by Susan Dunlap, NM Political Report
April 21, 2024

New Mexico Voices for Children, an organization that focuses on tax policy and how it impacts children in poverty, has new leadership.

Gabrielle Uballez replaces Amber Wallin as executive director of the nonprofit. Uballez began her new position last month.

Uballez told NM Political Report that her interest in advocacy work was sparked when she was a child living in New Mexico. After school and during summer breaks, she participated in a program called Working Classroom, which provides art mentors to youth to build art skills focused on advocacy and social justice. Uballez attributes that early experience to her desire to build a career in advocacy around social justice. 

Uballez began her professional career working for an organization in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City before returning to Albuquerque to lead Working Classroom for several years. In that role, she worked with youth to amplify issues that mattered to local communities, including art that focused on gun violence and prevention, immigration and social justice, she said.

Read more at the NM Political Report