She brings a passionate lifetime commitment to growing and protecting NM’s agricultural lands and water. She is a multi-generation native, Hispanic New Mexican raised on a farm between Santa Fe and Espanola, where her family grew their own food and sold the extras to the communities of Santa Fe and Espanola – selling on street corners and often going door-to- door (farmer’s markets didn’t exist in those days). It was then the first seeds were planted for Cecilia’s passion to protect the farmland and communities, she so loved.

She has been a leader in the middle Rio Grande landscape conservation initiative to protect agricultural land, wildlife habitat and water. This leadership role required developing partnerships and implementing collaborative efforts to access federal and state funding for conservation easements and habitat/restoration projects. RGALT serves a culturally diverse and primarily low income demographic, where access to funding for on the ground conservation to occur is often critical.

She has also been a leader in creating agricultural markets for farmers. She started the Socorro Farmer’s Market, and for 10 years she served on NM Farmer’s Market board, helping to start markets all over the state. She also served on NM Food & Agricultural Council for five years, working to create agriculture markets and a healthier New Mexico.

In addition, Cecilia owns and operates a 30 acre certified organic farm in Polvadera, NM (north of Socorro) established in 1997. Cecilia’s Organics provides vegetables, flowers and beef to a number of Albuquerque’s fine restaurants, grocery stores in Albuquerque, as well as Grower’s Markets in Albuquerque.

As a landowner and a farmer, she is able to bring the landowners’ perspective to her work in protecting private lands. She can be reached at cecilia@rgalt.org.

Amy Erickson grew up in southeast Kansas, where her parents fostered in her a great appreciation for the outdoors. Her interest in wildlife led her to Kansas State University, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Avian Ecology. Prior to joining RGALT in 2022, Amy held the position of Avian Biologist for Audubon Southwest, where she led projects to improve habitat for birds and other wildlife and foster conservation partnerships throughout the Middle Rio Grande. Amy has also worked as a project biologist for SWCA Environmental Consultants, was the Program Director for the Save Our Bosque Task Force, and served as Lesser Prairie-chicken Biologist in a partnership position with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Portales, New Mexico.

Amy has lived and worked in Socorro since 2018 and has developed strong working partnerships with landowners, the agricultural community, and numerous conservation organizations and government agencies. She enjoys building relationships with the local community to further the goal of land conservation and habitat restoration to benefit people and wildlife. In her free time, Amy can be found birding around town, hiking, cooking for her friends, and enjoying small-town Socorro life.

Anna Maldonado is excited to join RGALT because she is passionate about supporting local farms and ecosystems. She can’t wait to utilize her skills to protect our state’s most cherished and natural resources in land, air and water! Anna grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico where she spent part of her youth playing near the cottonwoods among childhood friends. Raised by her mother and grandparents who were from Socorro and Magdalena, Anna gained her connection and appreciation for farm life, nature and sustainability through her grandmother. Prior to joining RGALT, Anna worked in a variety of sectors, utilizing her skill set working with local businesses and nonprofits. She has recently been working with the Recuerda a César Chávez Committee and the American Friends Service Committee where she helps plan events like the Dolores Huerta Day of Service that teaches youth about the farmworkers movement, regenerative agriculture, local environment, connecting students to the food that we eat. She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Communication and International Studies with a concentration in Environmental Communication and minors in Sustainability and Management. 

Anna has worked within the Albuquerque farming community since 2013, gaining hands-on experience doing farm work in the South Valley as a student. She served in the UNM Food Justice Initiative as a volunteer and leader for approximately 7 years, providing advocacy work through events, film screenings, panel discussions, student and community outreach and hands-on support at local farms. During the pandemic, she led a growing program with UNM students at the Rio Grande Community Garden that provided over 70 pounds of fresh produce to the local community with most produce donated to the RoadRunner Food Bank and the César Chávez Community Center. In recent years, Anna lived in a casita in the North Valley that brought her closer to wildlife. During her neighborhood walks, she encountered some of her favorite animals like llamas, a family of Guinea hens and enjoyed observing the migration of sandhill cranes, a family of roadrunners and rabbits that could be seen just outside her doorstep. One time she even befriended a lizard that she found in her shoe.

In her free time, Anna enjoys reading, learning, creating, collaborating on media projects, watching funny videos, laughing, exercising, nature walks and encountering wildlife in unexpected ways.

Sandra Postel is director of the Global Water Policy Project and author of Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity.  From 2009-2015, she served as Freshwater Fellow of the National Geographic Society, where she co-created Change the Course, the water stewardship initiative awarded the 2017 US Water Prize for restoring billions of gallons of water to depleted rivers and wetlands.  Sandra works to bridge science, policy and practice to build a more water-secure world for people and nature.  She has authored four books and numerous articles for scholarly and popular publications.  Previously, she taught at Mt. Holyoke College and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. From 1988-1994, she served as vice president for research at the Worldwatch Institute. Sandra has been named a Pew Scholar in Conservation and the Environment and one of the Scientific American 50, an award recognizing contributions to science and technology.

Matthew McQueen has been practicing law for over 30 years. His practice focuses on real
property, and he specializes in conservation easements. Matthew received his BA from
Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he majored in political science and
environmental studies, an MS in Natural Resources Policy from the University of Michigan
School of Natural Resources and Environment, a JD from the University of Michigan Law School,
and an MBA from the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management. He has
experience working for large and small law firms, state government, and nonprofit
organizations, and he also serves in the New Mexico Legislature. Matthew lives with his wife
and kids in the traditional village of Galisteo, New Mexico.

Ann Simon is the Administrator for the Village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, a small community in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley.  Ann spent 16 years as the Economic Development Program Manager for the Mid-Region Council of Governments where she worked on projects affecting the local and regional economy, including the Agriculture Collaborative, a farm to market networking and lecture series.  Her nearly 30 years of public policy and program development, and ability to partner with key stakeholders, has helped her create successful programs in her community.  She moved to New Mexico in 1996 from Washington, D.C. where she worked on national and local policy issues on Capitol Hill, the Association of Counties, and the White House. Ann holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Georgetown University.  She is married to Dave Simon and has two daughters, Katie and Jenna.  She is a resident of the Village of Los Ranchos.

Dr Leeper joined WSP USA Environment & Infrastructure Inc. (WSP) as a Senior Project Manager in 2012. He received his PhD in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University. Among a variety of projects at WSP Dr. Leeper provides technical support to the Santa Clara Pueblo in the Abbott Rio Santa Cruz General Stream Adjudication and provides water rights and water development technical assistance to the Navajo Department of Justice, Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, and Navajo Department of Water Resources.

While working for the Navajo Nation he was a Branch manager and supervised more than twenty fulltime water resources professionals. He represented the Navajo Nation for the San Juan River Settlements in New Mexico and in Utah. He served on the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project and the Animas-La Plata Project Construction Coordination Committees. He directed the Navajo Nation’s participation in the State of New Mexico Regional Water Plans for the San Juan Region (Region 2) and Northwest New Mexico Region (Region 6). He contributed to environmental, appraisal level, value planning, and value engineering studies including: the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project Final Environmental Impact Statement, the Black Mesa Environmental Impact Statement, the Draft Desert Rock Power Plant Environmental Impact Statement, the Page LeChee Water Supply Project Environmental Assessment, the Ganado Irrigation Project, Red Lake Irrigation Project and the Many Farms Irrigation Project Environmental 

Prior to working for the Navajo Nation, he provided technical assistance to the Office of the Tribal Water Engineer of the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes in Fort Washakie, Wyoming. This assistance included, among other activities, surface and groundwater permitting, dam safety monitoring of Washakie Dam, implementing cost-share programs and evaluation irrigation rehabilitation alternatives. Supervised portions of the Assessment and Plan for the Rehabilitation of the Wind River Irrigation Project and the Wind River Basin Wide Study which evaluated the available water supply, and future water demands in the Wind River Basin.

While a graduate student at Colorado State University he was a Peace Corps trainer for the African Food System Initiative in Lesotho and in the Untied States. Training topics included watershed restoration and public drinking water supply. He was a Teaching Assistant for irrigation short courses for foreign water resource professionals. And as a Peace Corps Volunteer and Trainer in Nepal he surveyed, designed, and supervised the construction of suspension bridges in rural Nepal. He was also a technical trainer in the Community Water Supply and Rural Suspension Bridge Program.

Thomas Swendson is a truck driver turned farmer, working in local food for the last decade. He spent 5 years running the MoGro project (working in rural food access) prior to taking over ownership of Beneficial Farms CSA.

Through the support of Thomas’ family and friends, they have grown their CSA and farmer network over the last years to where they are today as New Mexico Harvest. They now support over 90 NM food producers across the state through our membership and wholesale partners.

Thomas is thrilled to be starting a farm in the South Valley of Albuquerque with his partner Electra and their two dogs, growing some more exotic crops. In Thomas’ spare time, he enjoys learning about alternative building methods and working on their fixer-upper home.