Dear NMEE Members and Friends,
It is my pleasure to introduce the 2010 NMEE Board of Directors! We will not have an election for the Board this year since the number of people accepting their nominations exactly matched the number of vacancies.
Kind regards,
Lisa Van De Graaff
2009 Election Coordinator
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PRESIDENT: Roger Martínez y Mondragón
A Spanish-Basque-American, Roger has been involved with NM-Euskal-Etxea since the first Tapas dinner. His extensive credentials include:
* Two terms NMEE director, picnic chairman (all attending had a wonderful time)
* Two presidential terms, NM-Addiction-Counselors-Association
* Two terms board member, National-Association-of-Addiction-Counselors
* Two terms secretary Caballeros-de-Vargas
* Caballero of the Year, 2001
* OLG, Secretary/Treasurer
* OLG Mayordomo President, currently a past president
* NM-Licensing-&-Therapy-Practice-Board, chairman Education Standards Committee
* NMEE Vice President, 2009.
Roger is a licensed addiction counselor and presents workshops in NM, coast-to-coast nationally (Boston-to-Berkeley) & internationally, Montreal. Roger is also a professional photographer and owns Sweet Dreamz Photography.
PAST-PRESIDENT: Vacant
VICE-PRESIDENT: Blas Pedro Uberuaga
Blas was born and raised in Idaho, the son and grandson of Basque sheepherders. As a child, Blas participated in Basque dancing, and while in college, he spent a year in San Sebastian learning Euskara. Blas has spent much of his adult life promoting Basque culture throughout the world via his website: www.buber.net. He was a part of the formation of the Seattle Basque Club and is a Founding Member of NMEE. The many friends he has made being a part of NMEE have been wonderful, and he looks forward to making many more.
SECRETARY/TREASURER: The role will be shared by Karen Squires & Lisa Van De Graaff
Karen was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico and is a Founding Member of NMEE. She currently manages The Spanish Table in Santa Fe which sells food and cookware from Spain including the Basque Country. Her job gave her the opportunity to visit the Basque Country and to learn about Basque culture which she enjoys immensely, especially the food. She is excited to serve as Secretary/Treasurer on this year’s Board. Eskerrik asko.
Lisa grew up in Idaho, where a rich Basque culture thrives. Since marrying into a Basque family and having a child, she finds herself eager to ensure family and cultural traditions are honored (in particular, food, language, books, and travel). As Secretary/Treasurer, she plans to utilize her skills in project management to keep us on task and her appreciation of Basque culture to approach our mission in innovative ways.
DIRECTORS:
Sherry Morrison
Sherry was born of a Mexican-Basque father and an American mother. During her childhood, her father often told stories of her ancestors and their migration from the Basque Country to North America. It has always been her desire to learn more about her ancestors and heritage, and now that she is retired and an active member of NMEE, she has the perfect venue to do so.
Louis Ollivier-Amestoy
Louis was raised in a Basque Hotel and Restaurant in Bakersfield, CA. After attending St. Mary’s College, CA, he studied in Spain before attending UNM for graduate study. He retired from the CIA, taught at Western NM Univ. for 9 years and is currently a NM State Court interpreter. He resides in Albuquerque and has been an NMEE board member for 2 years.
Patricia “Tricia” Erazo Penn
Tricia, a native of Santiago, Chile, grew up in the Midwest. Tricia’s surname, Erazo, is of Basque heritage, and her uncle, Carlos Erazo, returned to and currently lives in Bilbao. Tricia moved to Santa Fe from St. Paul, Minnesota in August of 1992. In September of 2007, after completing her eighth year as the special education director for Santa Fe Public Schools, Tricia retired. She is a member of good-standing in NMEE and served on the Board this past year. Tricia also has Rh negative blood, like most Basques!
Eva Valencia de Himmerich
Eva was born in Irvine, CA and attended schools in California where she had many Basque classmates as friends. Her maternal great-grandfather, Herculano Borboa, is said to have come to Mexico from the Basque provinces with the French army in 1862 and stayed after the removal of Emperor Maximilian in 1865.
After earning a BA in Theatre Arts with a dance emphasis from Cal State, Fullerton, and a teaching credential for Bilingual Ed, Eva and her husband Bob moved to Santa Fe. She earned an MA at UNM in Multicultural Education and has taught in the Santa Fe School District and at the Santa Fe Community College. She is currently on the Executive Board of the La Sociedad Folklórica de Santa Fe.
