the past eight years. This is her passion. She enjoys working for the Pueblo Communities in providing advocacy and outreach services. She has worked amongst the Human Services field and is pursuing a goal in obtaining a bachelor's degree in social work.

Randall Glover is a well known law enforcement trainer and instructor, who has been an innovator in teaching and training police officers.  A former vioent crime and homicide superisor, Mr. Glover has trained thousands of New Mexico police officers.  He now works as a trainer and consultant for many agencies/companies throughout the United States.  Although retired from fulltime police work, he is still a fully certified and commisioned officer with a local police agency.

Paul Greenwood, see his biography in keynote presenters.

Todd Heisey is a chief deputy district attorney for Bernalillo County and has been a prosecutor with the Bernalillo County D.A.’s Office since 1983. He currently oversees the divisions in the office that prosecute mainly violent crimes,  the Juvenile Court Division, and the Information Technology and Records sections of the District Attorney’s Office.  Prior to serving in his present position, he supervised the Juvenile Division of the District Attorney’s Office for over 16 years.  Mr. Heisey has served on numerous committees and organizations that deal with prosecution, and with juvenile justice issues.

Joel Jacobsen began his law practice 22 years ago with the Rodey firm, and since 1991 has been in the Criminal Appeals Division at the Attorney General’s Office. He has been counsel of record in over 100 published opinions, making him one of the more experienced appellate attorneys in the state.  For the past five years, he has also been teaching part time in the Paralegal Studies program at TVI / CNM. 

Daryl Junes has been a senior prosecutor for the Navajo Nation Shiprock Prosecutors Office for the past 23 years. Licensed to practice in Navajo Courts, she prosecutes criminal cases including civil case involving child neglect and abuse, extraditions and exclusion.  Ms. Junes participates in the revision of Navajo laws and protocols such as Domestic Violence, Child Sexual Assault, Sexual Assault against Women, Elderly Abuse and Stalking.  Her work is coordinated with the United State Attorney Offices regarding felony offenses occurring in surrounding states and counties in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.

Andrea Lockhart, see her biography in keynote presenters.

Judge Mark Macaron has been on the bench for over 21 years, serving in the Metropolitan Court for ten years followed by over eleven years in the Second Judicial District Court in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. While on the bench in the Metropolitan Court, Judge Macaron has served in the Criminal and Civil Divisions. After taking the bench in the District Court, he served four years in the Family Court Division and, until his recent retirement, seven years in the COurt's Criminal Division. Prior to taking the bench Judge Macaron served as a deputy district attorney under Steve Schiff. He has also served in the NM National Guard Judge Advocate General Corps and as a law clerk with the NM Court of Appeals.

Renee Ornelas, MD, is the director of Para Los Niños and the medical examiner for the Pediatric Sex Abuse Team. She is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of New Mexico, School of Medicine. She is an expert in the medical evaluation of children with child sexual abuse concerns, has taught professionals about this area of practice and testifies in court in the New Mexico area.

Marcia Padilla is a community specialist with the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council, Inc. (ENIPC, Inc.), Peacekeeper Domestic Violence Program. She has been in the field of domestic violence for the past fifteen years. She is a member of ENIPC Healthier Community Coalition and the Santa Clara Pueblo Governor’s Task Force.

David Pelcovitz, PhD, see his biography in keynote presenters.

Virginia Perez-Ortega is a victims’ rights advocate at the NM Victims’ Rights Project. She worked for Enlace Comunitario for six years where she held a variety of jobs, including the most recent one as the Outreach and Special Projects coordinator where she coordinated outreach campaigns, grassroots resource development, grant administration, and the finances of the organization. She is an immigrant from Mexico and has background education in Human Resources and Graphic Design. Since she came to the United States Ms. Perez- Ortega has been involved in leadership development for adult students in NM Adult Basic Education and working with immigrants’ victims of domestic violence.

Joann Schladale, see her biography in keynote presenters.

Melissa Stephenson, see her biography in keynote presenters.

James Stokes has over 38 years of law enforcement and investigative experience which includes 26 years as a federal agent and 12 years as a special agent with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office. As the chief investigator for the Medicaid Fraud and Elder Abuse Division, he participated in many abuse, neglect and exploitation cases and supervised the investigative activities of other investigators and auditors within the Division.  As a commissioned law enforcement officer, he is involved in serving search warrants, arrest warrants and testifying before grand juries and in court proceedings on numerous occasions.

Johnnie Trujillo is the executive director of El Puente del Socorro, a crisis domestic violence agency that provides 24-hours crisis intervention and a crisis hotline. In 2001 he retired as the chief of police from the Socorro Police Department after serving 24 years in various positions. Mr. Trujillo has supervised over 1,000 investigations of battery against household members and has successfully investigated six homicides that were a result of domestic violence and over 200 cases of child abuse.

ABOUT OUR PRE-CONFERENCE & KEYNOTE PRESENTERS

Jolene Altwies has worked in the law enforcement and investigative field for 20 years.  She has extensive training and work experience related to investigations of homicides, sexual assaults, child abuses, and domestic violence. She has conducted lectures and trainings for the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, the Albuquerque Police Department and the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. Ms. Altwies has special training conducted for law enforcement involving Sexual Assault Investigations with the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assaults Programs, Inc.  Currently she is a supervisor with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office Investigations Division for General Investigations and the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit.

Metropolitan Court Judge Julie N. Altwies was appointed to the bench in December 2005 by Governor Bill Richardson and serves in the Metro Court’s busy Criminal Division hearing many types of cases, including domestic violence and DWI cases.  Prior to taking the bench, Judge Altwies was a Deputy District Attorney for 18 years, primarily in the Second Judicial District’s Violent Crimes Division and briefly in the Thirteenth Judicial District.  As a member of the Second DA’s Violent Crimes Division, she handled the prosecution of murder, rape and other violent crimes for over 15 years and was head of that division for many years.

Martin J. Chávez was the founding Director of the Workers’ Compensation Administration in 1986, and from 1989 to 1993 served in the New Mexico State Senate, where he championed legislative initiatives from early voting, ethics reform, to urban forestry and workers compensation. From 1993 through 1997 Mr. Chávez served as Mayor of Albuquerque in a term that featured a city-wide clean up, lower crime rates and the construction of the long-sought Montaño Bridge.  Since returning to the Mayor’s Office in 2001, he has expanded partnerships with public education, and initiated social services reforms to more effectively serve the most vulnerable of our community, from the mentally ill and the homeless to those faced with the specter of domestic violence and substance abuse issues.

Jan Dunn is the statewide coordinator for the California Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers, which provides consultation, communication, technical assistance, outreach, training, networking and continued support of existing and emerging California multidisciplinary programs.  She currently serves on the National Children’s Alliance, Board of Directors as vice-president. Ms. Dunn has served 26 years as a peace officer in California, retiring as an Investigator with Placer County D.A.’s Office in 2005, where she specialized in the investigation and prosecution of child abuse and sexual assault cases for over 15 years.  She previously served 10 years as a patrol officer and detective with Los Angeles Police Department.  Ms. Dunn provides training and technical assistance in child forensic interviewing, investigation of child abuse, and facilitates team development on a state and national level.

Samuel English is an Indian artist. Some collectors term his work as Neo-Native Expressionism.  He has received numerous awards from Native American arts shows around the country and received Best of Division and Honorable Mention ratings from the Phoenix Heard Museum for two successive years.  His career reached a new high point when he was commissioned by the Presidential Inaugural Committee to create a mural for the 1997 presidential inauguration.  Mr. English has received approximately 85 commissions from various tribal, government and non-profit organizations to create images fro various programs around the country. Not only has Mr. English dedicated his life to art, but also to supporting programs addressing substance abuse, family disintegration, violence and other social issues on reservations and in rural Indian communities.

Cheryl A. Ferguson, MPH, is the owner of Policy Matters, an Albuquerque-based consulting firm that specializes in health policy and media advocacy and training.  She provides consulting services to several tobacco use prevention and other health policy efforts in New Mexico as well as across the country.  She is adjunct faculty in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of New Mexico where she teaches health policy and advocacy.  Ms. Ferguson has worked on health issues for over sixteen years with much of her work focusing on prevention.  Her undergraduate degree is in Public Administration from George Mason University and received her Masters in Public Health from the University of New Mexico.

Lois Fraley was held hostage by two Ariozna inmates for an unthinkable fifteen days, the longest prison hostage siege in U.S. history. Her story is one of desperation to inspiration. She retired in 2006 from the Arizona Department of Corrections and moved to California to spearheaded efforts to help other hostage survivors. Ms. Fraley travels across the country and shares her intense moments of surviving day to day facing death, mutilation, and sexual assault. She also educates employees at high-risk of becoming hostages and helps train negotiators.

Paul Greenwood is the deputy district attorney in the office of the San Diego, CA District Attorney’s office. He has worked in that office since 1993 and has been involved in the prosecution of over 200 felony cases (both physical and financial) of elder and dependent adult abuse. San Diego’s Elder Abuse Prosecution Unit was awarded the California State Association of Counties’ Challenge Award for Innovation and Creativity. The elder abuse program he has developed is a model for the nation. He is one of the nation’s top experts concerning elder abuse, is Chair of the California’s DA Elder Abuse Committee, has assisted with drafting Elder Abuse Legislation and is on the Board of Directors for the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse.

Rachel Lazar is the co-founder of Enlace Comunitario, a domestic violence organization based in Albuquerque that was founded to bridged the gap between direct services, advocacy, and organizing around domestic violence and immigrants’ rights in the Latino immigrant community. Currently, she is director of El CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos, a membership-based immigrants’ rights organization in Albuquerque which focuses on leadership development, policy advocacy, education and outreach, and civil rights. 

Andrea Lockhart's life was touched by crime at the age of 17 - as a victim of sexual assault.  Due to this traumatic experience she formed FLA Four Legged Advocates, a 501(c)3, non-profit victim advocacy agency that provides service canines to help victims through counseling and trials. She found that victims were more willing to participate in the criminal justice process once a canine partner was by their side. Ms. Lockhart and her program have been featured on national programs and several newspaper, journal and magazine articles.

Shayai Lucero is an enrolled tribal member of the Pueblo of Laguna and the Pueblo of Acoma.  In 1997, Ms. Lucero was crowned the 14th Miss Indian World.  During her reign, her family was faced with the untimely death of her brother, Payadyamu.  Currently a senior at the University of New Mexico where she is majoring in Biology, Ms. Lucero is active on campus with Lobos Against Drunk Driving (LADD), the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), and the Association of Non-Traditional Students (ANTS). Ms. Lucero holds a Certificate in Traditional Mexican Healing from the University of New Mexico and the University of Morelos, Mexico and has written a book "Medicinal Plants of the Acoma and Laguna People" which was distributed among the Acoma and Laguna people. In 2007, Governor Bill Richarson appointed Ms. Lucero to the State-Tribal DWI Task Force, which is working to decrease DWI rates among the Native American people in the state.

David Pelcovitz, PhD, a clinical child psychologist, is the Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus Professor of Jewish Education at Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration. Prior to joining the YU faculty in 2004, Dr. Pelcovitz was clinical professor of psychology in psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine and director of psychology at North Shore University Hospital-NYU School of Medicine. Dr. Pelcovitz co-authored with his father, Rabbi Raphael Pelcovitz, Balanced Parenting: A Father and a Son – A Rabbi and a Psychologist – Examine Love and Limits in Raising Children (Shaar Press: 2005).

Joann Schladale has been working in the field of interpersonal violence and trauma since 1981.  In 1991, as faculty at the University of Louisville, she developed and coordinated the internationally acclaimed Juvenile Sexual Offender Counselor Certification Program.  As founder and executive director of Resources For Resolving Violence, Inc., Ms. Schladale provides extensive consultation, program development and evaluation, clinical supervision, staff development and training focusing on empirically driven assessment and treatment. She is a clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and the Association For Treatment of Sexual Abusers. Her publication “The T.O.P. Workbook for Taming Violence and Sexual Aggression” was published in June 2002.  Ms. Schladale recently collaborated with other professionals in the field to create Community-Based Standards For Addressing Sexual Harm By Youth.

Melissa Stephenson is currently general counsel for the New Mexico Victims' Rights Assistance Project based in Albuquerque, NM, an organization that provides legal services to protect and advance the constitutional and statutory rights of victims in the criminal justice system. She serves as a Governor's appointee on the New Mexico Sentencing Commission representing the interests of victims. Occasionally she serves as an adjunct faculty member the UNM School of Law and the PLSI American Indian Law Center. She is a co-author of Wharton's Criminal Procedure (Vols. 1-3).

Fiona Tuttle’s experience includes working in residential services at the Placer County Children’s Receiving Home as the placement and crisis social worker, emergency response and on-going services in child protection/welfare services, as well as mental health emergency response for A.C.C.E.S.S. (Placer County’s Adult, Child, Community Emergency Services). Ms. Tuttle was the Court Liaison for Placer County’s dependency court. Since her career began as a forensic interviewer she as received extensive training throughout the nation involving forensic interviewing and child molest, physical abuse and witnesses to violence.  Ms. Tuttle provides training throughout the state for child forensic interviewers, teams and first responders to child abuse. She has created a regional peer review for child forensic interviewers, a practice that has garnered considerable interest and support.  Ms. Tuttle is the chair of the California Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers. 

Barak Wolff retired from New Mexico state government in May, 2004.  Since then he has been providing consulting services to various national and state public health and health system efforts on a part-time basis.  For the last three years Mr. Wolff has served as the health analyst to the Senate Public Affairs Committee of the New Mexico Legislature. In Mr. Wolff’s last position with the state he served as the quality improvement coordinator for the Immunization Program of the NM Department of Health.  Until 2003, Mr. Wolff was the director of the Public Health Division within the New Mexico Department of Health. He participates on many national committees and continues to be an advocate for Injury issues in New Mexico and nationally.