Honoring those who contribute to our community
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10 WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
COVER DESIGN Kristina Dunham
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he tireless work of volunteers has perhaps never been as critical as in 2020, when a public health crisis has left thousands of New Mexicans fighting for their lives in strained hospitals and more households than ever wrangling with severe economic hardships. In this year like no other, The New Mexican is continuing its longtime holiday tradition of honoring local people who have dedicated their time to their communities. This year’s 10 Who Made a Difference honorees include many individuals and teams who have answered a call for aid during the coronavirus pandemic. One of them is the Frost 19 team of health care professionals at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, who strive to give a growing number of COVID-19 patients their best chance of survival. The other honorees we are spotlighting in 2020 are Destiny Allison and Steve Ewers, Sam Baca, Dale Doremus, Lynn Glaze, Henry and Tina Lanman, Gilbert Romero, Sitara Gillian Trumbull, Antoinette Villamil, and Chris Wendel. The New Mexican is publishing each of their stories in hopes of inspiring others to give back to their communities.
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Previous honorees
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Destiny Allison & Steve Ewers
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Sam Baca
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Dale Doremus
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Frost 19
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Lynn Glaze
ADDRESS
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Henry & Tina Lanman
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Gilbert Romero
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Sitara Gillian Trumbull
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Antoinette Villamil
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Chris Wendel
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10 WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
Previous honorees 1985 The Rev. Jim Brown, First Presbyterian Church The Honorable Petra Maes, First Judicial District Judge Sisters Patrick Marie and Shirley Le Blanc, Villa Therese Clinic Margo Brace, Rape Crisis Center Gary Bequette, law enforcement Rep. Nick Salazar, state lawmaker Al Sanchez, DeVargas Savings Dan Namingha, Native American (Hopi) painter Don Chunestudey, sculptor, teacher
1986 The Rev. George Salazar and Dan Padilla, St. John the Baptist Church Jane and E.B. Hall, P’OAE PI Gallery Hoyt Mutz, high school coach and counselor David Gurulé, Santa Fe Group Homes Darby McQuade, owner, Jackalope Pottery
Rain Parrish, Wheelwright Museum Ramona Chavez and Marie Roark, Los Amigos del Valle
1987 Sister Shirley Le Blanc, Catholic Sisters of Charity Mary Lou Cook, founder of Santa Fe Living Treasures Rena Paradis, Literacy Volunteers Joe Schepps, developer, philanthropist Arturo Gonzales, La Familia Medical Center Jacquie Stevens, potter Elaine Juarros, teacher Sarah Grace, New Mexico AIDS Services Orlando Hernandez, animal shelter Dorothy Wade, volunteer
1988 Sam Arquero, Cochiti Pueblo Ann Dasburg, community and international justice activist Alfonso Garcia, teacher and principal
Lynn Kelly, New Vistas Andrew Shea, founder, New Mexico Repertory Theater West Side Residents, United Farrocarril Neighborhood Douglas Schwartz, president, School of American Research Gilberto Romero, mental health advocate Joe C’de Baca, District Attorney’s Office Don Schmidt, AIDS Services
1989 Molly Whitted, former director of Santa Fe Beautiful Gloria Sawtell, Santa Fe Community Foundation Hilbert Sabin, Inter-faith Council, Peace Alliance Arturo Gonzales, La Familia Medical Center director Michael Riccards, St John’s College president Paquita Hernandez, founder of Celebrate Youth! Larry Bandfield, founder of Santa Fe Desert Chorale Albert Ortega, Alvord Elementary School principal Ellen Biderman, Ellyn Feldman, Susan McIntosh and Londi Carbajal, Santa Fe Children’s Museum co-founders Anita Shields and Tina LopezSnideman, SFCC Women in Transitions program
1990 The Rev. Shirley Greene, United Church of Christ, Habitat for Humanity Julie Padilla, Santa Fe animal shelter Leslie Nordby, Acequia Madre principal State Rep. Roman Maes, D-Santa Fe, for landfill legislation Silver Ortega, city recreation department, involved in local sports Chris Wells, environmental education, All Species Project Edward Ortiz, Santa Fe schools superintendent Connie Trujillo, founder and director of Esperanza Shelter for Battered Families Michael Hamilton, El Parian gallery owner Thomas Reed, founder of Vivigen genetic-testing laboratory
1991 Carol Decker, Spanish teacher and Vincenes neighborhood program Dan Padilla, St. John the Baptist Soup Kitchen Lenny Roybal, basketball coach Suzanne H. Garcia, Maternal Child and Health Clinic Linda Espinosa, Santa Fe High security guard continued on Page 8
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Cervantes “Buddy” Roybal, the owner of Coronado Paint & Decorating, is a past recipient of a 10 Who Made A Difference award for Santa Fe community service.
2929 Cerrillos Rd. | Santa Fe, NM | 505.473.5333 | www.coronadodecorating.com 10 WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
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Previous honorees continued from Page 7
Michael Hice, AIDS & Comfort board, community foundation Sam Hitt, forest preservation Geraldine Salazar, Santa Fe Rape Crisis Center Robert B. Gaylor and Linda Klosky, founders, Center for Contemporary Arts Paula Devitt and Alice Sisneros, nurses, designed “Heartsaver” CPR program
1992 Lorraine Goldman, executive director of Partners in Education Katherine Kagel, owner of Pasqual’s Café and Food Depot organizer Skip Helms, stockbroker, United Way fundraising Mike Bachicha, tennis professional and fundraiser Kenneth Siciliano, AIDS activist Jacob Viarrial, Pojoaque Pueblo governor Stuart Stein, land-use and water rights attorney in La Cienega James Rutherford, director of the Governor’s Gallery Gerald Chacon, Rio Arriba agricultural extension agent, ranchers’ rights Francella Perea, teacher, teen parent center
1993 Jóse Rámon López, awardwinning Spanish Colonial santero Ana Gallegos y Reinhardt, founder of Warehouse 21 John Stephenson, founder, Santa Fe Community Garden Art Sanchez, city councilor, advocate for purchase of water system Diane Reyna, Taos Pueblo, videographer Al Wadle, gallery owner and volunteer fundraiser for the Santa Fe Community Foundation Carol Miller, public health advocate and administrator Dottie Montoya, Española Valley High School nurse Richard Lucero, Española mayor, for downtown Plaza Stephen Chambers and Marcy Grace, founders, Hope House residence for people with AIDS
Peter Chapin, president, Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity Rebekah Bloom Wolf, middle school student and La Residencia volunteer Florian Artie Garcia, president, Santa Fe CARES Jewel Cabeza de Vaca, Mana del Norte Mary Karshis, nurse and patients’ advocate at St. Vincent Hospital José Villegas, La Cienega neighborhood organizer Endelecia Prince, Española ballet teacher John Cammarata, academic counselor at Santa Fe Indian School
1995 Donald Christy, Santa Fe police sergeant, school resource officer Jody Ellis, founder of Santa Fe Community Orchestra Albert Gallegos, Our Lady of Guadalupe parish Robert Guidice, Hope House volunteer, AIDS housing Ernest Gonzales, Kuane Elementary School mariachis Annabelle Montoya, People of Color AIDS Foundation Nellwyn Trujillo, Literacy Volunteers of America Koie McCauley, Salvation Army, United Way, St. Elizabeth Shelter volunteer Karen Walker, Realtor, city home-rule movement Carol Vigil, domestic violence commissioner, District Court
1996 Judith Scarvie, Food Depot Ross Martinez, Española literacy volunteer Paul Margetson, part owner of Hotel Santa Fe, youth soccer, United Way Beatrice Nevares, Bienvenidos Outreach Program Alfredo Ortiz, Boys State volunteer Ernesto Ramos, New Mexico Senior Olympics Herb Kincey, St John’s College Search and Rescue Linda Craig, Pojoaque Valley Soccer League Felix Trujillo, Taos Feeds Taos Palemon Martinez, Rio Arriba Cooperative Extension agent
1994
1997
Juan Vigil, owner Stables art space on Canyon Road Nancy Porter, Santa Fe Food Brigade
Charles Maxwell, scholarship fund Barbara Gonzales, San Ildefonso Pueblo potter
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Chris Abeyta, community educator Al Padilla, Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Fe Dr. Irving Bunkin, Friends of the Library Phil Bové, Acequia Madre preservation Isidora Rael, nursing home volunteer Sarah Atencio, Embudo-Dixon area recycling Antonio Martinez, Upper Rociado church restoration Anthony Trujillo, Our Lady of Guadalupe deacon and youth group leader
1998 Chuck Montaño, Citizens for LANL Rights Kevin Bellinger, founder, Harambe youth center Georgia Salazar Martinez, artist, Medanales community development Bruce and Ellen Kaiper, Española teachers Zane Fischer, co-founder of Plan B Dr. Larry Schreiber, Child-Rite Criselda Dominguez, Abiquiú resident Alfonso ‘Trompo’ Trujillo, La Union Protectíva Mary Venable, White Rock Senior Center Catherine Oppenheimer, executive director, National Dance InstituteNew Mexico
1999 Cookie Jordan, theater residency project Tony Suazo, Española Santa Claus Fabian Garcia, El Rito deacon Nancy Zeckendorf, Lensic restoration Michael Siegle, Crisis Response volunteer Cervantes “Buddy” Roybal, Santa Fe community service John and Emily Drabanski, Pecos teachers and Big Brothers, Big Sisters program Don and Nancy Dayton, Santa Fe Search and Rescue, Eldorado community involvement Dr. Trevor Hawkins, HIV/AIDS treatment Ernie Lopez, Taos teacher
2000 Doug McDonald and Los Alamos firefighters Roger Montoya, Velarde painter, dancer, choreographer Fred Nathan, Think New Mexico, for all-day kindergarten campaign Tom Mills and Bob Skyler, Santa Fe schools management audit Julia Hudson, missionary teacher at John Hyson School in Chimayó Nichoe Lichen, Ann Lacy and Carolyn Cook for preserving county open space John Aquino of Ohkay Owingeh, health care and nutrition work with tribes Kyra Kerr, St. Bede’s-Ortiz Middle School Partnership
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Freddy Martinez, Little League baseball, World War II hero Christiana Torricelli, Food Depot and Cerro Grande Fire relief
2001 Dale Ball, conservation and public trails Glenn Burttram, Montezuma Lodge Maryana Eames, cancer survivors work Dani Frye and Neva Van Peski, League of Women Voters Betty Kersting, Habitat for Humanity Jose C. Martinez, youth sports Tessie Naranjo, Native language preservation Sylvia Ornelas, La Familia, teen parent and pregnancy issues Bruce Richardson, Chimayó Crime Prevention Mary Williams, foster parent
2002 Diane Albert, science-education specialist, Los Alamos County Council Bill and Georgia Carson, Salazar Elementary School volunteers Aaron Griego, youth programs in Dixon Guy Monroe, El Dorado Fire and Rescue Dave Neal, Pojoaque Schools Capital Committee J. Patrick Lannan, Lannan Foundation Gene Valdes, United Way, St. Elizabeth Shelter, church volunteer Maria Cristina Lopez and other founders of Somos Un Pueblo Unido Kathy Sanchez, Tewa Women United Daniel Lehman, St. Michael’s student/ El Castillo volunteer
2003 Jose Benito “Ben” Garcia, scholarship fund for Pojoaque students Charlene Teters (Spokane), IAIA artist who has led charge against using Indian insignia by sports teams Dick Roth, lobbied for ignition interlock Arthur Hemmendinger, repairs cassette players for the blind Doris Krause, cares for Alzheimer’s patients David Ortiz, active in Pojoaque regional water planning, acequia issues Chris Pederson, Capital High teacher and mentor Ilean Martinez, organized for clean drinking water in Chimayó Dr. Murray Ryan, physician, raised awareness about heroin overdoses in Rio Arriba County Susan Rojas, Kuane Elementary volunteer, retired teacher
2004 Arlene Einwalter, Gerard’s House Bob Pierce, computer fixer Mike Naranjo, Rock Christian Outreach Church Wes Studi, actor
Apryl Miller and JoAnn Sartorius, Suicide Intervention Project Griff Dodge, cross-country coach Scott Abbott, teacher, church volunteer, Habitat for Humanity Robin Reindle, Pecos Schools PTA Jacqueline Rae Gomez, Pojoaque High student Alia Munn, Second Street Experience
2005 Judy Espinar, International Folk Art Market Salome DeAguero, retired educator, senior service advocate Stewart Youngblood, Assistance Dogs of the West Thomas Romero, El Museo Cultural Sara Melton, land-use planning, preservation Clark Case, community radio station, co-op in Dixon Yolanda Colorado/Pat Greathouse/ Eddie Hernandez, Little Mozart and Mariachi program, youth symphony and music programs Connie Tsosie, Pueblo Opera Program Diane Granito, Heart Gallery adoption project Rebecca Donohue, school counselor
2006 Carlos Martinez Sr., preservation of cultural and historical traditions Joe Maestas, Santa Cruz Irrigation, and Ray Romero, La Cienega, acequia advocacy Shirl Abbey, care of elderly Maynard Chapman, Food for Santa Fe Anne McCormick, Many Mothers Sarah Rochester, visiting nurses Peter Doniger, tax assistant Rosemary Crawford, children’s theater Valdez Abeyta y Valdez, youth advocate, community activist
2007 Monica Lovato, boxer Mary Louise and Gordon Betancourt, youth sports, delinquency, at-risk teens Fred Bender, education reform, Boys & Girls Clubs Julia Abeyta, Native American education Dianne Baros, Pojoaque youth sports Donald Stout, gay rights Barbara Wolff, medical disaster assistance Marcella Ortiz Gonzales, St. Anne Parish Friends of the Library, new Southside Branch Library Virginia Wilson, National Alliance for Mental Illness
2008 Santa Fe Indian School Spoken Word Team Christopher Willett, animal rescue Juanita Manzanares, helping
students into college Tessie Lopez, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe Mario Montoya and Denise Nava, Guitars not Guns Melynn Schuyler, YouthWorks Jim Black, St. John’s Soup Kitchen Santa Fe Railyard Community Corp. Roland Trujillo, parish and family volunteer Connie Axton, ARTsmart
2009 James Gallegos, veteran funeral honors Manny Ortiz, Boy Scouts Ernestine Hagman, student guidance Dorothy Massey, Collected Works Bookstore owner Desiree Romero, nursing home volunteer Al Lucero, Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen Dave McQuarie, disability advocate Johnny Micou, Gailsteo Basin preservation Lou Finley, tutoring Jose and Clare Villa, Northern Rio Grande Heritage
2010 Interfaith Community Shelter Mary Helen Romero Kelty, Mariachi Conquistador Clayton Lewis, teen volunteer teacher, Capital High, SFCC Consuelo Hernandez, Old Santa Fe Trail Gift Shop Ray Valdez, Zozobra Alice Temple, Girls on the Run The Rev. Talitha Arnold, faith and human rights Herb Lotz, photographer, gay rights, vets volunteer Elizabeth Guss, math volunteer Lydia Pendley, social justice
2011
Bill Baxter, Santa Fe County open space Bobbi Hall, Food Depot Craig Barnes, civil rights, progressive politics Robert Eisenstein, Santa Fe Alliance for Science Santa Fe Striders, running and physical exercise advocates
2013 Narcisco Quintana, Nambé community Irene Padilla, quilter Will Channing, Wings of America Elmer Leslie, Habitat for Humanity Kenneth Mayers, Veterans for Peace Cesar Bernal, community soccer Mel Gallegos, musician, coach and teacher Mara Taub, prisoner and immigrant rights Notah Begay III, professional golfer, youth advocate Norma McCallan, hiking, outdoors volunteer
2014 George Rivera, Pojoaque Pueblo Bette Booth, parks, youth and neighborhood advocate Robert Ortiz, prison volunteer Christine Johnson, St. Bede’s community Anna Cardenas, Galisteo preservation John Rochester, Santa Fe Performing Arts, Food Depot, philanthropy Katherine Wells, Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project Kathy Olshefsky, mounted search and rescue John Berkenfield, SWAIA, Spanish Colonial Arts Society, El Rancho de las Golondrinas Socorro Aragón, Northern New Mexico culture
2015 Enrique M. Montoya, church deacon
William Martin and Lorencita Taylor, language preservation Napoleon Garcia, Abiquiú Kassandra Rosales, school waste Kathryn Flynn, New Deal preservation Jenny Mier, Bienvenidos Outreach Shelley Oram, Rowe Volunteer Fire Department Gaile Herling, Adelante Delma DeLora, union leader for nurses Marcos Garcia, coach and El Rito community volunteer Willard Chilcott, Santa Fe Century
2012 Rob Krumholz, Cross of the Martyrs volunteer Joe Zebrowski, Sheridan, N.M., water relief Beverley Weller, Big Sister, Treehouse Camp, hospice, special ed Annette Vigil Hayden, Truchas church preservation
Jane Buchsbaum, Native American arts Eleanor Ortiz, education and community involvement Meredith Machen, League of Women Voters Cheryl Brown, suicide prevention Joseph Eigner, Eldorado sustainability Raymond Bal, Chimayó preservation Ray Lopez, crisis intervention Daniel Coriz, open space and trails Deborah Simon, Rotary International
2016 Mary Chavez, Farm to Table, Esperanza Shelter, Santa Fe Mountain Center Steve LaRance, Hoop Dance teacher Miranda Viscoli, New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence Ben Martinez, Mary Esther Gonzales Senior Center Douglass Schocke, Computer Charity NM
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Rick Martinez, Keep Santa Fe Beautiful, community advocacy Michele Herling, Compassionate Touch Network Esequiel Marquez, Feeding Santa Fe Donald “Wiz” Allred, Youth Heartline Roxanne Swentzell, restoring Native food traditions
2017 Glenys Carl, Coming Home Connection Billie Russell, Tugan 3 veterans support group Juan Valdez, mental health and addiction counselor Allegra Love, Santa Fe Dreamers Project Shel Neymark, Embudo Valley Library and Community Center Nancy Gehman, CASA volunteer for foster children Mi’Jan Celie Tho-Biaz, Voces de Libertad Marcos Zubia, Esperanza Shelter for Battered Families Angelique Chavez, special-needs prom Wendy Hassemer, Española MainStreet Theater
2018 Betty Weseman, Thanksgiving meal for those in need in Pecos Sandra Greigo Martinez, counseling incarcerated women Meryl Lieberman, Casa Milago Kenneth Salazar, Santa Cruz Irrigation District and East Rio Arriba Soil and Water Conservation District Regis Pecos, brokered a peace deal over a divisive Fiesta de Santa Fe pageant W. Peyton George, repair work for seniors Fabiola Guillen, cuts and styles hair for senior citizens, Bienvenidos Hubert van Hecke, science classes at Wood Gormley Elementary Tammy Berendzen, Santa Fe Skating Club Judy Costlow, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Lensic Performing Arts Center, Santa Fe Opera, Kitchen Angels, Santa Fe Chili and Marching Society, Trails Alliance of Santa Fe and Seniors on Bikes
2019 Ruth De Lay, Gerard’s House Mike Harcharik, Computer Charity Inc. Steve Harris, river advocate Carol Johnson, NAACP, United Way of Santa Fe County, The Food Depot Rollin Tylerr Jones, firefighter Vittorio La Cerva, New Mexico Men’s Wellness Carol Luna-Anderson, The Life Link Joyce Roberts, Habitat for Humanity Gabriela Silva, Northern New Mexico Regional Art Center Mary Frances Singleton, Truchas Services Center
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Destiny Allison & Steve Ewers
Sharing resources to empower a community STORY BY ROBERT NOTT
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PHOTO BY LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO
ll Donna Schindler initially wanted when she called the Eldorado True Value Hardware store was a couple of boxes of protective gloves to help her friends on the Navajo Nation. So Schindler was delightfully surprised when the store’s owners, Destiny Allison and Steve Ewers, rallied the surrounding community to raise enough funds to provide 6,000 masks, 80,000 pairs of gloves, hundreds of quarts of hand sanitizer and enough concentrated disinfectant to make 21,000 gallons of the stuff. Allison, 52, and Ewers, 59, even made the first run to Arizona to deliver the goods during the coronavirus pandemic, Schindler said. “They both take care of the [Eldorado] community on so many levels,” said Schindler, who worked as a psychiatrist on the Navajo Nation for years and who wanted to help the area when the coronavirus began to ravage it. She said Allison and Ewers’ success in rallying people to help gave both Eldorado and those on the Navajo Nation hope. It’s one reason Allison and Ewers were honored as two of The New Mexican’s 10 Who Made a Difference this year. The couple, who bought the La Tienda at Eldorado retail center in 2009, also have initiated a community fund to help people with housing and rent challenges during the pandemic. On a recent weekday morning at the hardware store, the pair worked in concert to help a steady stream of customers, with Ewers taking time out to find an emergency hot water heater for the Thai Bistro restaurant next door. It’s all about making connections — offering local residents a convenience of services and trying to enrich others’ lives, said Allison, a longtime visual artist and sculptor who runs a clothing store and gym at the retail center. “We have a responsibility to enrich the community we serve,” she said as the couple’s friendly husky-shepherd mix, Wonder, wandered the premises looking for people to pet him. They found the dog — or maybe he found them — while they were on a camping trip near Grants about three years ago. The pair seem to draw in those who need help. Kathleen Matta, an Eldorado resident since 1988, said she has watched over time as they have set up free art shows, music concerts and theater productions that both involve and attract the community and make local residents feel like the retail center is “a community center.” Allison also publishes a weekly electronic newsletter about community events — many of which the couple have hosted as a way to bring area residents together to celebrate children, the arts
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and life itself. “I look at how people take care of other people, and that’s what Steve and Destiny do,” said Matta, a nurse. “They take care of others.” Allison is a native of Santa Fe. Ewers grew up in Southern California. The Santa Fe-based YMCA first brought them together. She ran the after-school program his kids attended there. His kids got to know her kids. They got together for a date in September 2004 and have been married eight years. Both Allison and Ewers said they like working together, and they tend to finish each other’s thoughts with overlapping sentences. Ewers said he grew up in a YMCA environment, where he first learned about community and caring for others. One question that has always driven him, he said, is this: “How can we make a difference?” Small steps are important. For example, Allison and Ewers allowed some local egg vendors to set up shop for free in the hallway of their center “because we have a hallway,” he said. When locals wanted to set up a free pantry down the hall, the couple said yes. It’s a “take what you need, give what you can” setup, Ewers said. The housing and rental fund, buoyed by generous donations from the community, is there to help people with short-term financial needs — like maybe providing money to rent a truck to move. Or maybe to negotiate with a landlord over unpaid rent to avoid a court case, or perhaps to avoid the declaration of bankruptcy for a family dealing with unemployment and possible eviction. In their efforts to help those on the Navajo Nation as it grappled with the devastating effects of the pandemic earlier this year, Allison and Ewers sent out an email blast for help, asking for any possible donation. Ewers figured they’d get a few hundred dollars. Instead, the $25,000 they raised was leveraged by Ewers through his contacts with True Value chain stores and other retailers to purchase supplies and personal protection gear at wholesale or reduced prices. “What we try to do is empower people to be the best they can be,” Allison said. “Even though Eldorado is known for its chicken wars and contentiousness, it is a community with heart.” (By the way, the couple own about 11 chickens, but they now live outside Eldorado.) Asked why they do all they do, Ewers laughed from behind a face mask and posed a question back. “Why not do it?” he said. “We’re blessed with resources.”
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Sam Baca
Pushing to make the world a better place STORY BY DILLON MULLAN
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rom supermarket picketing in Detroit to farm field unionizing in California, Sam Baca started his career in activism helping the labor movement achieve some of its biggest victories of the 20th century. After his return to Northern New Mexico, the Santa Fe native continued building from the ground up, launching the local Big Brothers Big Sisters program, a heritage preservation group and other far-reaching community initiatives. “Something that is unique about my dad is he is really good at knowing where he can be useful,” said daughter Teresa Baca. “He knows his strength is knowing where he can be of the most help.” Because of Sam Baca’s long career in volunteerism, he has been named one of The New Mexican’s 10 Who Made a Difference for 2020. Baca, 73, went to the former St. Francis Cathedral School downtown and then left for a Franciscan high school in Cincinnati before majoring in philosophy at Duns Scotus College near Detroit. He later earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Michigan. There, he heard Richard Chávez — a brother of United Farm Workers organizer and civil rights activist César Chávez — speak about plans for a national boycott of grapes and lettuce in 1973. “I was captivated, and that was the beginning of my activism and volunteering,” Baca said. “They paid with room and board in a house with six or seven other organizers and a $5 stipend for food every week.” Baca spent two years organizing picket lines and passing out leaflets outside grocery stores and speaking to church and union groups about the cause. “We would organize a couple hundred people and be able to cover anywhere from 10 to 20 supermarkets on a weekend, and this was happening all over the country,” Baca said. “It one of the first really successful nationwide boycotts. It was so widespread. I think the supermarkets got sort of tired of having people out front.” Then he left for a yearlong effort of organizing union elections in California. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which allowed most private-sector employees to create a labor union, excluded farmworkers. But the state of California formed an Agricultural Labor Relations Board and allowed farmworkers to unionize in 1975. Within a year, over 50,000 workers there took part in union elections. Baca returned home to Santa Fe in 1976 as a social worker at what was then DeVargas Junior High School. He worked with troubled teens, which made him realize the importance of mentors earlier in life. This prompted him to found Santa Fe’s first Big Brothers Big Sisters program in 1979.
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PHOTO BY GABRIELA CAMPOS “The need was there. The program needed a committed and willing volunteer to get it off the ground, and that’s Sam’s nature,” said Tony Alarid, the first volunteer mentor Baca recruited to the program. Eight years later, Baca founded Cornerstones Community Partnerships, a nonprofit dedicated to helping New Mexico communities restore adobe churches from centuries past. “Several were in danger of collapsing,” Baca said. Young people had begun to leave the area, and communities were no longer able to keep up with regular maintenance on the church buildings, he said. “That’s what’s amazing about New Mexico’s churches,” he added. “They weren’t built professionally. They were built by the communities themselves.” Baca said some of his favorite work with Cornerstones involved fundraising to reopen a red stone quarry at Zuni Pueblo and train youth in traditional building skills. Since its start, the organization has helped restore around 380 historical works of architecture. “With his background as a community organizer, my dad’s best skill is getting things up and running and then knowing when he has more to offer elsewhere,” Teresa Baca said. In 2005, Sam Baca started organizing nonprofits and state agencies for the state Human Services Department’s Behavioral Health Collaborative. In 2012, he joined the Santa Fe Farmers Market Institute to run a microloan program focused on helping farmers build greenhouses that allow for a longer growing season and create opportunity for more revenue. He also organized a program for Santa Fe Public Schools that allowed students to shop at the market. When he retired from the institute in 2016, Baca became president of the board of St. Elizabeth Shelters and Supportive Housing, where he had served as a board member for a decade. “He’s the best board member I’ve ever worked with,” said St. Elizabeth Executive Director Ed Archuleta. Baca and his wife, Rita Ríos-Baca, a teacher in the Santa Fe district for over 40 years, grew up in the same neighborhood in the city but did not meet until Sam sang at a Christmas party for students at Kaune Elementary. The couple have three daughters: Angelica, Marisa and Teresa Baca. In his semiretirement, Baca said he’s encouraged by current activism. “I feel like I spent my entire career trying to bring people together around doing positive work to improve people’s situations,” Baca said. “Being an optimist, I think you will see activists continue to push through division and make this a better world. I’m still hopeful.”
10 WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
Dale Doremus
Putting her experience to use for the environment STORY BY TONY RAAP
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PHOTO BY GABRIELA CAMPOS
ale Doremus spent her childhood exploring the rivers and marshes of coastal Georgia, where her family lived on an island near Savannah. There was a dock in their backyard, and she and her siblings spent every moment they could in the water. “That was where I grew up,” said Doremus, who devoted 30 years to water quality and water supply issues as a hydrogeologist for the New Mexico Environment Department, the city of Santa Fe and the Interstate Stream Commission. “There’s no doubt that [my] childhood influenced where I put my efforts as a professional and as a volunteer.” A former member of the Santa Fe River Commission, Doremus, 66, has remained active in environmental advocacy since retiring in 2016. She serves on the executive committee of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club, which has pushed for stricter regulations on wastewater produced by the oil and gas industry and more funding for water quality protection programs. Her public service has made her one of The New Mexican’s 10 Who Made a Difference for 2020. Doremus became an advocate for the environment at a young age. By the time she was 12, she was collecting signatures to fight the dumping of toxic waste into the Savannah River by paper mills and other industries. In high school, she started a student organization that worked on environmental issues such as the near extinction of the brown pelican from the chemical DDT. Her father, Ogden Doremus, was an attorney who pushed for legislation that helped preserve Georgia’s coastline. He also pressured pulp and paper mills to reduce their odor emissions and was active in land conservation groups. “That was definitely a big influence on me,” Dale Doremus said. After earning a bachelor’s degree in geology from Georgia Southern University, she worked for the state of Georgia before moving out west, where she earned a master’s degree in hydrogeology from the University of Wyoming. While in graduate school, she did fieldwork in New Mexico and was impressed with its groundwater protection programs. “That’s what drew me,” she said. In 1986, she moved to New Mexico and began working in the state Environment Department’s Superfund program, which deals with the cleanup of toxic waste and groundwater pollution. She went on to manage the state’s groundwater protection and cleanup programs. After working for the city of Santa Fe for a couple of years, she
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went back to the state Environment Department to work on interstate salinity and other water quality issues. She later managed the abatement program for brownfields. Doremus finished her career at the Interstate Stream Commission, where she again worked on interstate salinity issues. “I really had a great career,” she said. While serving on Santa Fe’s River Commission, she helped gain passage of the city’s Living River Ordinance. Under the measure, up to 1,000 acre-feet of water is released annually into the Santa Fe River from reservoirs in the Santa Fe Municipal Watershed to enhance the river and its wildlife habitat. “Over the past decade, there’s been a lot of river restoration efforts by the city and county. And those efforts, together with these living river flows, have dramatically improved biodiversity within the river corridor,” Doremus said. “If you walk along the river trail below Camino [Alire] … you’ll now see lush areas with willows and grasses and cottonwoods. Ten years ago, that [area] was really somewhat barren. “That 1,000 acre-feet, which isn’t a whole lot of water, really has done a world of good for the river ecosystem,” she added. Doremus also volunteers at the Randall Davey Audubon Center & Sanctuary, where she helps prune and maintain the orchard. Marcy Leavitt worked with Doremus for close to 20 years at the state Environment Department and lauds her former colleague’s commitment. “Of those of us who have retired from public service, Dale is the person who really stands out for continuing through volunteer work to serve the community,” Leavitt said. “Most of us have moved on to our own stuff, but she’s really out there working on environmental projects as a volunteer.” “She knows New Mexico water as well as anybody ever has,” said David Coss, a former mayor of Santa Fe who also worked with Doremus at the Environment Department. “She spent her professional career and now her retirement career helping people understand how to protect the water.” Doremus joked she volunteers so much because she “failed at retirement.” “I’m super honored and humbled to be recognized as someone who has made a difference in my community,” she said. “There’s so many remarkable people who contribute and volunteer to our community who deserve recognition and especially during these difficult times. “I think this is a great program,” she said of The New Mexican’s 10 Who Made a Difference, “because it shows people there are a huge variety of ways to use their knowledge and expertise to contribute to their community and to get involved.”
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Frost 19
Caring for patients in a pandemic STORY BY SCOTT WYLAND
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PHOTO BY LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO
lending tears and laughter. That’s how nurse Dana Morgan describes what her medical unit, dubbed Frost 19, experiences in a given day of treating COVID-19 patients as the outbreak escalates throughout state, including in Santa Fe County. The unit’s name mixes the term COVID-19 and the Frost Pavilion, the wing where the team works at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center. In recent weeks, the demands on Frost 19 have grown with skyrocketing caseloads. On the day team members were interviewed, health officials reported more than 3,600 cases for the state, an alarming jump from the norm of around 150 daily cases in September. The unit takes COVID-19 patients from around New Mexico and even outside the state, so the unprecedented surge has meant the team has seen many more people coming through the door and more not surviving. The higher death toll requires team members to buoy one another, whether it’s through lighthearted fun, consoling fellow colleagues or fostering a lively camaraderie. “There’s lots of tears on that unit, but there’s also, probably, equally as much laughter,” Morgan said. “It’s a very good balance.” The unit’s resilience — as it tackles a rising wave of COVID-19 cases and gives patients the best chance of survival — earned it a place in The New Mexican’s 10 Who Made a Difference for 2020. Eight nurses and four technicians make up a core team in the unit, although a variety of personnel provide support, such as radiologists, nutritionists, critical care doctors, a respirator therapist and even housekeepers. Nick Armijo, an intensive care nurse, said he brings a team together at the begin-
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ning of a shift for a group huddle to boost camaraderie and help clarify their purpose. “We focus on initially, ‘Why are we here?’ ” Armijo said. “We’re here to serve our people in our community. I might have some motivating words … so we do come together as a team.” Any boost helps, given the unit’s personnel work 12-hour shifts, four or five days a week, to meet the increasing workload. As of Nov. 19, COVID-19 patients were occupying 36 beds, triple the number before the pandemic surged. “It’s fair to say that this team is feeling it in the Frost … but the whole house is feeling the workload of caring for the community,” Christus St. Vincent CEO Lillian Montoya said. On average, about a third of the unit’s patients live in Santa Fe County and two-thirds come from out of the area, Armijo said. But with Santa Fe’s cases increasing to as many as 200-something a day, Armijo said he encounters patients he knows personally or who know his family. “That’s what makes it harder because that’s my neighbor,” Armijo said. A few patients revealed something about his late father he hadn’t known. “I’m finding out that my dad was a good jitterbug dancer!” Armijo said. Monica Leyba, the chief nursing officer, said there are days that are uplifting and days that are hard on team members. “They lose patients — patients that they have become attached to and that they are caring for,” she said. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a dying patient can only talk with family and friends via Zoom, not in person. A nurse monitors each electronic chat. The patient’s loved ones often pour out their emotions, making it difficult to remain a detached professional, Armijo said. “That’s very emotional for all of our staff.” Morgan said the team members act as a
10 WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
surrogate family for dying patients, gathering around them in silence in their final moments. “Patients never die alone,” Morgan said. “It’s nothing compared to their real family, but we’re there for them.” For a while, most of the hospital’s COVID-19 patients were from the Navajo Nation when it was engulfed in a severe outbreak, Armijo said. A 24-year-old Navajo man died, and his
father traveled from Gallup to thank the hospital staff for the care it provided. “He’s the same age as my son, so I became attached to him,” Armijo said. Morgan said that when she leaves work after a patient dies, she’ll crank up music on her drive home — either upbeat songs that make her want to dance or sad ones that help her cry out the pain. She said she has to reassure her son that even though she works in a COVID-19
unit, the hospital keeps her safe. “It’s a daily conversation to tell him that it’s fine.” Wayne Littlejohn, the critical care director, said his daughter, who wants to be a nurse, will ask him what he did that day and how things went. When she inquired on a particularly stressful day, Littlejohn had to remind himself of his purpose: to help people. “It’s what we do,” Littlejohn said. “It’s not for money, it’s not for recognition.” Unit members engage in little distractions
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to ease the stress, such as tossing around a ball made of rubber bands or enjoying treats and thank-you cards from the community. Working in the unit isn’t all grim. Many patients recover and go home, including some who seemed at death’s door. “What makes this job worthwhile is seeing someone on a ventilator — now they’re walking down the hallway,” Armijo said. “Oftentimes, I think of the miracles that happen here.” 17
THANKYOU,
FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE Sam Bacca, staarted Big Brotherrs Bigg Sissters 979 with the help p off Deborrah of Santa Fe in 19 Douglass and Pam m Najdow wsky. Deeborah Douglas villeged to o work wiith Sam in the says, “I was priv very y earlieest day ys of Big Brrothers/Big g Sisteers in m the Santa Fee more than fortty yearrs ago. From beg gin nnin ng, Sam’’s heart forr vu ulnerrablee ch hildren ommunity orrganizin ng and and his genius for co experien ncee as a sociial wo orker in the scho ools blaazeed the way. He work ked as th he fi firrst ex xecutive nd Pam Najdo owski (an nother biigdirrecctorr, an heartted Santa Fe teacher and d sociall worker) and I serrved as the fi firrst board d members.. It was a challen nging an nd exhilaaratin ng time, witth a steep leaarning curv ve forr us all. From thosse good seeds, th he progrram has grown and fl flo ouriished d, p roots and d strong g branches,, bearing g with deep much frruit. But none of it would d have haappened witthoutt Sam. I am m prroud d to know him. He and hiss extraaordinarry wife Ritaa havee probablly done moree, qu uietly, fo or the chiildren off New Meexico th han any other two peop ple, ev ver.” In the past 41 yeears, Big Broth herrs Big Sissters Mountaiin Regio on hass ex xpanded to includ de 12 countiess acrross the statee and haas served d over 14 4,00 00 children.. Wee hon nor Sam forr fou und ding Big g Brotherss Big Sissteers and d are pro oud to sp ponsor thiis yearr’ss 10 0 Who o Make a Diff fferrencce thrrough the geneerous, ong goiing g, support of Deborrah and David Do ouglas.
VIRTUAL MENTORING
Help p keep p kiids conn nected d by y becoming a virrtual men nto or tod day! Our staff aree reaady to interv view you u virrtuallly and geet you u sttarteed on thee patth to making a life-chang ging g difference to someone in yourr co ommunity. Once matched d, you’ll connect with a Liittle and d particiipate in virtu uall acctiviitiess, hellp wiith homework, or jusst be theere for them to taalk to.
For more information on how you can become a mentor or support Big Brothers Big Sisters, call 505-983-8360 or visit
bbbsmountainregion.org
DEFEND POTENTIAL
Matcchess mig ght meett strictly y on a virrtual bassis or a mixture of virtu ual and in-p person n meetin ngs, depeending on every yone’s co omforrt leevell an nd governmen nt mand datees.
Our kids need us NOW more than ever! At Big Brothers Big Sisters, we support these youth by providing volunteer Bigs (mentors) to be paired one-on-one with a Little (youth) to help them achieve their full potential. BBBS is continuing to provide life-changing mentoring services for youth during COVID-19.
Lynn Gl aze
Advocating for those who have experienced trauma STORY BY SEAN P. THOMAS
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PHOTO BY LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO
hen Lynn Glaze looks back on her work monitoring sexual assault cases in the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, she recalls a quote by the late Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. “Justice is too important a matter to be left to the judges, or even the lawyers,” Rehnquist had said. “The American people must think about, discuss and contribute to the future planning for their courts.” Glaze, 57, was looking for a way to become more involved in the community in 2004, when she saw an advertisement in the newspaper seeking applicants for Solace Crisis Treatment Center’s court monitor program, which allowed advocates to sit in on proceedings in sexual assault cases, with a goal of building a bridge between the court system and the community. “I wanted to make sure that the work that I volunteered for provided a certain value to the community and myself,” Glaze said. “This was such a wonderful match, as not only was I able to provide much-needed services, but the program was tremendously successful for our community.” Notes taken by Glaze and other monitors would help push the court in a more “victim-centric” direction, informing new laws benefiting survivors of sexual crimes, while also ensuring fair treatment for defendants, Glaze said. The program disbanded in 2006 due to a lack of funding, she said, but she has since put the training and experience to good use. Glaze transitioned into a victim’s advocate volunteer position at the nonprofit Solace, where she worked directly with those who had experienced trauma, either from sexual assault, a fatal accident, human trafficking or time spent in the military. She would take calls on the organization’s crisis hotline and would later meet victims or their families at a hospital or Solace’s rape crisis center. August marked Glaze’s 16th year with Solace Crisis Treatment Center. She offers the presence of a veteran advocate and a calming voice to people who have experienced sexual assault and other types of trauma. Her work for the nonprofit has earned Glaze the honor of being one of The New Mexican’s 10 Who Made a Difference for 2020. María José Rodríguez Cádiz, executive director of Solace Crisis Treatment Center, nominated Glaze for the award, writing, “Her diligence in working within the judicial system … and her dedication to community members who have suffered sexual violence
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to date has played an invaluable role in transforming victims into survivors, and improving the process of securing justice for those who have experienced the epidemic and heinous crime of sexual violence.” Glaze, the daughter of two members of the U.S. Air Force, calls herself a “military brat.” During her childhood, she moved almost every year or two to a different country or state, and she spent most of her early childhood primarily in England. Seeing so much of the U.S. and other cultures helped her become who she is today, Glaze said. She earned a degree in logistics, business information systems and marketing from Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, Ga. She later started a career in finance, eventually working as a bank district manager. Her background in finance was put to good use in 2011-12, when she served on Solace’s board of directors, using her expertise to help bring vital financial stability to the organization. In 2013, she became a trained member of Solace’s hotline and served multiple holiday, weekend and late-night hours answering the calls of those in crisis. That service became increasingly important amid the coronavirus pandemic as the state shut down, people remained isolated in their homes with growing economic struggles and incidents of partner violence began to rise. Prior to the start of the pandemic, sexual violence numbers in New Mexico were already concerning. Statewide data shows 1 in 4 women, 1 in 20 men and 1 in 2 transgender people in New Mexico experience sexual violence in their lifetimes. Glaze fears those numbers will continue to rise as COVID-19 cases spike to unprecedented levels and people largely remain in isolation. Cádiz said advocates at Solace have seen a 30 percent increase in requests for service over the past year and a half. In July, Solace received 436 calls. A month later, that number more than doubled to 913. The organization has continued to evolve throughout the pandemic, modifying practices to offer telehealth services and in-person emergency forensic interviews for children and youth in abuse cases, even throughout the governor’s stay-at-home orders. “This pandemic has caused such uncertainty in everyday lives, especially in the areas of family relationships, food, housing and everyday expenses,” Glaze said. “If each of us only provides emotional support to a fellow friend or stranger,” she added, “then we all flourish as a community.”
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Henry & Tina L anman
Clearing the way for trail enthusiasts STORY BY TONY RAAP
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PHOTO BY GABRIELA CAMPOS
hen Henry and Tina Lanman began dating, they didn’t do the traditional dinner and a movie. Their idea of a hot date involved two wheels and a dirt trail. “All our dates would be wrapped around some sort of motorcycle thing or bicycles. … We had the latest mountain bikes,” said Tina, who met Henry through her father while they were living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Henry entered mountain bike competitions across Northern California, and “I was on the sidelines, cheering him on,” Tina said. In 2001, the couple moved to Santa Fe, where Henry was raised. They continued to ride mountain bikes and even took a class through the U.S. Forest Service on how to build and maintain trails. Over the years, they have volunteered countless hours to constructing and improving trails at the Galisteo Basin Preserve, Glorieta Adventure Camps, and the Dale Ball and La Tierra trails. They also have worked in conjunction with the Commonweal Conservancy, Santa Fe Conservation Trust, the Forest Service, and the city and county of Santa Fe. And that’s just the start: The Lanmans also have been involved with the Trails Alliance of Santa Fe, the Fat Tire Society, Keep Santa Fe Beautiful and the Crazy Off-road Racing Enthusiast Crew. All that hard work through the years has earned the couple The New Mexican’s 10 Who Made a Difference honor for 2020. “We really just sort of dove into the trail work,” Henry said. “It was kinda nice building trails that were sustainable, that wouldn’t just wash away and deteriorate right away.” Originally an engineer, Henry spent 26 years with the fire department in Contra Costa County, Calif., retiring as a captain. During that time, he was part of a crew that graded trails in the spring to make them accessible for fire equipment. “That was sort of my first introduction to sloping trails in order to mitigate the water problems when it rains,” he said. “So I had a good background in dirt management, I guess you could say.” After moving to Santa Fe, “I just got a lot more involved and learned a lot more about trail construction and mitigating features” by taking a class through the Forest Service, he said. “It’s funny. Once you start learning how to build trails and maintain them, when you’re just out walking on them you’ll look at a trail and say, ‘This needs to be done and this needs to be done.’ And it just almost becomes an obsession, where you want to keep fixing things all the time,” he added. For the past three years, he has worked on trail improvements
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in the Galisteo Basin Preserve south of Santa Fe. A two-mile loop on the western edge of the preserve is called “Henry’s World.” It was named after Lanman, one of the basin’s “most active and cherished volunteers,” according to trailforks.com. “The trails we’ve built out in Galisteo Preserve — we’ve put in, I don’t know, 12, 14 miles of new trails in the last few years, and the place has just become a gold mine for everybody,” Henry said. Sarah Noss, executive director of the Santa Fe Conservation Trust, grew up on the same street as Henry. She said he has worked tirelessly to improve the region’s trails. “I have seen him in action out in the Galisteo Basin on the trails out there. He is a master flagger of new trails, working with the contours of the land to create fun trails that will [repel] water to withstand the test of rain, mud and wind,” Noss wrote in nominating him for The New Mexican’s 10 Who Made a Difference honor. Still, the coronavirus pandemic has slowed progress on building more trails, forcing volunteers to work in socially distanced groups of just two or three. And then in May, Tina fell and broke her neck. After surgery in Albuquerque, she was transferred to a hospital in Colorado that specializes in spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries, where she spent three months rehabbing. She and Henry returned home in late August. “We’ve been trying to get her going again ever since,” Henry said. “It’s been a full-time job for me just taking care of Tina, so I haven’t been able to do any trail work.” Their son, also named Henry, works as a geologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. A daughter, Ziggy, is working on getting a doctorate in physical therapy at the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus. Like their parents, they are avid bicyclists. “Both have become just really, really good mountain bike riders — really, really talented,” Henry said. “Sometimes it makes me scared because I see the things that they do and it kind of blows me away. Dropping off these huge rock faces and stuff. They make it look easy.” At 75, Henry still rides as much as he can. “It’s my passion,” he said. But he gets a deeper satisfaction from building a new trail. “After you’ve done it, you look at the enjoyment that everybody’s getting out of it plus yourself, the accomplishment. It just feels good,” he said. “If you do it right and it’s sustainable, you can look at it a few years later and think, ‘Wow, I really did that right. It’s not eroding. It’s not deteriorating.’ ”
10 WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
Gilbert Romero
Saving veterans’ space and preserving Hispanic culture STORY BY DANIEL J. CHACÓN
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hen the Veterans of Foreign Wars post on Montezuma Avenue was about to go under a few years ago, Gilbert Romero jumped into action on behalf of his fellow military service members. “I was not going to let this place shut down,” said Romero, a U.S. Army veteran and Bronze Star recipient who became commander of the downtown post in 2017 and has since breathed new life into its operations. Romero had proven his leadership abilities years before, when he became president of the Caballeros de Vargas, a religious fraternal organization that had tried unsuccessfully to get a statue of Spanish conquistador Don Diego de Vargas in downtown Santa Fe. “They had failed because of politics, I guess,” said Romero, who also has served as president of the Santa Fe Fiesta Council. “I went around and worked [to raise enough money] to have it made.” For his work on behalf of veterans and his commitment to preserving his community, the 68-year-old Romero has been selected as one of The New Mexican’s 10 Who Made a Difference for 2020. While he takes great pride in his commander post at the VFW, Romero’s dedication to Hispanic culture — which he says is more important than ever — has not been without its share of controversy. He was highly critical of Mayor Alan Webber’s decision to remove the de Vargas statue from Cathedral Park downtown. The mayor has said he pulled the statue out of the park for safekeeping ahead of a planned protest that he feared could turn violent. “I’m not happy at all, and I told him to his face, too,” Romero said, referring to Webber. Romero said the reason he’s so passionate about “our history, our culture and Santa Fe” is for future generations. “I have five great-grandkids,” he said. “I want those kids to know where we come from.” Romero was nominated for the award by Richard Barela, past president of Union Protectíva de Santa Fé, which bills itself as the city’s oldest Spanish cultural organization. Barela lauded his friend’s willingness to help others, regardless of time or difficulties that may be encountered. “He’s a very caring, methodical man who shares his energy and his time for the betterment of veterans” and to help preserve Spanish culture in Northern New Mexico, Barela said. Former City Councilor Ron Trujillo called the award “an awesome honor” to be bestowed on Romero, whom he called a
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PHOTO BY LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO “dedicated military man, a dedicated husband and a dedicated family man.” “Gilbert has just been involved in so many things throughout the community with the Fiesta Council, the Caballeros de Vargas, la Union, the VFW,” Trujillo said. “You know, there’s nothing that Gilbert won’t do for his community.” Melissa Mascareñas, past president of the Santa Fe Fiesta Council, called Romero a “remarkable man.” “Not only did he serve his country in the Army, but when he retired and came home, he continued to serve his community,” said Mascareñas, who has known Romero 15 years. “There isn’t anyone that Gilbert won’t help. He is a true leader that has our Hispanic culture at the top of his priority.” Mascareñas said Romero’s love for the area shows when he steps in to help fix problems. Locally and nationally, organizations like the VFW have struggled in recent years, but Romero refused to accept the loss of a key outlet for veterans. “The local VFW was almost forced to close its doors, and with the help of his wife, Dorothy, they were able to keep the doors open and make so many wonderful improvements,” she said. When The New Mexican called Romero for an interview about his award, he and a small group of workers were busy painting inside the local VFW. “I’ve had great support — I love it,” he said. “And I’m able to help my veterans. That’s what it’s all about.” Romero, whose father was a World War II veteran, didn’t set out to join the military but turned it into a career and retired after 20 years. Romero said he was grew up in Chupadero, near Tesuque, with four brothers and five sisters. “It was a great life,” he said. “My dad had a little ranchito. We had cattle and all these animals and also did farming.” After he graduated from Santa Fe High School, Romero got married and started working construction with his father-in-law. Six months later, he was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. “Whatever plans I had were froze, and I had to serve my country,” he said. “But I enjoyed it so much I stuck it out 20 years.” Romero, who served as a drill sergeant for three years, said he earned a Bronze Star during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Romero said he had the option to stay in the military longer but retired to return home to his father in New Mexico. “But my dad was so sick that I said, ‘Nah, I’m gonna go home and spend time with my dad,’ ” Romero recalled. “He lasted 17 months after I retired, so it was worth getting out and spending time with him.”
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Sitar a Gillian Trumbull
Organizing collections to take to those in need STORY BY JAMES BARRON
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wo of Sitara Gillian Trumbull’s best friends are her cellphone and an internet connection. She is proving they are effective tools in affecting the lives she touches. Trumbull leaves a constant imprint on social media, but her posts are rarely about herself and instead on the needs of others. She asks people to write letters to elderly people in hopes of brightening their days; requests items such as breast milk to give to mothers for their babies; coordinates efforts that bring donated supplies to Native communities struggling with the coronavirus pandemic. She’s even tried to help someone find a coat for their dog. “She is always giving away things; she’s like a one-person thrift store — except she doesn’t sell anything,” said Linda Grey, a friend. Trumbull’s work is done mainly from her home in midtown Santa Fe. She suffers from Chiari malformation, a congenital condition in which brain tissue extends into and presses against the spinal canal. Trumbull, 38, had three surgeries to help alleviate some issues associated with the problem, but she developed blood pressure and kidney problems that have kept her on IV fluids for the past 20 years. Trumbull’s volunteer work in spite of those struggles earned her selection as one of The New Mexican’s 10 Who Make a Difference for 2020. Trumbull’s family instilled in her a spirit of generosity while she was growing up in Chicago. Her grandparents and mother regularly volunteered for a variety of organizations, so it was only natural to begin volunteering at child care centers when she was a teen. “I think it was just shown to me, but it’s just a part of who I am,” Trumbull said. “If I see someone who needs something, I can’t turn my back.” Not even the pandemic could get in the way. Volunteering has became even more important for Trumbull, giving her purpose as she mostly stays home because her immune system is compromised. She coordinates with community members on Facebook or via text messages to collect food, clothing and supplies for local families or bring trucks full of goods and supplies to various Native American communities, from To’hajiilee to the Jicarilla Apache Nation to Shiprock. Trumbull also has set up drive-by caravans to the homes of elderly people, distributing pick-me-ups in the form of cards and gifts from the vehicular conga lines. On a recent day, she and her friend Diana Abeyta coordinated such an event to celebrate the
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PHOTO BY GABRIELA CAMPOS 70th wedding anniversary of Abeyta’s parents. “I’m glad I have this because it gives me something to focus on and a way to give back,” Trumbull said. “It’s been a blessing and a struggle at the same time.” Trumbull worked as a doula, someone who offers support services for women and families during and after pregnancy, but the job disappeared amid the pandemic. She is collecting unemployment benefits to supplement what she receives from Social Security for her disability. Sometimes, Trumbull seeks assistance via social media from people around town to bring her items like cardboard boxes or prescriptions. That’s how Bernadette Gonzales, a retired state worker, met her. “I thought, here is a person who can’t get out of her house,” Gonzales said. “It wasn’t out of my way. In fact, we live close by, so it wasn’t a big deal to go down to the CVS.” Those chance encounters helped develop a group of volunteers who collect and deliver goods for distribution. Trumbull estimates roughly 400 to 500 people have donated items or their time to help make it happen. Trumbull’s driveway has boxes and bags full of donations, prompting a neighbor to complain about her collection. “[Trumbull] was frustrated about that, but she was like, ‘It’s OK. We’ll deal with it,’ ” Gonzales said. Trumbull also set up GoFundMe pages to raise money for water tanks that go to pueblos and the Navajo Nation. Trumbull said she did not realize previously how many people in those areas lack running water or even heat for their homes in the winter. “That’s where the infections were spreading because they can’t wash their hands, they can’t wash their masks or if somebody gets sick, they can’t wash their bedding,” Trumbull said. “That was just a big eye-opener.” The only time Trumbull leaves her house is to occasionally help collect donations or deliver them to various organizations. Such outings have included trips to bring supplies to pueblos and the Navajo Nation. Abeyta said Trumbull usually wears a pair of masks, but she will get out to the truck to lend a helping hand. “Sometimes, I don’t know if I feel comfortable with her getting out of the truck,” Abeyta said, “but those are her choices that she is willing to take. I believe it’s risky, but walking into a grocery store or going to a restaurant is risky, too.” The reward for that risk is to help those who truly need it in the worst of times. “It’s really awesome to see people coming together who normally wouldn’t have,” Trumbull said. “It is a reminder of the beautiful side of people once they find a way to help.”
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A n t o i n e t t e Vi l l a m i l
Easing the burden of struggling parents STORY BY SEAN P. THOMAS
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hen Antoinette Villamil, executive director of the Santa Fe-based nonprofit Many Mothers, sees a single mother or family in need, she sees a bit of herself. The single mother knows firsthand how difficult raising a child alone can be, especially now, when the coronavirus pandemic has placed such a strain on the finances of so many people. “My son is 7, and I had him by choice when I was older. Even with all the resources I had — I was in a stable relationship, I had enough money — it was still unbelievably hard,” said the 46-yearold Villamil, who has worked for Many Mothers since 2017, first as a program manager and, since January 2019, as executive director. As the pandemic began to take hold in March, Villamil, one of the Santa Fe New Mexican’s 10 Who Made a Difference for 2020, went into survival mode. Founded in 1999, Many Mothers’ original mission was to help pair volunteers, sometimes retired nurses and doctors, with new mothers as they navigated the early months of child rearing. That model quickly went out the window as COVID-19 numbers continued to climb and the thought of having older volunteers enter the homes of clients — potentially exposing both volunteers and families to the deadly virus — became untenable. “Back in March, I remember going to the board meeting. I was in that sort of place of hysteria that we all were for a while,” Villamil said. “I essentially said we need to shut down. I just didn’t know what we could do.” She knew the organization would have to pivot if it wanted to survive the pandemic. When the Santa Fe Community Foundation, a local nonprofit that serves as a conduit for charitable giving, began releasing crisis relief funding, Villamil jumped at the opportunity. With the help of the aid funds, she began turning Many Mothers’ attention toward finding out what goods and services families with infants needed most. Diapers. Baby food. Groceries. Shelter. Whatever these families needed, Villamil and the volunteers at Many Mothers would try to accommodate them. To protect the volunteers and the families, the organization instituted new safety protocols and began offering curbside pickups and door-to-door drop-offs of essential goods. Villamil, with just “two and a half” full-time employees and a team of volunteers, instituted three new programs for the organization: Babies’ Basic Needs, which helps bring basic supplies like diapers and formula to new mothers; Farm to Families, which helps pass along surplus produce from local farms to families; and the Navigator Program, which brought on a bilingual “community navigator” to help families connect with community service
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PHOTO BY GABRIELA CAMPOS programs in the area. Many Mothers is now helping 70 families with food assistance and 120 families with needed goods each month, in between the day-to-day grind of running the organization during a worsening pandemic. Doug Lynam, Villamil’s partner and the man who nominated her for the 10 Who Made a Difference award, thought the end was nigh for Many Mothers as the pandemic began to swell. He was astounded by her ability to move the organization in a new direction and continue helping families in and around Santa Fe. “Antoinette really had the vision to find new revenue sources and to be able to meet families where they are at,” Lynam said. “It was a stroke of organization brilliance and compassion.” Villamil said the work is a way of giving back to a city that saved her. She grew up in Baton Rouge, La., but said she didn’t really find herself until 2007, when she moved to Santa Fe, where she would have her son, Maksim. While she was attending college for a degree in poetry, her 26-year-old brother took his own life. The shock and pain of the loss left a stark impact on Villamil, who was then 25. “If it could happen to him, this could happen to me,” she said. “I had to find a way to make this life work for me.” In Santa Fe, she said, she found a community and a way of life that “really fulfilled me.” Villamil left the city for several years after marrying her now ex-husband and moving first to Durham, N.C., in 2012 and then to Westport, Conn., a year later. But life on the East Coast wasn’t for her, she said. Four years later, she returned to Santa Fe. She joined Many Mothers a year later. “I try to measure success on if I feel happy or content,” Villamil said. “When I moved here in 2007, I felt like I was home for the first time.” Lynam thought back to a night early in the pandemic, when Villamil received an evening phone call at home from a woman who said she and her baby hadn’t eaten all day. Lynam watched Villamil leap into action, emptying her pantry of canned goods and any items she could find to support the mother and her 9-month-old daughter. “She was just like, ‘Put your big boy pants on,’ ” Lynam said with a chuckle. “ ‘Let’s get out the door.’ There wasn’t really a hesitation there” To Villamil, it was another day at the office. “Parenting is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “When I hear of a family in that situation, it feels like if one has the capacity to help in that moment, to me, it feels like an obligation.”
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Inspiring others with her own recovery story STORY BY SEAN P. THOMAS
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t 32, Chris Wendel had accomplished what many would consider the American dream. She was married to a successful attorney and had a nice home and a well-paying job. From the outside, she was happy. But at times, she struggled with depression and the urge to take her own life. “I had bought into a system that said if you accomplish certain things, you would be happy,” Wendel said. “… I couldn’t figure out what I had done wrong.” Wendel, now 67, came to terms at the time with her addiction to alcohol and began what would become a lifelong recovery process. For 13 years, she has used her experience with substance abuse to help others struggling with similar issues — including many who might have felt as if they were suffering in silence, without support. “I am all about those still suffering,” Wendel said. “I was very clear that if I can help one person, it would be worth it.” Her tireless work in the substance abuse field, ranging from service on an advisory council under former Gov. Bill Richardson to volunteering as a secretary at the Santa Fe Recovery Center, has earned her a spot as one of The New Mexican’s 10 Who Made a Difference for 2020. Wendel was born in 1953 in upstate New York and had a father she described as a “fairly successful man” — the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Wendel and her two brothers did what was expected of them: They went to Ivy League schools, earned degrees and landed great careers. “My act of rebellion was that I went to Cornell,” Wendel said with a laugh, adding her two brothers and father went to Harvard. That wasn’t her only act of rebellion. Like many young adults of the 1960s and ’70s, Wendel experimented with drugs — crystal meth, cocaine and marijuana — and alcohol while she was in college. After getting married, she dropped the illicit drugs, but her relationship with alcohol took a different form. One of her brothers even suggested at the time, around 35 years ago, she might have an alcohol abuse issue. While she was meeting with a therapist soon after, Wendel said, she asked a question that she believes saved her life. She asked the therapist: “Do you think I am an alcoholic?” The therapist responded: “I don’t know, but it seems to me that if you might be, you should find out.” Wendel had been in recovery for nearly a decade when she moved to Santa Fe in 1994. She began volunteering with different organizations when she could find the time, she said, but her advocacy work in addiction treatment really began in 2007, when she began working
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PHOTO BY GABRIELA CAMPOS with the Richardson administration’s Behavioral Health Planning Council, which advises the governor, the state Legislature and the Human Services Department’s Behavioral Health Collaborative. She served as chairwoman of the council from 2008-12. Pamela Hyde, a former state human services secretary who also was appointed to the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration under President Barack Obama, picked Wendel to join her in Washington, D.C., a couple of times a year to discuss substance abuse treatment strategies. “She really cares about people who need help and making a difference in our community,” Hyde said. “I give her a lot of credit.” Although Wendel enjoyed the work, she soon came to realize administration was too “big picture” for her. She needed to get back on the ground level. She refocused her attention in Santa Fe, where she got involved with the Santa Fe Recovery Center, eventually serving as board chairwoman for four years. Sylvia Barela, CEO of the Santa Fe Recovery Center, nominated Wendel for the 10 Who Made a Difference award on behalf of the organization. She described Wendel as a problem solver who “knows how to find the way through any obstacle, no matter how insurmountable.” Barela credits Wendel for helping the organization weather the COVID-19 storm, finding vital funding through her many connections for a new playground and recovery literature for each client. Wendel also helped the center navigate obstacles as it added a new women and children’s program, Barela said. “She’s an amazing board member with a phenomenal and inspiring recovery story,” Barela said. In 2014, Wendel worked with retired physicist Tom Starke to create the nonprofit Recovery Santa Fe, which focuses on reducing the substance abuse stigma. “Most people don’t say it out loud, but they think people who drink and drug are weak or morally flawed — pick your word,” Wendel said. “I don’t know what the words are, I just know we approach this disease different than we approach diabetes.” Every September, the nonprofit throws a rally that brings together service providers, clients and the community to celebrate those in recovery. This year, due to the pandemic, the event had to go virtual. “We were trying to just let people know that it’s possible,” Wendel said of addiction recovery. Someday, she said, she hopes to see substance abuse awareness rival that of other national campaigns. “We’ll get there,” Wendel said. “People who survive this disease are some of the most passionate and strongest people in the world.” Wendel is a prime example.
10 WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
St. Elizabeth Shelters & Supportive Housing congratulates
Sam Baca
on being named among the 10 Who Made a Difference. Sam has played a vital role in Santa Fe’s non-profit sector. Starting off as a social worker in the Santa Fe Public Schools, he became a founder of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Santa Fe and its first executive director, program director of Cornerstones Community Partnerships, lead community advisor of the New Mexico Behavioral Health Collaborative, program director at the Santa Fe Farmers Market Institute and, for the past four years, president of St. Elizabeth’s Board of Directors. Truly someone who has made a difference in our community.
Thank you Sam for everythingg you’ve done for Santa Fe!
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10 WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
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In the early 1990s Sam Baca established Churches, Symbols of Community, a program of the New Mexico Foundation (NMF). The purpose of the program was not merely to restore the church buildings, but to bring communities together to preserve the rich cultural values and traditions that these churches embody. Sam helped to grow the program into an independent nonprofit, Cornerstones Community Partners, expanding its mission to include restoring other historic buildings and educating at-risk youth about their heritage. New Mexico Foundation is proud to sponsor Sam Baca’s award of Santa Fe New Mexican’s 10 Who Made A Difference. Since 1983 NMF has worked to improve the quality of life for all residents of New Mexico.
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10 WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
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