NM Forum for Youth in Community STAFF

The Forum, through its projects and partnerships, has been instrumental in facilitating movement in New Mexico in establishing the Children’s Cabinet and supporting the first Legislative Institute. The Forum has also facilitated the building of the Youth Alliance, a statewide coalition of youth focused on youth voice in public policy. Similarly, the Forum has provided direction and support in building the Out of School Time Network, a coalition of practitioners focused on quality after-school and out of school time programs. In partnership with many other organizations, the Forum established the Next Generation Fund, a permanent endowment to fund positive youth development programming statewide.

Mr. Hill is a graduate of Occidental College where he earned bachelor’s degrees in both Psychology and History, while also studying Sports Medicine and Religious Studies. In 2001, he earned his Masters of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Phoenix, where the concentration of his work was in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Contact Everette W. Hill, M.A. via email at everette@nmforumforyouth.org

His expertise includes enhancing effective communication, and establishing of environments that support, respect, and appreciate difference. Michael has supported institutions that include NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Pasadena branch of the Los Angeles Urban League, the Jacobs Family Foundation (Program Director for economic development), the San Diego Diamond Business Improvement District, AlliedSignal Technical Services Corporation, The Non Traditional Leadership Institute, and the New Mexico Forum for Youth and Community.

Michael has served on the Board of Directors for the Pasadena California Chamber of Commerce and San Gabriel Valley Economic Development Corporation. He is a strong advocate for multicultural leadership development and is known for his energetic, insightful, and passionate approach to training and education.

As director of leadership and professional development, Michael Brown will oversee the Forum Allies Initiative (an extension of the national Public Allies),  and Leadership 2010 - a statewide effort to address the crisis of leadership in the youth development sector in New Mexico.  Additionally, Michael is developing a series of professional development opportunities for the Forum's statewide partners and constituents.

Contact Michael Brown via email at mbrown@nmforumforyouth.org

Andrew has played bass guitar in several local bands since 1998 and has performed in dozens of Albuquerque and Santa Fe venues as well as tours up and down the west coast. After college his passion for music led him to co-create and publish a magazine spotlighting New Mexico’s music industry. For three years he published nearly 30 magazines and organized several music showcases. He spent the next six years marketing and managing a large local music store.

During his first year of VISTA service Andrew served as a health care advocate for the New Mexico Hispanic Medical Association (NMHMA). He helped the NMHMA coordinate health fairs where community residents without health insurance could receive free health education, immunizations, and screenings. His fundraising efforts provided scholarships for rural New Mexico students interested in studying for a career in health care. A majority of his service was spent marketing the NMHMA’s New Mexico Medical Card, a medical discount card for residents of New Mexico without health insurance. Andrew is now serving a second year of service as a VISTA Leader. VISTA Leaders assist fellow VISTA members in achieving program objectives and developing new project activities and sources of community support. VISTA Leaders also play a support role in mentoring and coordinating VISTA members by ensuring positive relations and facilitating idea-sharing.

Contact Andrew Castellano via email at andrew@nmforumforyouth.org

VISTA Cadre members commit to serve full-time for a year at a nonprofit organization or local government agency, working to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses, strengthen community groups, build capacity, enhance infrastructure and much more. VISTA Cadre members specifically work with the Forum and its partners in pursuit of building cohesive partnerships amongst youth serving organizations. The A*VISTA Cadre Project has been consistently growing since its inception and currently manages close to 50 full time volunteers as well as many more part time volunteers.

Mr. Chené is a graduate of the University of New Mexico where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication with an emphasis on Intercultural Relations. He began his career as a VISTA Cadre Volunteer and has worked in the realm of education in different capacities since.

Contact David Chené via email at david@nmforumforyouth.org

As a performance poet and slam poetry champion, Jasmine has led numerous writing workshops and performances throughout New Mexico and the Western U.S. She worked closely with youth writers as a member of the NHCC staff, as a key member of the Voces Youth Writing Intensive staff as well as working for the center’s Education Department and was a key member of the staff for numerous events and initiatives, including Dia de los Muertos celebrations and Globalquerque. Jasmine is currently a student at Central New Mexico Community College and plans to attend the University of New Mexico after completing her studies at CNM

Contact Jasmine Cuffee via email at jasmine@nmforumforyouth.org

Ms. Freeman is a graduate of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Economics with a concentration in marketing.

Contact Marsha Freeman via email at marsha@nmforumforyouth.org

This internship led Michael to future positions in the public service sector. Before coming to the Forum, he worked as an Intern in United States Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s Albuquerque and Washington D.C offices. While working in Sen. Bingaman’s offices, Michael worked on education issues that affected New Mexico and its youth.  This is when Michael became very interested in the field of Youth Development.  He began his career as a volunteer through Americorps VISTA at the Forum and served two terms as the Forum’s Policy & Research Analyst. Michael is now the Director of Network Support of the A*VISTA Cadre Project.

Contact Michael Garcia via email at michael@nmforumforyouth.org

The New Mexico Out-of-School Time Network is a project of the New Mexico Forum for Youth in Community that is focused on:

• Building a diverse statewide afterschool network
• Garnering the resources necessary to support New Mexico out-of-school time opportunities for school-age children
• Assessing breadth and depth of out-of-school time programming in New Mexico and tying to varied program supports
• Influencing New Mexico State policy and legislation as defined by out-of-school time network stakeholders from across the state.

Mr. Lujan comes to the Forum by way of the Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) where he coordinated and managed nine 21st Century Programs, The Albuquerque Community Schools Project, and The Albuquerque Community Learning Centers Project. Michael was instrumental in creating nine different and independent partnership teams that helped manage the afterschool programs. Michael is one of the original members of the Out-of-School Time Network and has helped push the movement for quality after-school and out of school time programs.

The Albuquerque Community Learning Centers Projects have been recognized as being a “culturally responsive” program by the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) and highlighted in their Afterschool Tool Kits.

Michael is an Albuquerque native and a product of the Albuquerque Public School System. He graduated from Rio Grande High School and earned an Associates Degree in Business Management from the University of New Mexico (UNM).  Michael continued his studies at UNM and earned his Bachelors degree in University Studies, followed by a Master’s Degree in Public Administration concentrating on Human Resource Development.

Contact Michael Lujan via email at mlujan@nmforumforyouth.org

Mr. Martinez is an accomplished facilitator, trainer, and organizational troubleshooter; he provides technical assistance with continuous quality improvement, leadership development, program evaluation, and systems/data analysis. In recent years, Eduardo has devoted his efforts towards helping human service providers, primarily youth development practitioners.

Prior to establishing his first business in 1998, Eduardo spent 16 years with the U.S. Department of Commerce as a research scientist and data analyst. Eduardo co-authored fourteen publications in scientific journals, served as co-coordinator of joint US-Mexico research, developed numerous simulation models for analysis of federal policy, and assisted with the initial deployment of Malcolm Baldridge Quality Standards at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Eduardo has an M.S. degree with emphasis in systems and statistical analysis. Eduardo is a graduate of the New Leader fellowship program at the USDA Graduate School.

Eduardo is responsible for managing the Forum's infrastructure and organizational development efforts, an expansion initiative added in 2007.  Eduardo also manages the Regional Partner Organizations, a statewide infrastructure network of organizations that support positive youth development in New Mexico.

Contact Eduardo Martinez via email at emartinez@nmforumforyouth.org

During her tenure with MOVE, she partnered with the N.M. Commission for Community Volunteerism, N.M. Forum for Youth in Community, U.N.M. Student Services, C.N.M. Experiential Learning Department, Junior Achievement New Mexico, United Way of Central New Mexico, Center for Nonprofit Excellence, and the Corporate Volunteer Council of Central New Mexico. Some of MOVE's largest initiatives were the training of volunteer managers, recruitment and placement of volunteers, a volunteer recognition program, and Make A Difference Day. Ms. Saine worked as a substitute teacher with the Albuquerque Public Schools and has experience in human resources and labor relations. She is a graduate of UNM with a B.S in Political Science and an M.P.A. Her past volunteer experience includes the Albuquerque Public Schools Join-A-School Program, Junior Achievement New Mexico and Albuquerque Reads. She currently serves on the board of directors for Cuidando los Ninos and volunteers at UNM's Popejoy Hall.

Contact Debra via email at dsaine@nmforumforyouth.org

As Director of Network Support for the New Mexico Youth Alliance, a collaborative project between the Office of the Lt. Governor and the New Mexico Forum for Youth in Community, Moneka oversees engagement of 112 youth representatives (ages 14-24) that provide feedback and make recommendations to state lawmakers to create and/or refine youth policies to ensure youth have a meaningful voice in our state’s political process. In addition, New Mexico Youth Alliance members develop community impact projects to address concerns in their communities such as increasing graduation rates, underage drinking prevention, youth entrepreneurship, suicide prevention, and many more.

Contact Moneka Stevens-Cordova via email at moneka@nmforumforyouth.org