Who We Are
Staff
Leadership
Amber Wallin, MPA
Executive Director
Amber has been with NM Voices since 2012, when she was brought on as a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities fiscal policy fellow and later served as a research and policy analyst, the director of NM Voices’ KIDS COUNT program, and Deputy Director before taking over as Executive Director in 2022. Amber is a state and nationally recognized expert on issues related to child and family well-being and fiscal policy. She has served on multiple fiscal policy and child well-being advisory committees among policy networks, philanthropic organizations, and governmental bodies and regularly shares information and recommendations on how to build greater equity and opportunity for children and families. Born and raised in New Mexico, Amber received her Master of Public Administration degree from New Mexico State University and worked in the public sector at the city, state, and federal levels before joining NM Voices. She lives in Albuquerque with her husband and two young children.
Policy Team
Bill Jordan, MA
Government Relations Officer
Jacob Vigil, MSW
Deputy Policy Director
Paige Knight, MPP
Deputy Policy Director
Paige joined NM Voices in 2018 and focuses on tax, fiscal policy, and environmental issues. She was promoted to Deputy Policy Director in 2023. Originally from Minnesota, Paige moved to Albuquerque in early 2017. Prior to moving to the Southwest, she worked with youth and families at a variety of nonprofits in Iowa City and Chicago, including as an AmeriCorps volunteer for a year. In New Mexico, she worked with DreamSpring (formerly Accion) and interned with the Legislative Finance Committee. Her experience with nonprofit and governmental organizations further developed her interest in public policy issues, particularly those surrounding family economic well-being. She received her BA in Economics from Luther College in Iowa and her Master’s in Public Policy from UNM.
Javier Rojo, MPA
Senior Research & Policy Analyst
Emily Wildau, MPP
Senior Research & Policy Analyst/KIDS COUNT Coordinator
Emily joined NM Voices in 2020, becoming Senior Research and Policy Analyst in 2023. She coordinates the KIDS COUNT program by monitoring and providing education on child well-being data and focuses on policy issues related to early childhood, K-12 and higher education, and food security. She was born in Roswell and completed her BA in English Rhetoric at NMSU. During her time there, Emily discovered her passion for social justice in a volunteer role advocating and fundraising for programs to support an end to child soldiering in Central and East Africa. Since relocating to Albuquerque in 2015, Emily has contributed to her community throughout her career, previously working at Roadrunner Food Bank and Central New Mexico Community College. She earned her Master’s in Public Policy at UNM.
Lydia Paukei, JD, MSW
Policy Counsel
Divya Shiv, MPP
Research & Policy Analyst
Communications Team
Sharon Kayne
Communications Director
Alex McCausland
Graphics and Social Media Manager
Development and Operations Team
Farah Council, MA
Director of Operations & Organizational Effectiveness
Brian Urban
Operations Manager
Barbara Mike
Operations Support Clerk
Shelby Greaser, MBA, MSW
Grants Manager & Development Associate
Board of Directors
Leadership
Rev. Robert Woodruff, D.Min.
Chair
Robby Rodriguez, MBA
Vice-Chair
Robby is a philanthropy and nonprofit advisor and provides consulting services related to strategy and executive coaching. He started his career as a community organizer, working to ensure rights for workers, voters, and immigrant and Indigenous communities, as well as youth development, corporate accountability, and environmental justice. During his six years as the Executive Director of the SouthWest Organizing Project (SWOP), Robby helped achieve key policy changes related to economic development and environmental protection. He represented the U.S. at the U.N. World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, where he documented and testified on issues of racial discrimination in the U.S. and abroad. Robby has worked at two of the nation’s largest private foundations and was part of the teams responsible for stewarding nearly 200 million in philanthropic dollars to help low-income and communities of color build power, equity and justice. Robby holds an MBA from UNM.
Board Members
Javier Aceves, MD
Board Member
Since starting his career in medicine, Javier has been interested in developing programs for and providing direct services to populations experiencing challenges in accessing health care. Additionally, he has focused on the development, sustainability, and expansion of community-based pediatric programs from a public health perspective. Javier served as medical director of the Young Children’s Health Center from 1999 to 2016, and has been involved in improving the health of families living in the southeast heights of Albuquerque. In 2012, he was named executive medical director of Pediatric Ambulatory Services for the Children’s Hospital. His interest in family health comes from a sense of shared responsibility to improve the level of access and quality of health care services in the community and the overall health of a diverse pediatric population. Through these efforts and interests he hopes to have a positive impact on improving the health of two communities: persons with disabilities and chronic conditions and the underinsured and uninsured living in the southeast heights of Albuquerque.
Debra L. Baca, MPA
Board Member
Marsha Garcia
Board Member
Fred Harris, JD
Board Member Emeritus
Fred was born in a two-room farmhouse in Oklahoma. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma’s College of Law, he began his public service in the Oklahoma state Senate. He served Oklahoma in the U.S. Senate from 1964 to 1973. In 1968, with racial tensions escalating across the nation, he was asked by President Lyndon Johnson to serve on the Kerner Commission. The Kerner Report found that racism, police brutality, and the lack of jobs were fueling the anger. From 1969 to 1970, he served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. After leaving office Fred came to New Mexico to teach at UNM. He is the award-winning author of several novels and nonfiction books.
Ruth Hoffman
Board Member
Ruth worked as an advocate in New Mexico for over thirty years. She began her work with Common Cause-NM working for ethics and government reform. In the mid-1990s, she worked for the New Mexico state Legislature as an analyst and staff member to the state Constitutional Revision Commission. Ruth was then program director at the NM Center on Law and Poverty for three years. From 1999 until her retirement at the end of 2019, she was the director of Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-NM, a faith-based advocacy office focusing its advocacy agenda on issues related to people living in poverty and experiencing hunger.
Brandon Padilla
Board Member
A 12th generation New Mexican with a deep commitment to serving the state, Brandon has spent his career working as a communications and political strategist. Currently, Brandon is a managing partner for Roadrunner Strategies, a political and strategic communication firm. His passion for creating positive change has led him to work for distinguished elected officials like Rep. Deb Haaland, Rep. Melanie Stansbury, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, and other local officials. Beyond his professional achievements, Brandon is a devoted community member, advocate, and philanthropist. Collaborating with individuals, communities, and nonprofits, he actively contributes to transformative initiatives on local, regional, and national scales. Brandon’s passion lies in harnessing positive change and creating thriving communities. With his infectious energy, unwavering dedication to community upliftment, and unparalleled expertise, Brandon is dedicated to empowering purpose-driven leaders to unlock their potential, optimize their productivity, and create lasting impact.
Newton Robinson
Board Member
Newton, who retired from Intel’s Human Resources Department in 2013, still serves as the program manager and president of its Community Mentor Network (CMN). A program Newton founded in 2009, CMN mentors students at Cibola High School and UNM. Prior to his 18-year career at Intel, Newton worked for 18 years at IBM. He earned a BA in Psychology from the State University of New York at New Paltz, completed the Human Resource Management Certificate Program from the Anderson School of Management at UNM, and is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Newton currently serves on the Deacon Board at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, and is part of the International Mission Team that traveled to Santa Dominica, Hong Kong, Belize, Guyana, Kenya, and Jamaica.
Antionette Tellez-Humble
Board Member
Antionette is a second-generation Chicana/Mexicana from Albuquerque’s North Valley, the ancestral lands of the Tiwa. She specializes in working with people who have been asked by their community to step into leadership roles within organizations, government, or businesses. Antionette also worked as a program officer with the WK Kellogg Foundation, where she had the privilege to work with and learn from local, tribal, state, and national leaders focused on improving the lives of children. Married to her partner, she is a super fan of their only son, and is committed to be a more fun wife, mom, daughter, auntie, friend, and human.