Meet the Career Connections Seminar Speakers

Saturday September 17

Yuriria Morales

Executive Director, Global Ties ABQ

Yuriria Morales was born and raised in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico and has lived in Albuquerque since 2006. Yuri earned a bachelor’s degree focusing in International Affairs from the Universidad Internacional (UNINTER) located in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. She arrived in Albuquerque as an International Student and earned her master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of New Mexico. She currently serves as a member on several different boards. The Albuquerque Balloon Museum Foundation allows her the opportunity to keep showcasing the beauty of our city to international visitors. She is a Founding Director and Vice President for Government Affairs to the US-Mexico & Latin America Chamber of Commerce. She sits on the eVOLV Strong Corporate Board promoting health and wellness in the US and Mexico and is the current Vice President of the Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School Governing Council. Most recently, Yuri was an award recipient of 2021 New Mexico's Top 40 Under Forty by the Albuquerque Business First.

Ernie C’deBaca

President and CEO, Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce

Ernie C’deBaca is President and CEO of the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce (Hispano Chamber). Ernie began in that capacity in June 2017 having served prior as the Vice President of Conventions and Tourism for the chamber. Ernie retired from PNM Resources in January 2016 having worked there for 38 years and serving the past 20 years as its Vice President of Governmental Affairs. Under his leadership, PNM collaborated with various entities, some adversarial, to develop legislation resulting in the Renewable Portfolio Standard and Energy Efficiency laws, among other legislation, that many states have since adopted.

Ernie was also a long-serving Board Member at the Chamber and was its chair in 2006. In his current capacity, Ernie leads the Hispano Chamber which is one of the largest chambers in New Mexico and one of the largest Hispanic Chambers in the United States. The mission of the chamber is to promote economic development, to enhance economic opportunities and to provide business and workforce education with an emphasis on the Hispanic and Small Business Community in Albuquerque and New Mexico.

Katherine Brown

Katherine Brown, Ph.D.

President & CEO of Global Ties U.S.

Katherine Brown, Ph.D. is the President & CEO of Global Ties U.S., the largest and oldest citizen diplomacy network in the United States. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies. Before joining Global Ties U.S. in 2018, Katherine was a Public Policy Manager at Facebook, Inc., where she was also in residence as a Council on Foreign Relations' (CFR) International Affairs Fellow. From 2013-2016, she served as the Executive Director of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State, an office authorized by Congress to appraise and strengthen U.S. engagement activities with foreign citizens. Katherine previously served in the U.S. government as an assistant to the National Security Advisor at the White House; as a communications advisor at the American Embassy in Kabul; and as a Professional Staff Member at the Committee on Foreign Affairs at the U.S. House of Representatives. Katherine received her Ph.D. in Communications from Columbia University in 2013 and completed her doctoral fieldwork in Afghanistan and Pakistan where she examined their news media's effects on governance, civil society and foreign policy. Her book, "Your Country, Our War: The Press and Diplomacy in Afghanistan," was published by Oxford University Press in 2019. She is a 2018-19 French American Foundation Young Leader; a member of the University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy Advisory Board and the Alliance for International Exchange Board; and a former Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Curt CJ

Curt “C.J.” Chavez

Morning Motivation

Curt “C.J.” Chavez brings the experience and stories of failures, breakthroughs, and successes of over 1.5 million lives he has touched through his wellness programming. He is a native New Mexican, an Alumni of the Harvard Graduate School of Business, his fitness programming touches over 1.5 million people in North America, a TEDx speaker, a Leadership Instructor for the Mexican University BUAPP, and an International Leadership Coach through the Global Wellness Initiative. C.J.'s work has been recognized by the United States SBA Entrepreneur of the Year, the Department of Commerce's Businessperson of the Year, and numerous other National and International awards. His personal motto is that he "Never Gives Up."

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To be confirmed

How’s Albuquerque Supporting Diversity?

Coming soon

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Anne Callaghan

Women Diplomats Panel

Coming soon

Abigail Olvera

Abigail Olvera

Women Diplomats Panel

With seven years of experience as a diplomat, Abigail Olvera advises organizations on strategic governance, geopolitics, and emerging risks, particularly from technologies like artificial intelligence, cyber issues, and resource scarcity. Abigail researches, writes, and speaks about research-backed altruism, including poverty and inequality issues. She also advocates for safer public infrastructure, particularly city, road, and public transportation.

Lisa Ellis

Women Diplomats Panel

Lisa Ellis joined Global Santa Fe (formerly SFCIR) as Executive Director in February 2022. A senior strategic communications, fundraising, education and public diplomacy professional, Ellis has worked with non-profit organizations to advance global health, education, human rights, press freedom, international development, and more. Recently, Ellis was the Marketing and Communications Director for TIDES, a philanthropic organization dedicated to shared prosperity and social justice. She also served as Director of Global Communications for International Medical Corps, a humanitarian agency on the front lines of global crises. As Program Director for the International Center for Journalists, Ellis conducted worldwide journalism training programs. She also has worked at Colorado College, for The Freedom Forum, at the U.S. Information Agency on international exchanges, as Press and Outreach Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, and at Voice of America. She has consulted on projects sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and others. She has navigated an array of political, social, economic and cultural contexts in the U.S. and more than 40 countries. Ellis has a B.A. degree in Russian Area Studies from Colorado College, a M.A. degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland and studied at Middlebury College’s Russian Language School.

Celeste Nunez

Celeste Nuñez

International Business & Trade Panel

Celeste Nuñez is the Director of International Business Resources for the New Mexico Trade Alliance, a nonprofit economic development organization. She connects New Mexico companies with local, state, federal, and international export assistance resources to help them gain and grow international sales. Of these resources, Celeste manages the SBA-funded New Mexico STEP State Trade Expansion Program Grant under the New Mexico Trade Alliance’s contract with the State of New Mexico. Her efforts with the NM STEP Grant have resulted in close to $400,000 of grant funds successfully awarded to NM companies.

Celeste sits on the Albuquerque Sister Cities Foundation Board and is Chair of the Albuquerque-Guadalajara Sister City relationship. In 2020, Celeste was selected as the state’s sole Next Gen Global Leader with the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) and is now a member of its New Mexico Advisory Board. In 2019, Celeste served as the organizer for the Albuquerque - Chihuahua Sister City Bilateral Commission, which worked to promote projects of mutual benefit in the areas of economic development, tourism, cultural exchange, public safety, and education. The Bilateral Commission resulted in a tech business deal, training exchanges, and an official MOU signing.

Celeste also has her own consulting company where she works on additional local economic development initiatives with the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.

Celeste graduated summa cum laude from the UNM Anderson School of Management with a BBA focused on International Management and Marketing.

Kristen Gamboa

International Business & Trade Panel

Kristen Gamboa is the Senior Economic Developer for the Village of Los Lunas, assuming the position in December of 2020. Her attention is focused on helping local businesses expand and grow through social media outreach while actively marketing and recruiting economically-centered businesses to her three industrial parks. She proactively develops management plans, provides outreach, and evaluates plans and criteria for programs and projects relating to the redevelopment of underdeveloped commercial areas. She promotes economic development incentives and prepares reports on economic development activities and conducts presentations across the region and state. Prior to this position Kristen was the Director of Business Development for the New Mexico Partnership where she actively engaged with companies, C-suite executives, and site consultants looking for expansion, relocation, or new project opportunities across the Land of Enchantment. Born and raised four hours south in El Paso, Texas, Kristen is a proud UNM Lobo graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in International Management. An avid learner, Kristen also holds two Master’s Degrees: one in Organizational Management and another in Psychology. A proud Valencia County resident, she resides in Peralta with her fiancé and their two “rambunctious” dogs, one cat and four goldfish.

paul Garr

Paul Garr

DoS Office of Alumni Affairs

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Payge Lennings

Payge Jennings

DoS Office of Alumni Affairs

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Shannon Jacques

Shannon Jacques

Team Building and Being a Leader

Shannon Jacques: An advocate for small business and a leader in community development, Shannon has demonstrated her leadership in many sustainable operations. For over twenty years she was the President of a Women Owned local small business. She has a deep understanding of community, culture and the economic development that drives our economy. She is currently the Chief Development Officer at The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber, where she influences and drives small businesses daily, by helping them to scale on many different levels. She also oversees the programs, conventions and tourism, marketing, and fundraising departments at the chamber. She has worked in event management, small business and non-profit marketing, fundraising & sponsorship for over 25 years.

Shannon has been the event director of many well-known and well attended large events and initiatives including the 17-day New Mexico State Fair, National Rodeo VIP Events, Mud & Bud Run, various industry leadership academies, and now all the signature events with the Hispano Chamber. She has worked on the creative development of special projects with many organizations including the first ever New Mexico State Fair Beer project, which incorporated the emerging craft beer industry with the state’s largest event and was also part of creating the labeling and flavor profile for the first ever New Mexico named beer. The initiative connected small businesses to new opportunities which has led them to be one of the industry leaders in the state.

Shannon has one of the best reputations for creating connections, influencing, community engagement and networking, by finding and creatively connecting small business owners and corporate partners to opportunities. As a relationship builder and facilitator, she has been able to help business of all sizes grow and brand.

Shannon is a partner in her family owned, 60-year-old construction, agriculture and sand & gravel manufacturing businesses, Bar J Industries, partners with her brothers in their general contracting business, North Bar Industries, partner in their investment company, North Bar Investments LLC, and an investing partner in other family ventures.

She is invested in the community and is excited about her role as Chief Development Officer to continue being able to support of our small business community across the country.

Alberto Solis

Alberto Solis

Cover Letter and Résumé/CV Building

Alberto Solís is the Program and Operations Director of Q Station, a hub for space technology. He is focused on helping the Q Station team and its partners develop a stronger space technology industry in New Mexico. Alberto’s mission and experience has been to design and lead successful domestic and international programs and to develop emerging leaders and teams. A dual U.S.-Mexican citizen and a UNM alumnus, he is committed to helping the Albuquerque metro area become a hub for entrepreneurial growth, international business development, and global relations. His recent leadership includes directing the UNM Entrepreneurial Challenge/Business Plan Competition, Marketing & Business Development teams for regional and national professional services firms, and international trade programs for the City of Albuquerque and State of New Mexico. He serves on the boards for Global Ties ABQ and Albuquerque Sister Cities Foundation, chairing the Sister Cities Committee for Albuquerque - Alburquerque, Spain. His most fulfilling role is as father to his teenage son and daughter, Gael and Tiziana.

Brandale Mills

Brandale Mills Coz, Ph.D.

How Diversity Will Change Your Industry

Dr. Brandale Mills Cox is a researcher, communications professional, training facilitator and
professor. She is founder and principal of Inclusive Market Research Group, a full-service
research firm that specializes in inclusive and culturally sensitive market research, helping
brands create communications strategies. In this role, Dr. Mills Cox has facilitated trainings
covering inclusive communications strategies and inclusive workplaces and she has also worked
with organizations including nonprofits, pharmaceutical and government agencies using insights
from multicultural audiences through interviews, focus groups and surveys to build diverse
engagement strategies. She has developed DEI strategic plans, to help organizations implement
strategies to foster a sense of belonging and create a more inclusive workplace.
Dr. Mills Cox has worked extensively with higher education institutions including community
colleges and historically Black colleges as a tenure-track professor and as a graduate program
initiating new curriculum development, advising graduate students and developing a five-year
assessment plan for the master’s program, while also implementing diverse recruitment strategies
for the program. She was most recently the Director of Communications at the Bernalillo County
District Attorney’s Office where she handled media outreach and planning on behalf of the
office’s initiatives. In this role, she executed communications efforts both locally and nationally
in addition to organizing press conferences and serving as an Office spokesperson both on
camera and through written statements.
Dr. Mills Cox earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Print Journalism from the University of
New Mexico (Albuquerque, New Mexico), her Master of Arts and Doctorate degree from
Howard University (Washington, DC) in Mass Communications and Media Studies and
Communication, Culture and Media Studies. She was recently named one of Albuquerque
Business First’s “40 under 40” leaders in the state and she is an active member of Delta Sigma
Theta Sorority, Inc. She currently lives in Albuquerque with her husband and their two-year-old daughter.

Richar Luarkie

Richard Luarkie, Ph.D.

Cultural Exchange to Engage Diversity

Thought leader, visionary, strategic thinker, values based and driven by principle are key identifiers of Dr. Richard Luarkie. With over 20 years of professional business development, strategy and economic advancement experience, Dr. Luarkie is a contributor of solutions. His passion for economic advancement, his mastery of the art to articulate a vision, the skill for public speaking, and his willingness to partner and collaborate are value-adds that are second to none.

Dr. Luarkie has worked for global companies like AT&T – Global Strategy & Business Development, American Management Systems (now CGI group), as well as for multi-million dollar tribal owned companies that were active in the defense, construction, and technology industries. Dr. Luarkie has also been an entrepreneur and has owned two firms, Digital Migration, Inc. (a technology firm) and Emerging Equities Solutions Group (a strategy, business development, and consulting firm). Dr. Luarkie has served in key company leadership roles that range from cost accounting, to marketing and business development, executive director, and chief executive officer.

Dr. Luarkie is a two-term Governor for the Pueblo of Laguna, has served on various boards and committees, including on the Board of Trustees for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Dr. Luarkie has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New Mexico in Economics, an MBA from New Mexico State University, and a PhD from Arizona State University. Dr. Luarkie currently serves as the President & Chief Executive Officer for Tamaya Ventures, a professional services firm wholly owned by the Pueblo of Santa Ana, NM.

How to Participate

To participate in Career Connections and Career Connections Global+ programming, attendees must be U.S. citizen ExchangeAlumni and registered for an account on the ExchangeAlumni website at www.alumni.state.gov.

If you have trouble renewing or establishing your account, fill out the account inquiry form at alumni.state.gov/account-inquiry.

NOTE: Global Ties U.S. has limited funds to support travel stipends for alumni. If you are not local to the ABQ area but wish to participate and would like stipend support, please email CareerConnections@globaltiesus.org

How to Register

Registration is now open on the ExchangeAlumni website at www.alumni.state.gov.

To register for Career Connections: ABQ, you will need your ExchangeAlumni account login credentials (see How to Participate for more information).

The link to register is available only in the U.S. ExchangeAlumni section of the ExchangeAlumni website. Once you are logged into the ExchangeAlumni site, please click the button below, and then navigate to the “U.S. ExchangeAlumni” section. From there, you will select “Career Connections” on the left sidebar and be able to register.

Sunday September 18

Dr. manuel Montoya

Dr. Manuel Montoya

Mentorship, Being a Good Mentee, and Identifying a Good Mentor

Dr. Manuel (MJR) Montoya is an Associate Professor of Global Structures and International Management at the University of New Mexico's Anderson School of Management. He was born and raised in Mora, New Mexico, and received his B.A. in English Literature and Economics from the University of New Mexico. He has Master's degrees from Oxford University and NYU as a Truman Scholar and Rhodes Scholar. He received his Ph.D. at Emory University in Foreign Relations and Comparative Literature as a George Woodruff Scholar and a UNM Center for Regional Studies Fellow. He currently teaches the core International Management course for Anderson, the international practicum for the EMBA program, and an innovative graduate course that studies management issues in a geopolitical and philosophical context. Through his own consulting firm, In Medias Res Consulting, he also provides geo-political strategy to major NGOs, non-profits, and transnational corporations. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has contributed to international efforts to eliminate child soldiers from major conflict regions. Manuel has also served as a policy analyst for the United States Senate and considers public service a pillar of his work. Dr. Montoya also contributes to several community organizations. He is on the Board of Directors for the International Folk Art Alliance, The Keshet Center for the Arts. As advisor for International Business Students Global, he has worked with UNM's top students on several ambitious projects aimed at using management skills to contribute to solutions for major global issues, including displacement and the preservation of ancestral cultures. An amateur watchmaker, poet, and short story writer, Dr. Montoya has been published in several prestigious literary magazines. He was inducted into the Anderson Hall of Fame in 2015 and was named one of Albuquerque's 40 under 40 in 2016.

Laurie Magovern

Laurie Magovern

Persuasive Communication

Twenty years experience in Non-Profit, Museum, Theater and Event planning at Albuquerque Balloon Museum, TEDxABQ, Smithsonian's Discovery Theater, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Arena Stage. Design and implement creative programming from presentations, fundraising, marketing, curriculum design, volunteer organization and entertainment. Special focus on collaborative programming bringing together a unique mix of organizations and specialists to present dynamic educational and community experiences. Public speaker, workshop leader, Teaching Artist and professional storyteller.

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Importance of Mentorship in International Diversity

Norma Ang Sánchez is a member of the Mexican Foreign Service with more than 25 years of experience. She holds the rank of Minister. Throughout her career, she has served in different countries, with experience in political and consular affairs. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) in Mexico City, she served as Director of Consular Protection for the United States at the Directorate General for Protection of Mexicans Abroad. Earlier in her career, she worked at the Directorate General for Europe. Overseas, Norma served as Acting Consul General in the General Consulate of Mexico in Barcelona; as Political Attache in the Office of Migration Issues at the Embassy of Mexico in Washington; as Deputy Chief of Mission in the Mexican Embassy in Poland, and as head of the Political Section in the Mexican Embassy in The Netherlands. In 2016, Norma was appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an exchange officer with the U.S. State Department/Bureau of Consular Affairs, in an effort to exchange best practices and learn lessons on common consular assistance challenges. She has a BA in International Relations from Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, and a MA in International Services from American University. She also has a Diploma on Hemispheric Security and Defense, from the Inter-American Defense College in Washington, DC.

Michael Hackett

Michael Hackett

Closing Remarks

Coming soon