Santa Fe Future 2006
White Paper: Promoting Collaboration for a Sustainable Community
The Santa Fe Future 2006 white paper focuses on three issues: education, immigration, and the local economy. The paper outlines what we found and what we recommend as ways of making improvements in these areas.
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SFF06 Awards
In addition to presenting their findings and recommendations contained in the white paper at their graduation, SFF06 awarded community members for their contributions toward a sustainable Santa Fe.
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Participant Biographies
Jessica C de Baca
Jessica C de Baca is the Operations Manager at Big Jo True Value Hardware, a family-owned business. Jessica is in charge of all phases of operating the store, including automating the inventory system and developing business procedures and processes that help the store be competitive and efficient.
Jessica has a BBA in Management Information System from the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico. She currently sits on the boards of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce and the Northern New Mexico Supplier Alliance. Professionally, she'd like to open multiple stores, build on her knowledge for the good of the Santa Fe economy, and increase her general knowledge and experiences. Her hobbies include working out at the gym, running and hiking.
Rick Garcia
Rick is a long way from his birthplace of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, and somewhat closer to his family's adopted home in West Covina, CA. After earning his BS in Finance at Arizona State University in 1989, he worked for Wells Fargo Bank in Santa Ana, CA for the next 15 years. A Santa Fe resident since 2004, Rick moved to New Mexico so his wife could attend the Graduate Institute at St. John's College. He worked as an HR Coordinator for First National Bank of Santa Fe until recently; he is now an HR Project Administrator with Presbyterian Medical Services and serves on the board of the Northern New Mexico Human Resources Association as Vice President of Finance and Treasurer.
What little spare time he has left is spent with his wife and two sons, playing golf, reading, and thanking his wife for being melodramatic enough to persuade him to move to Santa Fe.
Robert Griego
Robert Griego grew up in Albuquerque and has been living in Santa Fe for the last several years. He received a BA in Economics and a MCRP (Masters in Community and Regional Planning) from the University of New Mexico in 2000.
Robert is a Senior Planner for Santa Fe County where he has worked since 2000. His primary duties as a Senior Planner include working with communities to develop community plans and developing land use plans and ordinances. He has also been responsible for economic development projects for the County. Previously, Robert worked with New Mexico Community Development Loan Fund and served in the U.S. Navy. Robert also serves on the Success by Six Advisory Committee for the Agua Fria Children's Zone. Robert enjoys spending time with his family and participating in outdoor activities.
Ray Gulick
Ray grew up on a farm in Michigan, where he acquired a midwestern sense of modesty, tolerance for people from different backgrounds, and other things that didn't serve him very well when he moved to Texas, where he lived and worked for 18 years before arriving in New Mexico in 1999. He holds a B.S. in Education from Central Michigan University and has been employed as a high school teacher/coach, art director/graphic designer, director of marketing communications, and is currently co-owner and founder of Evolution Web Development, a six-year-old web development and design firm in Santa Fe.
Ray has two daughters at home, ages 10 and 11, and one who lives in Toronto and works as a graphic designer. His wife, Angela, is one of the best people in the history of people and a professional translator (German-English). He is a painter, whitewater boater, and recently, coyote fence builder.
Gary Gurule
Gary Anthony Gurule was born in Vicenza, Italy, moved to Colorado and then to Santa Fe. Gary graduated from high school in Santa Fe, has attended various colleges and universities, and is currently enrolled with the Berklee School of Music.
Gary is the Branch Manager and Assistant Vice President of Charter Bank, having been with Charter since February, 2005. Previously he was a Branch Manager with Wells Fargo, and has been in the financial industry for eight years. Along with the Santa Fe Future program, Gary is also involved in the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce Business Development Committee, Vice President of the Santa Fe Security Officers Association, Downtown Rotary Club member, and a member of the 2006 City of Santa Fe Small Business Award Selection Committee.
Kristen Krell
Kristen Krell grew up in Santa Fe and returned ten years ago after attending the University of Oregon. She currently serves as the ENLACE/GEAR UP Collaborative Manager at Santa Fe Community College. In this position, she works closely with teachers, parents, and administrators from the public schools on raising expectations and outcomes, preparing students for college, and developing student leaders. ENLACE stands for Engaging Latino Communities for Education and GEAR UP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. Kristen is also the co-owner of Cooking up Change, a business that provides customized teambuilding and leadership training to both local and national business groups.
In her spare time, Kristen loves to spend time with her two boys, Dylan and Tyler; climb mountains with her husband, Tree; and cook for friends and family. Kristen is committed to Santa Fe and is passionate about helping to create a healthy community for her sons to grow up in.
Patricia Mort Padilla
Patricia Lee Mort Padilla was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She was raised in Southern California and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her family settled in the Tesuque Village area in the 1600s. She also has ties with the first settlement in New Mexico at San Juan Pueblo. She is a college graduate.
She has worked in the art business managing local artists and still does so in her spare time. She was the administrator for a local vocational school here in Santa Fe. She is currently employed with the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, as the manager of the visitor center. She is a member of Capital City Professional Business and Professional Women and MANA.
Erica Volkers
Erica was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but grew up in Wisconsin, only to return to her birthplace three years ago. Erica is currently Chair of Teacher Education at Santa Fe Community College and also conducts workshops on teaching and learning for schools and other related organizations. Erica is also a new member of the Executive Board for St. Elizabeth's Homeless Shelter.
Erica's future goals include taking a more proactive role in addressing educational, racial and economic issues in Santa Fe and the larger community and to continue to develop her role as a leader in education. To this end, she is also currently working on her doctorate in education, with an emphasis on socio-cultural issues, at UNM.
Erica's personal goals include finding time to learn Spanish, finishing her home and landscaping projects and adopting a dog that will walk her and take her out to play.
Belinda Wong-Swanson
Belinda Wong-Swanson was born in Hong Kong, spent the last two years of high school in Menlo Park, California, then attended the University of Arizona in Tucson. Belinda received an Executive MBA from UNM in 2000, and a Ph.D. in Nuclear & Energy Engineering from the University of Arizona in 1991.
She came to Santa Fe in 1992 to work at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She now has a technical consulting company, Innov8 LLC.
Belinda's professional goal is to help communities grow while having minimal negative impact on the environment, and help business reduce operational costs by reducing raw materials use, energy use, and waste generation. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, swimming and traveling to far-away places.