Albuquerque Journal Business Outlook Briefcase: New hires, Applause, Etc.

Aug. 7—Welcome

Kevin Eckenrode has joined New Mexico Angels as an analyst. Eckenrode is an associate at Marion Street Capital, which partners with Seed-Series C stage startups on strategic finance, capital raising, product-market fit and growth strategy. Additionally, Eckenrode helps advise dynamic startups on how to prepare for institutional fundraising. He has supported clients in researching the competition, designing company strategy, crafting business plans, creating pitch decks, and designing detailed financial models. He also teaches clients how to recruit advisors, design target investor lists, manage the investor funnel, conduct investor outreach, negotiate term sheets, and create investor documents. Eckenrode works as a Senior Analyst for Addvia Ventures. He received a bachelor's degree from Villanova University in 2020.

Applause

Beehive Homes of Volcano Cliffs has received a Bronze Quality Award from the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living. The only provider in the state of New Mexico to receive the award in 2023, Beehive Homes of Volcano Cliffs was one of only 57 assisted living facilities nationwide to receive the recognition this year. Beehive Homes has been providing assisted living and memory care since 1987

ETC.

W.K. Kellogg Foundation with the Center for Creative Leadership has announced the fellows for its 18-month fellowship, which brings together 80 leaders from the foundation's priority places in the U.S.: Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans.

The New Mexico participants are:

Lori Martinez — social worker, education advocate and nonprofit leader who partners with the community to restructure unjust and inequitable systems in Las Cruces.

Mari Kempton — consumer protection lawyer and anti-poverty advocate working in Albuquerque.

Warlance Chee — advocate for language and cultural sustainability and revitalization for the urban Diné population in Albuquerque.

Shay Everitt — director of strategy, systems integration and alignment for New Mexico's Early Childhood Education and Care Department in Santa Fe.

Blanca Adriana Ontiveros — works with school districts, educators and community members to amplify the voices of immigrant and refugee communities across the country through advocacy in Las Cruces.

Jaqi Baldwin — a Chicana leader and social entrepreneur, Baldwin committed to school design that is centered around the needs of young people, while honoring their communities in Albuquerque.

Dr. Karissa Culbreath — develops systems that enable every individual, family and community to access equitable opportunities to achieve optimal physical, spiritual, emotional and financial health in Rio Rancho.

Huong Nguyen — aims to mobilize and build power with immigrant and refugee women, youth and families to remove systemic barriers and improve overall conditions for her community in Albuquerque.

Daphne Littlebear — works in Indigenous education with Tribal education departments, school districts, state governments and nonprofit organizations in Bernalillo.

Sonya Lara — a leader committed to advancing strategies that decrease economic disparity and increase honor and dignity among communities that have been marginalized in Albuquerque.

Josue Olivares — works to co-create a food system that fosters social justice and equitable access to resources with individuals and families for whom society has underinvested in Albuquerque.

Darlene Gomez — activist for primary and secondary victims of the Murdered, Missing Indigenous, Woman and Relatives crisis since 2001 in Lumberton.

Rachel LaZar — over the past several decades, LaZar, alongside Latino immigrant leaders, co-founded multiple immigrant-based organizations from Albuquerque.

Dillon Shije — councilman and Tribal leader from the Pueblo of Zia, working in Indigenous advocacy, environmental justice and Native health outcomes at Zia Pueblo.

Kim Lanoy-Sandoval — aims to create educational landscapes that value and connect students, families, educators and communities in Albuquerque.

Jazmín Irazoqui-Ruiz — movement lawyer and community organizer dedicated to dismantling systems of oppression by working with Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities to demand and achieve a life of dignity in Albuquerque.

Corrine Sanchez — works to achieve family and community healing, youth development, and ending violence against Native women, girls and our Earth Mother in San Ildefonso Pueblo.

Neema Kamaria Hanifa Pickett — founder of Kamaria Creations Wellness Retreat a space for Black people to feel supported through internal and external healing modalities in Albuquerque.

Virginia Necochea — the first woman of color to serve as the executive director of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, a public interest nonprofit that works alongside frontline communities in upholding environmental justice in Albuquerque.

Natane Ollin Tochtli Lim — worked in early childhood education for more than 20 years in various teaching roles and classroom settings within the Chicagoland area and Albuquerque.

Victoria Domiguez — empowering students and families of color, especially those who are living in extreme poverty, and exploring opportunities that will support them in their day-to-day living in Cuba, New Mexico.

Charlene Bencomo — currently serves as the executive director of Bold Futures, a state-based reproductive justice organization led by and for women and people of color in Las Cruces.

Bulletin Board

SCORE Albuquerque will host it workshop titled "Ask the Expert Q&A: Sales" from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday via Zoom. Eddy Mindlin, certified SCORE mentor with decades of sales experience and first-hand knowledge as a small business owner, will answer sales-related questions in this Q&A-style workshop. This workshop is free. To register, visit score.org.

SCORE Albuquerque will host it workshop titled "First Session" from noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday via Zoom. This workshop will discuss key concepts such as accounting, marketing and their relationship, and go over SCORE resources and services. This workshop is free. Register at score.org.

The Del Norte Rotary Club invites members of the community to attend its upcoming meeting on Wednesday at noon, with lunch served at 11:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Uptown, 2600 Louisiana NE. The meeting will provide an opportunity for attendees to connect with like-minded individuals, and hear from our guest presenter, operatic singer, Colin Miller, an American tenor, originally from Albuquerque, currently pursuing his bachelor's degree at the New England Conservatory of Music. The cost of the event is $27, all members of the community are welcome. Please RSVP to secretary5520@gmail.com. For information about the Del Norte Rotary Club or to learn about upcoming meetings and events, visit rotarydelnorte.org.