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Erik and Veronica Olson Endowment

Erik and Veronica Olson come from very different backgrounds—he from New Jersey and a former Air Force officer, she a third generation New Mexican from a family known for music. But the couple had the same goal when establishing their endowment last year.

“My family has deep roots in the area. This is where we’ve chosen to live, where our businesses are and where we’re raising our kids,” Veronica says. “So anything we can do to better the local community will help us, our kids and our businesses. Albuquerque Community Foundation embodies that goal, too. They are making a local difference.” Erik’s a commercial realtor with CBRE. Veronica is part of Sparx, the four Sanchez sisters who found fame singing Latin classics, corridos, cumbias and pop songs. The couple has two boys, Cristian and Julian, in elementary school.

“I’m focused on growing the business aspects of Albuquerque—jobs and economic development,” says Erik. “With her arts background, Veronica wants to support music and dance and we both think education is vitally important. We know the Foundation has vetted the organizations that will benefit from grants and we can be as involved with the process as we want to be. We’re still figuring that part out, but our intention is to include the boys as well. That’s another part of the reason for establishing the fund with the Foundation.” 42