Keynote Speakers:

Wednesday's Keynote

Stephen Sroka, PhD, grew up in poverty in a housing project in a single-parent family. His third-grade report card read, “Parent notified boy is retarded.” In the ninth grade, after being involved in a school fight, he had two hip operations and was told that he may never walk again. The doctor told him he better start to listen to his teachers. And, as he tells students today, the more he listened, the smarter the teachers became.

When he graduated from high school, he worked full-time to get his family off welfare before entering college. His childhood offered unique challenges that helped him become a better educator. Today, Dr. Stephen Sroka is an internationally recognized speaker, trainer, author, teacher and educational consultant on health education, school safety, bullying, brain-based learning, at-risk students, alternative education, parenting, dropout prevention and leadership building for schools and communities.

He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, and president of his company, Health Education Consultants. He has worked in schools (K-12) worldwide for over 30 years and speaks in schools (K-college) and communities around the world and often on Native American reservations. He earned the Outstanding School Health Educator Award from the American School Health Association, was selected the Disney Outstanding Health Teacher of the Year, and was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame.

Thursday's Keynote

Anastasia Goodstein, MSJ, is an award-winning blogger and often-quoted expert on American tweens, teens and early twenty-somethings. She has worked in media for the past 15+ years, having helped launch youth oriented web and television properties for brands like Oxygen, AOL and Current TV, and is currently director of digital programs for the Inspire USA Foundation.

Goodstein authored the acclaimed book about teens and technology called Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens are Really Doing Online, the first inside guide to explore what teens are doing on the Internet and with technology.  Highly tuned into the pulse of this group, she gets to the bottom of how teens use technology as well as the benefits and drawbacks of this use.

As the founder of Ypulse, an independent blog for teen/youth media and marketing professionals providing news, commentary and resources on commercial teen media, she reached a highly influential audience of agency, brand, and media executives as well as social marketers trying to connect with youth. The blog has been featured in several leading publications including USA Today, BusinessWeek, Forbes and Fast Company.

Ms. Goodstein was one of the first graduates of the Medill School of Journalism's new media program at Northwestern University, where she earned an MSJ in 1999.

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Breakout Session Presenters:

Steven Adelsheim, MD, a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, is the director of the Center for Rural and Community Behavioral Health and a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. He also consults to the New Mexico Behavioral Health Purchasing Collaborative through the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) and is the former School Mental Health Officer of the New Mexico Department of Health.  Named as one of the Best Doctors in America, Dr. Adelsheim is a nationally recognized consultant in the field of school-based mental health. In 2006 he was awarded the Agnes Purcell McGavin Award for Prevention from the American Psychiatric Association and in 2005 he received the Academy’s Irving Phillips Award for significant contributions to the field of prevention of mental illnesses in children and adolescents.

Anamaria Armijo-Glenn, LMSW, is a native of New Mexico.  She started her career  working with drug endangered children’s efforts in 2005 by working with Dr. Rey Martinez on the  project entitled “Assessing the Health & Developmental Impact of Clandestine Methamphetamine Production: A Prospective Study of New Mexico Children in Protective Custody”.  Anamaria is currently joining forces with local, state and federal alliances to bring awareness and solutions to the problems of drug endangered children.

Jacqueline S. Baca is the 4-H Home Economist in Santa Fe County for the New Mexico State Cooperative Extension Service.  Striving to serve as a positive change agent, Jacqueline provides her clientele with opportunities to participate in non-formal, positive learning experiences that not only include research based knowledge but ways in which to improve the quality of life.  Educational programs that she has developed and implemented have been in the area of nutrition and fitness, and leadership development.  She received her bachelor of science in agricultural education from Ohio State University and her master of arts in agricultural and extension education from New Mexico State University.

Jeannette Baca, EdD, LPC, is a retired professor of counseling who now teaches part-time and conducts professional development training and consultation to schools, agencies and individuals.  Previously she was president of the New Mexico Counseling Association (NMCA) and served as ethics chair for four years.  Dr. Baca is a licensed professional counselor and school counselor who has worked for over 30 years as an educator and counselor.

Ermelinda Baca, RDH, is a graduate of the University of New Mexico School of Dental Hygiene and owner of Dragonfly Consultants. She is a private practice dental hygienist and serves as a dental hygiene and local anesthesia examiner for the Western Regional Examining Board.  She has also served several terms on the Board of Dental Health Care and Dental Hygienists Committee.  Currently Ms. Baca is an active member of the New Mexico Dental Hygiene Association and chairs the Dental/Dental Hygiene Liaison Committee.

Maryellen Bearzi, MSW, is the Protective Services administrative deputy director for the New Mexico Children, Youth & Families Department (CYFD).  She manages the administrative operations for the Protective Services Division, including oversight of federal programs, policy and procedures, training, quality assurance and program improvement, management information system, and research and evaluation.  She has worked with national resource centers to develop training and programs for New Mexico state staff and has presented at state and national conferences.  She earned her master's degree in clinical psychology from Illinois State University, and has a bachelor of science in psychology and sociology from Milliken University.

William Blair, PhD, earned his PhD from the University of New Mexico and is the assistant director of the Albuquerque office in the School and Family Support Bureau of the New Mexico Public Education Department. After 20 years of employment at the post-secondary level, Dr. Blair joined the New Mexico Public Education Department and has been with the agency for 29 years.  He has served in a variety of capacities including instruction, accreditation, assessment and accountability, and coordinated school health.  Dr. Blair has held leadership positions at the state and national levels and has presented at numerous events.

Walter Blea is a Certified Benefits Counselor with 30 years experience in public relations and social service programs. Mr. Blea is responsible for the coordination of the New Mexico Primary Care Association (PCA) statewide enrollment and retention project for Medicaid eligible children in New Mexico. He is a native New Mexican and has been with the PCA for two years.

Wanda J. Borges, RN, PhD is an associate professor at New Mexico State University who was involved in the first adolescent risk factor survey given at a high school in Las Cruces, NM.  She also assisted in the development of the school based health center based on the findings from the survey.  Since that time she has worked part time with the school based health centers to promote positive self-management in adolescents with chronic disease.  Currently she serves as an evaluator on a bi-national border health project funded as a Rural Outreach Grant through HRSA. 

Laurel Burnett, LMHC, NCC, is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) in New Mexico, a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and a veteran of the United States Air Force. Ms. Burnett has 15 years of experience working with children, adolescents and families who have experienced losses, such as death of a family member, chronic illness, terminal diagnosis, mental illness, military deployment, separation and divorce, substance abuse, abuse and domestic violence, and trauma. She has worked in diverse professional positions:  manager of a domestic violence shelter, team member of an abuse and domestic violence program at a regional medical center, bereavement counselor, hospice counselor, therapist in a group practice and private practice. Ms. Burnett presented a half-day workshop at the 2010 Association for Death Education and Counseling annual conference.

Diana Burnham, MSDH, a registered dental hygienist, is currently the dental health coordinator within the University of New Mexico’s School Based Health Centers and an assistant professor in the Division of Dental Hygiene at the University of New Mexico.  She has been in the dental profession since 1999, with four years as a registered dental assistant and eight years as a registered dental hygienist. Ms. Burnham is an active member of the New Mexico Dental Hygienists' Association, a current board member of the New Mexico Alliance for School-Based Health Care, and member of the New Mexico Oral Health Advisory Council.

Alejandra Carmona is currently a freshman at the University of New Mexico.  She was the Amy Biehl Spirit Award Winner in 2009 for her volunteerism in the area of eating disorders. She plans to double major in psychology and Spanish.

Jason Carpp, MEd, is the New Mexico Relationship Manager for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program. Founded by the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation works to empower schools, youth, and industry to combat childhood obesity.  The Healthy Schools Program is in its third year of operation in New Mexico and currently serves over 9,000 schools nationwide.

Kris Carrillo, LISW, is the program operations director for Envision NM with the University of New Mexico Pediatrics Department. She received her MSW from the University of California at Berkeley and has spent the past 27 years working in New Mexico in the field of children’s mental health as a clinician, program manager, and trainer. She has a particular interest in quality improvement of SBHCs in the area of behavioral health best practices, and in addition to spending 8 years working within the New Mexico Department of Health Office of School and Adolescent Health, she spent three years as faculty for the National Assembly of School-based Health Care (NASBHC) in their Mental Health Education and Training Initiative.

Gary Carson is a native of New York.  Gary is currently employed as a contractor for Strategic Applications International (SAI), where he is the State methamphetamine coordinator for New Mexico.  In that capacity, he works in partnership with SAI consultants, New Mexico’s drug czar and with a strong coalition of federal, state and local action team members to develop and implement strategies to suppress methamphetamine production, distribution and use.

Gayle Dine’Chacon, MD is originally from Chinle, Arizona.  She owned her own business on the reservation before entering medical school to become a physician. She started her college education at the College of Ganado, a tribal college in Arizona and completed a medical degree and family medicine residency at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine (UNMSOM).  She is an Associate Professor and appointed as Associate Vice President for Native American Health at the  UNM Health Sciences Center. She is the founder and Director of the Center for Native American Health which serves as a conduit between the University and tribal communities. She has worked in rural New Mexico providing health care for the Navajo people of the Checkerboard area in eastern Navajo Nation and for the Pueblo of Sandia.  She currently sees patients and precepts Family Medicine residents at the Albuquerque Indian Health Center.  Dr. Dine’Chacon is also Medical Director of the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center (BCJDC).       

Kim Chavez, MA, LMHC, NCC, currently serves as a resource counselor with Albuquerque Public Schools (APS).  She has worked with APS for the past 10 years at Alameda Elementary School and the opening year at Coronado Elementary School.  She has presented to other school counselors on implementation of career fairs and small group interventions on attendance at the elementary school level.  She is currently the Central Region Vice President for New Mexico School Counselors Association.  She is also a member of the American Counselor Association Task Force for School Counselors.  She is a past recipient of the APS School Counselor of the Year award and the Spirit of the North Valley award.  She received both her bachelor of arts in psychology and her master of arts in counselor education at the University of New Mexico.

Kim Cobbs, LISW, is a bureau chief in the Youth and Family Services Division of Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) and has been with the Department for 13 years.  She oversees a variety of program areas including juvenile justice transition/re-entry, supportive housing, domestic violence, juvenile justice federal programs and community based behavioral health. She is also active in CYFD’s efforts regarding child and family homelessness.  Her previous professional experience includes approximately 16 years in direct service work in community based programs serving adolescents, young adults and families.

Michele Coleman Sharp is a licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of a community mental health agency in New Mexico. Through outpatient treatment and training her agency focuses on helping parents and professionals meet the attachment needs of children in the community. Ms. Coleman Sharp has been practicing therapy for 12 years, serving ethnically and economically diverse populations.  She is currently pursuing her PhD in counselor education at the University of New Mexico.

Rita Condon is a Healthy Kids New Mexico health educator.  Rita has led the New Mexico Department of Health’s body mass index population-based monitoring effort in elementary schools throughout New Mexico. She has trained school health staff to use the Department of Health standardized measurement protocol and has measured over 3,000 elementary school children.  Ms. Condon is a nutritionist with 20 years experience educating consumers about healthy eating and active lifestyles.

Michael Coop is the owner of Coop Consulting, Inc., a small research, planning, facilitation, and evaluation firm, specializing in public sector organizational development, research and evaluation, project planning and coordination, training and technical assistance, grant-writing and facilitation services in the human service arena. Areas of focus include: substance abuse prevention and treatment, behavioral health system transformation, youth development, early childhood education and development initiatives, community development training and coaching, coalition development initiatives, system transformation initiatives for the elderly and disabled, drug enforcement strategies, and primary health care systems. Coop Consulting, Inc. uses an approach that merges a best practice, reflective learning leadership style, with a consistent emphasis on data-driven quality improvement processes.

Yolanda M. Cordova, MSW, is a graduate of University of Texas, School of Social Work. She has over 20 years experience in child and family health and behavioral health systems, including public health, child welfare, community mental health and special education. Ms. Cordova is currently the director for the Office of School and Adolescent Health (OSAH). OSAH has oversight for the state school-based health center program, school nursing, youth suicide prevention and positive youth development.

Sarah Couch, BUS, has worked with young people on substance abuse and suicide prevention and the promotion of youth voice.  Sarah focuses on educating young people about the importance of fundamental life skills, including self care and personal health and wellness.  Ms. Couch is the Albuquerque site manager for the New Mexico Systems of Care Grant and a graduate student in social work.

Tim Crofton is a facilitator originally from England and has 20 years theatre experience. Mr. Crofton's specialty is in theatre for social change and education. His experience includes working with prison theatre groups, workshops on sexual assault, theatre of the oppressed, guerilla theatre and HIV/AIDS awareness. Currently he is the head of theatre at the United World College of the American West.

Ashleigh Curry is the Safe Routes to School Champion for Mesilla Elementary School. Ms. Curry educates children in pedistrian and bike safety in and outside the classroom, coordinates a weekly bike train (known as Two-Wheel Tuesday) and a weekly "walking school bus". She is the mother of two elementary school children, who walk or bike to school. Ms. Curry is an avid cyclist. Ms. Curry served as the PTO President of Mesilla Elmentary School. Before moving to Las Cruces in 2006, Ms. Curry was a Senior Instructor for Kidpower of Colorado Springs for 10 years where she taught child abuse prevention to children and adults.

Anna Daggett is co-facilitator for the Northern Rio Arriba Communities Health Coalition. She is a sophomore at Escalante High School and has been an active coalition member for four years.

Maxine Daggett is a preventionist for North Central Community Based Services. Her passion is working with youth to help them achieve their highest potential. She has experience implementing evidence based prevention curriculums, co-facilitating the Natural Helpers Program in three school districts, participating in program evaluation, and developing collaborative relationships between programs and agencies.

JoAnna DeMaria is currently the lung health coordinator for the American Lung Association of New Mexico.  She earned her bachelor of science in health education and community health at the University of New Mexico, and is a certified trainer and facilitator in the American Lung Association’s Open Airways for Schools program and Kickin’ Asthma.  Ms. DeMaria also coordinates a support group for people living with lung disease, and works hard on advocacy lung health issues that affect all New Mexicans.  She has the distinct honor of being selected as a 2009-2010 Fellow for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Center for Creative Leadership’s Ladder to Leadership: Developing the Next Generation of Community Health Leaders initiative.

Cheri Dotson, RN, BSN, MA, has a BSN from Arizona State University and a Masters from NMSU in Counseling and Psychology.  She served in the United States Air Force Nurse Corps and has been a school nurse for 28 years.  She has provided immunizations in New Mexico schools since 2004 and in El Paso for 10 years prior.  She participates in community immunization clinics and is one of the co-writers of the New Mexico School Flu Project manual.  She received the New Mexico Immunization Coalition Immunization Champion Award in 2009.

Deborah Dungan, JD, LPC, is the child welfare and juvenile justice staff attorney for the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). In addition to her JD, Deborah holds a BS in child development and family relations, an MS in family and human relations, and an MA in counseling. Prior to joining the AOC she worked as an elementary school counselor in Santa Fe.

Angelica Enriquez is a senior at South Valley Academy.  She attended the 2010 Leadership conference sponsored by Planned Parenthood.  She has been a peer educator since 2007.

Tatiana Falcon-Rodriguez, MA, has been a bilingual health educator for several months at Planned Parenthood of New Mexico (PPNM).  She is currently a second-year master of public health student in the community health concentration at the University of New Mexico. Her interests lie in reproductive health and family planning among underserved Hispanic/Latino populations, especially Hispanic/Latino youth. She’s been working with South Valley Peers in Action for a few months and is partnering with Sunny Holmes, another PPNM health educator, to expand the peer education program to several schools in Albuquerque. Tatiana is a native of the northwestern coast of Puerto Rico. 

Norma J. Faries, MAOM, LADAC, CPRP, CPS, is currently the associate director for Region 1 and designated liaison between OptumHealth New Mexico and school based health centers.

Paula Feathers, MA, (Pawnee/Cherokee) was raised in Zuni, New Mexico.  Her career has been dedicated to health promotion and substance abuse prevention.  She began her work in communities providing various services including case management and direct services to families and youth.  She owns her own consulting business and currently coordinates two state wide training systems including the New Mexico Office of Substance Abuse Prevention and Tobacco Use Prevention and Control.  Paula also serves as the Project Director of a SAMHSA/CSAP tribal grant.  Paula has provided training and technical assistance to tribes, states, and federal agencies in the areas of substance abuse prevention, historical trauma, cultural sensitivity, organizational development, and professional development skills. Paula earned a BUS from the University of New Mexico with a focus on Native American Studies and Psychology.  Her Master’s degree is from the University of Oklahoma in Administrative Leadership. 

Joseph R. Flippo, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and certified school psychologist who received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Oregon and was with New Mexico Highlands University as a professor of psychology.  He has taught graduate classes in the assessment and treatment of mental illness.  At Albuquerque Public Schools, he is a trainer for and member of the district Crisis Team providing psychological first aid.  He has been directly involved in training of the different health and mental health role groups and the APS Police in the psychological first aid process.  He serves as a consultant and evaluator to APS staff, parents and children, for whom trauma is common.  He has 27 years of experience in private practice assessing and treating children and adolescent clients, for whom trauma was common.

Melanie Flippo, MEd, is a special education teacher with Albuquerque Public Schools who specializes in educating students who have the exceptionality emotional disturbance. She has taught students at the elementary and high school levels and is currently teaching in a middle school setting. She works closely with multiple district and community resources to assist in providing consistent interventions between home and school. In addition to implementing individual education plans, she also has experience writing individual behavior plans that allow most students to integrate into general school settings.  She is experienced in serving children who have experienced trauma.

Carlos M. Flores is the Project Coordinator of the South Valley Male Involvement Project.  Working with staff to develop Project M, a health promotion and youth development program, he is commited to youth led project development, social justice and working in the community to facilitate the growth of youth who are critical thinkers, who are engaged in conscious social action for change, and who are self-sufficient.

Tara Ford, JD, is the co-director of Pegasus Legal Services for Children, a non-profit organization in Albuquerque, New Mexico that provides civil legal services to children and their families.  She has been involved in children’s issues for over 20 years and has worked with many courageous and dedicated parents and caregivers who strive to ensure that children have what they need at home, in their schools and communities.  Ms. Ford is a graduate of Stanford Law School.

Jessica Frost AICP, is the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Coordinator for New Mexico. The NM Department of Transportation (NMDOT) hired Ms. Frost in 2006 to set up and administer the state’s SRTS program which has provided financial and/or technical assistance to schools in more than 25 New Mexico communities. Prior to working at the NMDOT, Ms. Frost served as the planning director for the Town of Silver City, New Mexico. Ms. Frost has a master's in urban and regional planning from Florida Atlantic University, a bachelor’s in political science from the University of Tennessee and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. Ms. Frost also serves as the vice president of the New Mexico Chapter of the American Planning Association.

Kathleen Garcia, RN, is the clinical project coordinator for the Diabetes Initiative at Espanola Hospital Presbyterian Health Systems.  Ms. Garcia is also the chair for the New Mexico Diabetes Advisory Council.  She received her associate's degree from Northern New Mexico Community College.

Darbi Gill, is a family leadership coordinator for the New Mexico Family Network. Ms. Gill has an extensive background in anthropology and archaeolog,y winning the Ales Hrdlicka Award for outstanding thesis.

Todd Goldblum, MD, has been practicing pediatric ophthalmology in Albuquerque for over 16 years. After completing his medical degree at Case Western Reserve University, he served residencies in both pediatrics and ophthalmology. He then completed a pediatric ophthalmology fellowship at University of Minnesota. His accomplishments include: principal investigator for PEDIG (Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group), volunteer faculty at the University of New Mexico Department of Surgery, successfully submitted the Save Our Children's Eyesight Fund bill in 2007 and signed into law by Governor Richarson (establishes state-wide vision screening), served on New Mexico Department of Health Vision Screen Advisory Committee, and is medical director of the New Mexico Lions' Operation Kidsight.

RuthAnn Goradia, RN, BSN, MSN, MPH is the community asthma resource nurse with the Albuquerque Public School asthma program.  She assists in managing APS asthma program activities, including community and parent activities to promote asthma awareness and management.  She has been working with Project ECHO to develop a Facebook page to provide asthma and diabetes information to high school students.

J. Dee Grapentine, LPC, NCC is a licensed professional mental health counselor. He received his master of arts in criminology and corrections from Kent State University and holds a master of arts in counseling from Webster University.  Prior to entering the counseling career field he served as a military police officer with 23 years experience in law enforcement, security, and personnel protection. His duty assignments took him worldwide including the Middle East, East Africa, and Southeast as well as Southwest Asia. He worked seven years with the Albuquerque Police Department, Behavioral Sciences Unit where he provided EAP services to police officers and their families. He also supported the Crisis Negotiation Team on call-outs as a psychological consultant and provided training in a wide range of topics to APD personnel as well as many other police agencies. Mr. Grapentine is trained and provides services in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) as well as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Dan Green received a master of public health degree from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston, El Paso Campus, with an emphasis in epidemiology, survey methodology, and the use of geographic information systems (GIS) in public health.  From 1999 until 2002 he was the director of the Center for Border Health Research (CBHR) in El Paso, Texas.  While with the CBHR, he was responsible for implementing a Youth Risk Behavior Survey in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.  His current position is with the epidemiology and response division, New Mexico Department of Health, where his duties include implementation and analysis of the New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey, a survey of risk behaviors and protective factors among New Mexico high school and middle school students.

Mary Lou Gregoire, CPC, CCP, is recently retired from Presbyterian Healthcare Services. She is a coding analyst with 30 years of coding experience.

Denine Gronseth, BSN, RNC, is the program coordinator and asthma resource nurse with the Albuquerque Public School Asthma Program.  She focuses on coordinating the APS Asthma Program, including managing asthma education programs in APS schools.  She has been working with Project ECHO to develop a Facebook page to provide asthma and diabetes information to high school students.

Stephanie Gutierrez is a graduate of New Mexico State University with a bachelors degree in criminal justice. Throughout her studies she was a volunteer mentor for troubled youth, whom had already been in trouble with the law and were being supervised by a juvenile probation officer. She started with the School Based Health Center as a medical assistant, and is currently the SBHC coordinator at Chaparral High School in Chaparral, New Mexico. 

Michelle Harkins, MD, is an associate professor of internal medicine with the pulmonary and critical care division of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNMHSCC).  In 2000, she began the Adult Asthma Clinic and has been successful in reducing emergency department (ED) visits by 71% in the first 50 patients that were enrolled in her clinic.  A 50% reduction in ED visits has been sustained from 2001 onward.  Dr. Harkins is the director of the MICU and cares for critically ill patients, including asthmatics, in this role as well.

Bea Etta Harris, Ed.D., is superintendent of the Ruidoso Municipal School District.  Dr. Harris has been an elementary and special education teacher for 17 years, a site administrator for 17 years, and a superintendent for three years.  Dr. Harris obtained her B.S. in elementary education from the University of Oregon, M.A. in special education and Ed.D. in educational leadership from the University of New Mexico. 

Jasmin Hendrickson is currently a health educator with the New Mexico Public Education Department Student Nutrition Bureau.

Therese Hidalgo, MSN, CFNP, is currently working in the Office of School and Adolescent Health as the school-based health center clinical operations program manager. She has previous experience as a primary care provider in the Belen School-based health center, and twenty years experience in primary care with Presbyterian Family Health Care Center in Belen as a certified family nurse practitioner with focus in care of women and children.

Penny Holland, LPCC, has developed and presented trainings for educators and health professionals, throughout New Mexico, on the impact of trauma. She is a clinical counselor at a school-based health center and in private practice.  She also assists in training clinicians in somatic psychotherapy for healing trauma.  Penny’s approach encourages us to slow down, quiet ourselves and attend to relationships.

Sunny Holmes, MA, has worked in reproductive health education for two years at Planned Parenthood of New Mexico. She did extensive research in graduate school about the benefits of comprehensive sexuality education and states’ decisions to embrace it. She has been involved with the South Valley Peers in Action for two years and recently began expansion of the program to Amy Biehl High School. South Valley Peers in Action has worked to improve the health of their community for over five years and have presented at numerous conferences, schools and health fairs. Some members recently attended Planned Parenthood Federation’s Youth Engagement Conference in Washington D.C. and have been regularly featured as exemplary youth in Sage Magazine.

Dean Hopper, MEd, is the Assistant Director with the School and Family Support Bureau at the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED). He has been with NMPED for 14 years where, prior to being assistant director, he was the HIV education program coordinator. Mr. Hopper’s state government work history also included working at the New Mexico Department of Health as a Disease Prevention Specialist in the District II Public Health Office.  Additionally, Mr. Hopper taught at both the high school and middle school level at Santa Fe Public Schools where his responsibilities included integrating health education into other curricular areas.

Linda Hummingbird, RN, BSc, is the School Nurse/ School Health Services Coordinator at the Santa Fe Indian School. A registered nurse for 30 years, she has been a school nurse for 11 years.  She is a past president of the New Mexico School Nurses Association and was previously Chair of the National Association of School Nurses’ (NASN) special interest group for private and parochial school nurses . Linda was chosen as NMSNA’s School Nurse of the Year 2007-2008 and was NASN’s Outstanding Private and Parochial School Nurse 2010.  She is a member of the Editorial Advisory Committee for the NASN School Nurse and a member of the Editorial Advisory Workgroup reviewing chapters for the 2nd edition of NASN’s publication, School Nursing: A Comprehensive Text, scheduled for publication in 2012.       

Sally Hrymak Hunter, RN BSN, NCSN, is a registered nurse with 32 years experience in Albuquerque Public Schools.  She has been involved in health promotion activities at the district, state, and national level. Presently working at Eisenhower Middle school where she coordinates the School Health Advisory Committee.  This committee has been working with Alliance for a Healthier Generation towards a bronze award.  Sally is co-chair of New Mexico Action for Healthy Kids.  In 2010 Ms. Hunter was recognized as the NM School Nurse of the Year and National Association of School Nurses National School Nurse of the Year.

Jenn Jevertson, MS, is a program manager at the Santa Fe Mountain Center (SFMC) and oversees SFMC’s New Mexico Gay Straight Alliance Network Program. She is well versed in issues of bullying, included bullying towards LGBTQ students, and has presented at local, national, and international conferences. Ms. Jevertson has over twelve years experience providing experiential programs to LGBTQ and at-risk youth and has developed anti-bullying curriculum and programs for elementary through high schools students.

Desaree Jimenez is a home economist in Rio Arriba County for New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service.  She received her bachelor of science in criminal justice from New Mexico State University and her master of arts in agricultural and extension education from New Mexico State University.

Leslie Kelly, MA, LPCC, is a graduate of St. Cloud State University with a bachelor of science in special education and earned a master of arts in counseling from Adams state University. She worked for over 20 years with youth, adults and families as an educator, counselor/therapist, trainer, and program administrator. Areas of work included special education, substance abuse prevention and intervention, group work, domestic violence, systems navigation, skill building, legislative advocacy and networking.  Having worked with large systems like the University of New Mexico and Department of Health as well as being a school based provider and educator has allowed her the opportunity to develop a unique perspective of the needs of professionals in the field, consumers and families. Currently, she is the State Behavioral Telehealth Coordinator charged with organizing a system that provides greater access to behavioral health services to New Mexicans, especially rural and frontier communities.

Billie Kipp, PhD, is a research assistant professor for the Center for Native American Health at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Kipp has a PhD in clinical psychology. Additionally, she is a child psychologist for the Pueblo of New Mexico.  Her masters’ thesis focused on the effects of a Blackfeet cultural and language immersion program on Blackfeet children’s intelligence, racial identity, and self-esteem. Her current research is investigating the differences of crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence in American Indian children and American Indian children with a diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.  Dr. Kipp is committed to culturally responsive research and providing research that is useful for tribes.

Carole Kirby, RN, is the School Health Advocate for Region 2.  Previously, she worked as a nurse’s aide, then at St. Vincent’s Hospital for 15 years as a registered nurse. Ms. Kirby was also the school nurse for the Santa Fe Public Schools and has studied and worked in biological medicine in a specialized clinic in Santa Fe. She also worked for the Department of Health as a nurse epidemiologist/emergency preparedness.

Nancy Kirkpatrick is a Certified Health Education Specialist with a bachelor of science from the University of New Mexico. She has worked in the public health field for ten years and is currently the Youth Suicide Prevention Program Coordinator for the State of NM Department of Health.

Avi Kriechman, MD, is board certified in adult, child and adolescent psychiatry as well as marital and family therapy. He is on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico and the New Mexico Highlands University School of Social Work. Currently, Dr. Kriechman conducts videoconferencing consultations, trainings, and interviews throughout the state via the Center for Rural and Community Behavioral Health at UNM. He has been involved with school-based mental health for over 25 years.

Irene Krokos, MD, is board certified in internal medicine with experience in medical management including case and disease management and quality. In her current role as medical director, she interacts with providers and medical managers regarding utilization practices, guideline usage and effective resource management.

Heather Knox, LISW, is a school social worker with Albuquerque Public Schools, where she has the privilege to work with and learn from many students on the Autism Spectrum and their families.  Since 2003 she has provided private “Social Thinking”TM groups and play groups for children with Aspergers, High Functioning Autism, or other social communication challenges.

Jean Lisiak, MA, LISW, ACSW, received her master of arts in clinical social work from the School of Social Service Administration, the University of Chicago.  She has worked in a variety of mental health and child welfare agencies within the Chicago metropolitan area.  Ms. Lisiak was a therapist at Children’s Psychiatric Hospital, the University of New Mexico, where she served as director of social work training for the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.  Ms. Lisiak is a social worker within APS where she has worked with multidisciplinary health/mental health teams at seven separate schools serving children from pre-school through the 12th grade.  She is member of the APS district Crisis Team.  She has considerable experience in the diagnosis and treatment of children and youth who have suffered trauma.

Tracy Longwill, MA, currently works with Albuquerque Public Schools as the safety resource counselor.  Tracy has been involved with education for over 30 years as a teacher, counselor and parent.  Bullying prevention and creating a safe, respectful school culture has been her major focus during her ten years as a school counselor for Albuquerque Public Schools.  As the safety resource counselor, she has implemented initiatives to inform parents, school staffs and students on strategies for preventing and dealing with bullying situations, as well as empowering the bystander population and community members to be proactive in making our school campuses safe and respectful.  Tracy received her bachelor of science in education from Miami University of Ohio and her master of arts in counseling and educational psychology from New Mexico State University.

Victor Lunsford, RN, is a registered nurse retired from the United States Air Force after 20 years in the Nurse Corps with experience in medical/surgical nursing, emergency room nursing, flight nursing, perioperative nursing, External Quality Review Organization (EQRO) and quality improvement (QI).  In his current role as the director of QI, he is responsible for national accreditation and state regulatory compliance requirements, performance measurement, delegation, quality of care and medical record reviews, member and provider education, and medical home initiatives.

Charlene Lutz, MA, currently serves as a Resource Counselor with Albuquerque Public Schools (APS).  She has worked as an APS school counselor for the past 11 years at both the elementary and middle school levels.  Ms. Lutz was also involved for many years in reproductive health education. She serves as the vice president for middle school for the New Mexico School Counselors’ Association.  She is a past recipient of the APS School Counselor of the Year Award. Ms. Lutz received both her bachelor of arts in psychology and her master of arts in counselor education at the University of New Mexico.

Justice Petra Jimenez Maes, Supreme Court Justice, was appointed to the New Mexico Supreme Court in 1998. Prior to her appointment, she was a district court judge in the First Judicial District. In addition to her case assignments on the criminal, civil and family courts, she served as the district’s Children’s Court judge for twelve years. Justice Maes is the Supreme Court's representative on the New Mexico Court Improvement Project Commission (CIP). The CIP’s mission is to develop innovative approaches that advance court, agency, and stakeholder collaboration by improving the safety, permanency, and well being of children and families in the child welfare system. Justice Maes has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Alice King Public Service Award for her outstanding commitment to and service on behalf of New Mexico’s children and families.

Shelley Mann-Lev is the Safe Schools/Healthy Students coordinator for the Santa Fe Public Schools.  Shelley has worked with the Santa Fe Public Schools for the past decade to promote the health and well-being of students.  Prior to the implementation of the SS/HS initiative, her primary focus has been substance abuse prevention.  Shelley serves as chair of the Santa Fe Underage Drinking Prevention Alliance and the facilitator of the Santa Fe Safe Schools/Healthy Students Partnership.  Shelley obtained funding for Project SUCCESS through the federal grant to reduce alcohol abuse in 2007 and the SS/HS grant in 2008.  She supervises the implementation of Project SUCCESS at eight schools including high schools, middle schools and charter schools.

Martin Martinez is a health educator dedicated to using hip hop music, rap, and his love for music to encourage youth to create positive messages for youth focused on health and community issues. He is studying for a degree in social work and is a founding member of Project M, which works with youth to provide training and skills to promote health, provided peer education, and service to the larger community through outreach and community education.

Carmen Martinez-Tittmann, LPCC, LMSW, is a behavioral health education and outreach provider with Envision NM. She brings 22 years of clinical and educational experience with children, adolescents and families. A native New Mexican, Carmen is focused on quality improvement in the area of assisting providers with developing clinical and inter-professional skills. She provides behavioral health services at Young Children’s Health Clinic. Trained in Motivational Interviewing (MI), Carmen uses MI in her work as a community provider, as well as in trainings and webinars through Envision NM.

Janet Mason, RN, BSN, MSN, has worked extensively with children and adolescents as a school nurse and psychiatric nurse. Ms. Mason utilizes therapeutic touch and massage to help decrease anxiety and acting out behavior of young people she works with.  As a past nursing instructor and current DOH school health advocate, she teaches the value of stress reduction and touch to care providers for both managing stress sharing these skills with students.

Patricia McCarty, BSN, RN, NCSN, CDE, a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator, is the diabetes/chronic disease resource nurse for Albuquerque Public Schools. She guides nurses and school staff in supporting students with diabetes care management tasks in the schools.  She supports diabetes prevention initiatives through many ongoing projects and programs at school sites related to increasing student’s knowledge in nutrition and physical activity. She currently serves as co-chair for New Mexico Action for Healthy Kids.

Jennie McCary, MS, RD, LD, is a registered dietitian and the wellness manager for Albuquerque Public Schools.  She leads and manages the implementation for the district's coordinated school health program and wellness policy, and coordinates nutrition, physical activity and staff wellness initiatives.  She is president for the New Mexico Dietetic Association and in 2009 was recognized as the Outstanding Dietitian of the Year.

Jane McGrath, MD, is the medical director for Envision New Mexico, an initiative for child healthcare quality. Dr. McGrath is also a  recognized leader in the development and implementation of school based health centers.

Rose Medina-Rogers, LMSW, has worked with children, youth, and their families since 1991.  She is currently employed as a school social worker.  Ms. Medina-Rogers has provided peer education programs in her community for the past seven years.

Nimsy Melendez is currently a sophomore at the University of New Mexico.  She was the Amy Biehl Spirit Award winner in 2008 for her volunteerism in the area of female reproductive health and teen pregnancy prevention.  She plans on double majoring in criminal justice and Spanish.

Kristine M. Meurer, PhD, is the acting assistant secretary for the Student Success Division at the New Mexico Public Education Department.  She received her Doctorate in health promotion from the University of New Mexico and is certified in health and physical education, both in New Mexico and Michigan, licensed in educational administration in New Mexico, and maintains a National Athletic Trainers Association Certification. Dr. Meurer has been an educator for over 37 years. She has worked at all levels of education elementary, middle, high school and university and provided leadership on educational issues at both the national and state level.  She has been at the PED for over 20 years working in the areas of both health and education.  Dr. Meurer is active at both the national and state levels working with policy makers, and school districts to advocate for the educational and health needs of New Mexico’s youth.

Carlos D. Miera, LISW, is the senior director of CYFD Services at OpthumHeath New Mexico. Mr. Miera has a masters degree in policy, planning and administration and has over 25 years experience in designing, developing and implementing behavioral health service programs in Northern New Mexico. As the senior director of CYFD Services, his role is to support and develop policies and procedures regarding services received by consumers and those with special needs who use CYFD funded services and ensures they are implemented effectively within each region of the state.

Margaret Migliorati, MA, LPCC, R-DMT, NCC has worked as a therapist in school-based health centers in Silver City, Bayard and Lordsburg, New Mexico.  She currently works as the clinical coordinator of the EARLY Program and as the project director of the RAISE Early Treatment Program for the University of New Mexico.  Ms. Migliorati is particularly passionate about the outreach components of EARLY and RAISE which are key to early identification, treatment and potentially the prevention of a serious mental illness.

Carson Miller is 14 years old, and attends Santa Fe High School. She is very active and participates in soccer, swim team, and dive team; as well as an active member of her temple youth group and NFTY (North American Federation for Temple Youth). She is in her third year serving as a youth advisory board member for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which is an organization founded by the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation. As a youth board member, she works directly with New Mexico youth encouraging them to live a healthy life style by showing them simple things that they can do to make it happen. Ms. Miller has spoken with elementary and middle school youth, as well as organized and run various events in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

Kristine Mitchell has worked in the medical field for 7 years.  She worked at Memorial Medical Center for 6 years and held positions from certified nursing assistant to unit coordinator.  She currently works for the School Based Health Centers in Las Cruces and Gadsden as a Traveling Medical Assistant.  She is also attending New Mexico State University where she is working on a bachelor’s degree in community health and will graduate in 2012.  Upon completion of her degree she plans to pursue a master’s degree.

Jay Mortensen has been the superintendent of Mountainair Public Schools since 2005.  With undergraduate and graduate degrees from Northern Illinois University (elementary ed., special ed., and educational admin.), he has worked 30 years in public education.  He worked for Bloomfield Municipal Schools, Region 1 Educational Cooperative and Central Consolidated School District a total of 23 years gaining experience as a teacher, consultant, principal, human resources director and assistant superintendent. 

Kathleen Moseley is the nurse manager at Project ECHO (Extensions for Community HealthOutcomes).  She has clinical experience in both hospital and public health nursing, and a master of preventive medicine.  Ms. Moseley became certified as an asthma educator in October of 2009.  She assists with provider education on the best practice guidelines for asthma (NAEPP), and helps facilitate case presentations from providers around the state through Project ECHO’s network.

Emily Moore, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Albuquerque, specializing in adolescent and family issues. She has over 30 years of experience in working with youth in various venues including several juvenile-justice programs, forensic psychological evaluations, and individual and family therapy. She is also a licensed school psychologist consulting with Albuquerque Public Schools Behavior Intervention Program. Since 2003, Dr. Moore has presented programs on relational aggression, cyberbullying, self-image and media literacy, and social empowerment for students, parents, and educators at schools around New Mexico.

Terry Morris received his master of arts in community counseling after spending 12 years teaching urban, low-income African-Americans in Dallas and Chicago and two years working with rural, low-income Hispanics in New Mexico. He received four teaching awards including the Excellence in Teaching in Dallas, and the Golden Apple Award in Chicago. While in Chicago he lived for five and a half years in the same inner-city neighborhood as his students. Mr. Morris is currently pursuing his PhD in counselor education at the University of New Mexico.

Laurie A. Mueller is the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Coordinator for the School and Family Support Bureau in the New Mexico Public Education Department. After working for fifteen years in the Dental Program of the New Mexico Department of Health developing and implementing a statewide sealant program, Ms. Mueller entered the school health arena. Since that time she has held several positions at the Department of Health ending with her retirement as the School Health Director with over 26 years of public health work. In 2005 she returned to state work at the New Mexico Public Education Department to continue working in school health capacity building, policy development and program implementation.

Susan Nelsen, MSW, LISW, is the school mental health advocate for Region 2 for the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH).  She is an MSW and a licensed independent social worker (LISW). Susan has 14 years experience as a social worker, working both for the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) in Child Protective and Family Services Bureaus and DOH.  During her time with CYFD she worked with families in crisis, providing  in-home family preservation services and monitoring Children’s Behavioral Health contracts funded by CYFD’s Family Services Bureau. Ms. Nelsen is currently with the DOH working closely with school based health centers working on school behavioral health. She is involved in suicide prevention awareness and bringing attention to the effects that trauma has on children, their development and ability to learn.

Anna Nelson, LISW, is a social worker serving youth and families for seventeen years. Ms. Nelson is the behavioral health manager for the New Mexico Department of Health Office of School and Adolescent Health and adjunct professor for New Mexico State University School of Social Work. Ms. Nelson has experience in both direct practice and policy development, with foci in violence prevention, gender-responsive, trauma-informed, and culturally-relevant behavioral health services and system development, and promotion of multi-systemic collaboration. Ms. Nelson was the first to devise the state’s gender-responsive behavioral health plan in 2006 and implement New Mexico’s Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention initiative in 2007. Since its inception, Ms. Nelson has trained over 5,000 youth and adults statewide on teen dating violence health risks, resiliency strategies, and methods for ending dating violence.

Laura Owen, NCC, NCSC, is currently working as the counseling manager for Albuquerque Public Schools.  Ms. Owen has trained counselors at the school, state and national level on the changing role of the school counselor, college and career readiness, school counseling through a social justice framework, and development of model school counseling programs. While at Cibola High School, her counseling department was awarded the Recognized American School Counseling Association National Model Program Award. She is also currently a doctoral student at Oregon State University.

Wesley Pak, MBA, is a system and programming manager at the University of New Mexico, Health Sciences Center, Project ECHO. He is currently working on his PhD at the University of New Mexico and his focus is on knowledge management and dissemination.  He designed and developed the UNM HSC telemedicine/telehealth video infrastructure.

Suzanne Pearlman currently serves as the social marketing and technical assistance manager for New Mexico's System of Care Grant.  Prior to the grant she supported the work of the New Mexico Behavioral Health Collaborative as the lead for the Cross Agency Team supporting the behavioral health local collaboratives statewide.  Ms. Pearlman also has extensive experience working with youth through AmeriCorps program development and implementation across the country.

Linda Peñaloza, PhD, is a research associate professor at the University of New Mexico’s Division of Prevention & Population Sciences. She received her doctorate degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in mass communication, and has a bachelor of arts and master of arts in sociology.  She is currently president-elect of the New Mexico Public Health Association. Dr. Peñaloza is responsible for data collection with the middle school and high school Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (YRRS) in all of New Mexico’s 89 school districts and provides program evaluation support for the New Mexico DOH–Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Program (TUPAC) and its contractors.

Mary M. Ramos, MD, MPH, FAAP is a pediatrician and public health practitioner. She is an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and serves as school health officer for the New Mexico Department of Health.

Dan Rifkin, MD, is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist who works on school-based health center quality improvement and telehealth programs with Envision New Mexico, UNM Dept. of Pediatrics. He provides psychiatric services in UNM School-Based Health Centers and Health Sciences Center Pediatric Clinic. An Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Dr. Rifkin provides training and consultation to primary care and behavioral health providers that emphasizes multidisciplinary, collaborative assessment and treatment.

Sarah Robbins

No biography available.

Kenn Rodriguez is an award-winning journalist, educator, youth arts facilitator and writer, and has been called “one of the most honest, down-to-earth performance poets in the region, if not the nation” by the Austin Chronicle. He has been honored as Poet of the Year in 2005 by the New Mexico Hispano Entertainers Association.  In 2005 he coached and was a member of the National Poetry Slam championship team from Albuquerque, and recently coached the ABQ Unidos youth slam team to a third place finish at the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam.  Mr. Rodriguez has been published in several journals and anthologies, including a Bigger Boat: The Unlikely Success of the Albuquerque Poetry Slam Scene published by UNM Press and was recently featured in the documentary film, Committing Poetry in Times of War about Rio Rancho teacher, Bill Nevins, who was fired.

The Honorable John J. Romero Jr. serves in Albuquerque, New Mexico as a District Court Judge in the Children’s Court Division.  He presides over delinquency matters, neglect and abuse cases and adoptions.  Judge Romero is actively involved in his community’s family violence prevention efforts and was recognized by the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence with the 2007 Spirit Advocacy Award.  He also presides over the Program for the Empowerment of Girls (PEG), an intensive multidisciplinary juvenile probation program for girls who have some type of violence in their history.  Judge Romero is co-chair of the Court Improvement Project Commission and a member of the Tribal-State Judicial Consortium.  He is the first judge in the country to be recognized as a Certified Child Welfare Law Specialist by the ABA-accredited National Association of Counsel for Children.

Carl Russell is the founder of Life Hope Consulting and Services LLC. He is an approved instructor for the International Critical Incident Stress Ffoundation, and he has been providing intervention services for schools, businesses and emergency services for over 15 years. Mr. Russell is a member of the National Center for Crisis Management and the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. He is currently president of the New Mexico Crisis Support Team and serves as a consultant to the Albuquerque Fire Department.

May Sagbakken is the program manager for the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative in Albuquerque Public Schools. She has a dual master’s in community and regional planning/Latin American studies, and more than 10 years experience as a non-profit director for local and international organizations focusing on positive youth development, education and women’s rights.

Sayra Salas is a senior at South Valley Academy.  She attended the 2010 Leadership conference sponsored by Planned Parenthood.  She has been a peer educator since 2007.

Joseph P. Sánchez, MBA, has been with the New Mexico Public Education Department for 11 years. He currently serves as the coordinator for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education program. In addition, he is appointed to the New Mexico Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) panel and the New Mexico Interagency Coordinated Council (ICC), Family Infant Toddler (FIT) Council.  He also served seven years as an officer in the United States Navy. He graduated from the Naval Supply Corps School in Athens, Georgia with a certificate in supply/logistics. He is currently a graduate student at the University of New Mexico pursuing a doctoral degree in family studies. His previous employment has included experiences in finance, management, analytical work (both programmatic and legislative), sales, customer service and operational management.

Paula Roybal Sánchez is a home economist in Los Alamos County for the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service. Working with a varied clientele, she believes professional development and collaborative partnerships are critical to addressing the needs of the clientele and providing them with relevant programs.  Her innovative educational programs focus on nutrition and health for both youth and adult audiences.   She received her bachelor of science in home economics education from New Mexico State University and her master of arts in public administration from the University of New Mexico.

Chris Schueler has created over 100 television programs in the past 20 years that have garnered 18 Emmy® Awards and have been broadcast throughout the country and around the world. Focusing on educational and social issues, Mr. Schueler creates youth programming, cultural and social documentaries, and family series television all geared to create “Television to Touch the Heart.” His clients have ranged from the United Nations to the PBS network to the CBS Network Foundation. His social issue projects have aired on PBS, The Learning Channel, The Classroom Channel, and in over 100 domestic markets as well as 35 countries. His documentaries have raised public awareness and also impacted public policy nationally and internationally. The National Broadcast Association for Community Affairs has named Chris Schueler national “Innovator of the Year.”

Patricia Serna, MSW, graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in sociology and from the University of Denver with a masters degree in social work.  She is co-founder and executive director of North Central Community Based Services. She has extensive experience in program development, grant writing, and prevention. Previously she worked as a clinical social worker in an outpatient mental health program; as the deputy director of the Governors Committee on Concerns of the Handicapped; and as the director of the Medicaid Waiver program for the Elderly and Physically Handicapped. Ms. Serna has also worked with the Jicarilla Apache Nation to begin the National Model Adolescent Suicide Prevention Project. She retired from the Jicarilla Apache Nation in October 2005 as the Director of the Jicarilla Behavioral Health Department.

Natalie Skogerboe has helped coordinate the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant and the Statewide Epidemiological Workgroup for the past four years. This work has given her a thorough understanding of data sources and how to use data for planning at the state and local levels. She incorporates experiential learning techniques into her sessions and breaks complex topics down into everyday language and real life examples. She has been a trainer in New Mexico for ten years and has worked with Coop Consulting for four years. Natalie has completed graduate level coursework in public health and public administration and is a certified prevention specialist (CPS).

Sabrina Strong is the new executive director of the NM Suicide Prevention Coalition and a suicide attempt survivor. Previously she was a health promotion specialist for the New Mexico Department of Health. She holds a masters in public health from Boston University, and has been a health educator for fifteen years teaching about unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, especially HIV/AIDS. Sabrina worked for several years as a case manager for individuals with severe mental illness and developmental disability, and served as a program coordinator for a substance abuse prevention program for youth in Massachusetts.

Linda Summers, RN, PhD, practices as both a family nurse practitioner and a clinical nurse specialist in mental health nursing. Dr. Summers has doctorate of science in nursing, which recently was changed from a DSN to a PhD, and her research interest is adolescent health disclosure. She has opened an adolescent clinic within the Family Medicine Residency Program and runs four school-based health centers at local high and middle schools, which gives her access to her population of interest. On December 4, 2007 she started with the Department of Health, in a joint practice with a private for profit hospital running the adolescent programs. In August 2009 Dr. Summers took a teaching position at New Mexico State University where she continues to pursue her interest in telemedicine as it applies to adolescent health care.

Rubina Syed, LISW, ACSW, is a school mental health advocate with the Department of Health/ Office of School and Adolescent Health.  Mrs. Syed graduated from Michigan State University with two bachelor of science degrees in psychology and sociology and received her masters of social work degree from Boston University.  She has over 15 years experience that includes supervising children’s case management and wraparound services, outpatient therapy, site reviewer of community mental health boards for the State of Michigan and contract manager for Substance Abuse Coordinating Agencies.

Brooke Tafoya, MSW, currently serves as the coordinator for the Safe Schools Healthy Students Initiative for Albuquerque Public Schools.  Ms. Tafoya was a state-wide trainer on youth violence prevention, with specific emphasis on bullying and cyberbullying  prevention in schools and communities in Illinois.  Ms. Tafoya received a master of social work from Washington University in Saint Louis and a bachelor of arts in sociology from Principia College.   All of Ms. Tafoya’s work is focused on creating and integrating social change in the lives of youth.

Carrie Thompson has been working in the community health field for over nine years. She worked as a clinical data specialist at Camino de Vida Center for HIV Services for six years and is currently working as school based health center coordinator at Gadsden High School in Anthony, New Mexico. She is also a community health major at New Mexico State University and will graduate in December 2011. Her ultimate goal is to become a community health nurse.

Omar Torres has experience in youth radio, with deejaying, creating public service announcements, media projects, and has participated in Project M for three years. He is active in multiple organizations in his school. Mr. Torres has a personal interest in performing rap, poetry, deejay work, and is receiving training in many forms of media. He is a senior in high school and is committed to social activism, community organizing, and creating change in his community.

Freida Trujillo is a resource counselor for Albuquerque Public Schools and is the president elect for the New Mexico School Counselor Association.

Michael Verrilli, LADAC, LMHC, is a doctoral student in the University of New Mexico’s counselor education program.  During the summers, he works as the academic counselor at a camp for gifted students.  This is a three-week program where students from across the country attend college-level classes on a range of topics.  Michael is the only licensed counselor on-site for a program of 350 students and over 100 staff.

Colin Willis has an interest in poetry, writing, dance, and the arts in general. He has training in creating media messages, has developed public service announcements, media projects, and performed poetry throughout the city. As a senior in high school, he is active in many organizations at his school and has been active in Project M for three years. Mr. Willis is committed to social activism, to experiential learning, to social change and to advocating for genuine youth leadership.

Leona Woelk, MA, LPAT, is a licensed, registered and board certified art therapist who has been working in community and public health for the past 17 years.  She has extensive experience in coalition development and coordination, developing community health assessments, providing technical assistance on health and injury related issues to diverse groups of people, and assisting with priority setting.  Ms. Woelk currently works at the Prevention Research Center at the University of New Mexico providing technical assistance to state agencies and non-profit organizations in the areas of injury and violence prevention, and other health-related issues.

Robert Zayas is directly responsible for the sports of soccer and track & field at the New Mexico Activities Association along with media relations/communications, and the NMAA Life of An Athlete alcohol education program.  He is currently pursuing a PhD in sports administration at the University of New Mexico and holds a New Mexico administrators license and teaching certificate in New Mexico and Texas.