Mike Ammerman joined the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation staff in 2019 to serve as Scholarship Program Manager. He brings more than 20 years of experience supporting New Mexico youth in college access, leadership, personal development, and wellness. From 2007–2018, Mike served as Program Director for the New Mexico Simon Scholars program, where he successfully transformed the program from a traditional scholarship reaching a handful of students to a comprehensive academic enrichment and college success program serving first-generation and underrepresented students from high school through college completion. Mike, a first-generation college graduate from a small rural community, earned a bachelor’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation and Outdoor Leadership from Indiana University. He is passionate about social justice, equity, education and the environment. Mike is an avid mountain biker and snowboarder and enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and two children.

Christine Bowman has served as the Dean for Enrollment Services since May of 2014. Her responsibilities include overseeing the admission department to set enrollment and retention philosophies at Southwestern University. After growing up in Houston, she attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, graduating in 1993. She furthered her education earning a Masters degree in Higher Education Administration from The University of Texas at Austin. Throughout her career, Christine has worked with tour guides, campus visitation planning, alumni recruiting programs, transfer students, and international students managing staff and other “supplemental” duties that make an admission and enrollment office successful. Professionally, Christine has been active in various professional organizations including The National Association of College Admission Counseling on both the national and state level. She has worked with students from New Mexico for more than 5 years with a focus on helping first generation students understand the value of a liberal arts education. With 20 years of experience in the admission profession, Christine believes in guiding students to find the right college fit and regularly gives presentations encouraging a stress-free college search process.

Gisel Breceda is the College Transitions Facilitator at Hacia: Toward the University, a college readiness and family engagement program that serves families across Bernalillo County and surrounding areas. Gisel was raised in Estancia, New Mexico and graduated from the University of New Mexico as a first-generation college student with a Bachelor of Business Administration. In college, Gisel studied abroad at the University of Aberdeen in Aberdeen, Scotland and also spent a summer working as a New Student Orientation leader at UNM. Being from a rural town herself, Gisel is excited to have the opportunity to participate in a program that benefits students with a similar upbringing as her.

Amy Page is a social studies teacher at Moriarty High School and Adjunct Faculty at Mesalands Community College. She has been a strong proponent of history education in New Mexico, worked closely with the National History Program to develop teacher and student development opportunities that bridge economic and geographical gaps in academic research at both the state and national levels for the past 15 years. Page is a native New Mexican who has spent most of her life in the Santa Fe and Estancia Valley areas. She has a M.A.I.S. in History and Political Science with concentrations in Constitutional Foundations from Western New Mexico University and fellowship work at Georgetown University. She also holds a B.A. in Pre K-8 Elementary Education and an alternative Secondary Education through New Mexico Highlands University. Page is the 2014 New Mexico James Madison Memorial Fellow and 2020 Gilder Lehrman New Mexico History Teacher of the Year.

Dr. Patricia Trujillo joined the New Mexico Higher Education Department as Deputy Cabinet Secretary in 2020. She formerly served as founding director of the Office of Equity and Diversity at Northern New Mexico College, where she oversaw programming to address access and inclusion for historically underserved populations in higher education. Born and raised in the Española Valley, Trujillo has dedicated her career to improving social engagement via critical education, social justice, and community-building. Trujillo also has more than 15 years of experience in higher education and is a tenured professor at Northern New Mexico College. She has taught in the areas of Chicana/Chicano studies, Southwest literature, and New Mexico history, and has published work in academic books and journals. She has a Ph.D. in U.S. Latina/Latino Literature from the University of Texas San Antonio, an M.A. in English from the University of Nebraska, and a B.A. in English with a supplemental major in Law and Society from New Mexico State University.

Erica Rita Velarde was born and raised in Santa Fe. She is a licensed professional engineer with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from UNM and an AA in Business Administration from Northern NM College. Erica was a first-generation college student and is the first and only female in her family to graduate from college. She is currently the Comprehensive Solutions Account Executive for Trane Technologies, the Vice-President for the Board of Regents for Northern New Mexico College, a member of the Higher Education Regents Committee, and the President of the Board of Directors of Eagle Corp. She is honored to be on the advisory board for ROCA and looks forward to giving back her community.