Q: What do you do that earned you the Citizen of the Year award?
A: My job brings me passion for the community to help improve the quality of life for residents within our County
Q: How long have you been in the current job/business and how long in the field that you work in?
A: 28 years
Q: Why did you take the job or create the business?
A: My first year out of college I worked with Senior Citizens and then went to work with the Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments as a Secretary and worked my way up the ladder from that position to Community Development Planner to Deputy Director and now director. I have always enjoyed working with people and most especially assisting the economically disadvantaged and underserved. I fell into this profession by accident but then again I feel that God placed me here.
Q: What does an average day look like for you? Do you have an average day?
A: I deal with many issues in one day. One minute I am dealing with a water issue, next minute a road issue, then maybe a legislative issue. My day is basically anywhere from 8-10 hours each day and I am on call to assist my local governments during the evenings and weekends. The SWNM Council of Governments covers four counties, nine municipalities, 2 school districts-Cobre and Deming, 10 water districts, one HeadStart and 4 soil and water conservation districts. Our primary function is to provide technical assistance to our members in the 4-county area in the areas of infrastructure, housing, transportation, economic and community development and any other needs of the member entities.
Q: How many people do you have working directly with you in your office/place of work?
A: I have 3 employees. Pam Eley, Office Manger/Planner, Cerisse Grijalva, Transportation Planner, Emily Gojkovich-Schilling, Economic Development Planner.
Q: What are your future plans for your job/business? What is your vision for the job/business?
A: I plan on continuing my career here until I decide to retire. My hope is that our southwest region will be one-of-kind and that we will serve as a pilot for new initiatives in government. Most importantly I want to continue the technical assistance and continuing to bring dollars to the communities for their needs.
What do you want your legacy to be?
A: I want to be remembered as the person who did all she could to improve the quality of life for the residents in our communities. My personal goal is to touch everyone's life in this aspect in one form or another and that I did everything I could to make their life better especially for those that are economically disadvantaged. It is important to me that my family is proud of my accomplishments.
Q: Anything else you want to tell me about you and the award.
A: Everything I have done for the region required a team effort. Nothing can be done alone. My wonderful staff and supportive board has led to my success. My communities have allowed me to work with them, and I have gained their trust that I do want to do what is the best interest of their community.