Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance Announces its 2023 Board of Directors and Welcomes Several New Faces

January 10, 2023

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) – The Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance (AREA) today announced its Board of Directors for 2023.

Following an organizational restructure in December 2021 along with an update to its bylaws and a name change from Albuquerque Economic Development Inc. to Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance (AREA), AREA’s Board of Directors now consists of a maximum of 45 Directors serving three-year terms, along with Ex-Officio Emeritus members.

“My fellow directors and I are proud to welcome several incredible greater Albuquerque community and business leaders as new colleagues on the AREA Board,” said Cynthia Schultz, AREA’s Board Chair and CEO of Bradbury Stamm Construction. “The broad set of skills and expertise these individuals bring to the table will be critical in achieving the goals in our AREA 1.0 Strategic Plan.”

Executive Committee Members and Officers for 2023:

Celina Bussey, Deloitte Consulting LLP
David Campbell, Mesa del Sol, LLC
Erika Edgerly, Intel Corporation
Joe Farr, Duke City Commercial LLC
Caroline Garcia, KPMG LLP – Board Treasurer
Shad James, Jaynes Corporation
Leean Kravitz, Fidelity Investments
Josh Parsons, Sandia National Laboratories – Board Secretary
Cynthia Schultz, Bradbury Stamm Construction, Inc. – Board Chair
Ryan Shell, New Mexico Gas Company
Don Tarry, PNM – Chair-Elect
Janice Torrez, BlueCross BlueShield of New Mexico
Eric Weinstein, Aon

Kyle Beasley, Bank of Albuquerque
Brian Brown, Presbyterian Healthcare Services
Phil Casaus, BRYCON Corporation
Jim, Chynoweth, CBRE, Inc. Albuquerque
Dale Dekker, Dekker/Perich/Sabatini
Robin Divine, TriCore Reference Laboratories
Debbie Harms, NAI Sun Vista
Jason Harrington, HB Construction, Inc.
Howie Herbert III, U.S. Bank
Justin Horwitz, Rodey Law Firm
Meg Meister, Modrall Sperling
Adrian Montoya, Summit Electric
Megan Oblack, Lovelace Health System
Ray Smith, Klinger Constructors, LLC
Ben Spencer, Titan Development

Of important note are the additions of some key public and private sector leaders to the AREA Board. Public sector leaders include Julie Morgas Baca, Bernalillo County Manager, who will represent the County with a full voting board seat. In addition, Walt Benson was elected by AREA’s Public Sector Advisory Council to serve as Chair in 2023 which then entitles his service on the AREA Board during that time as a voting member. Wayne Johnson has been serving on the AREA Board of Directors in representation of Sandoval County since May 2022.

Josh Parsons, a current AREA Board member and Executive Committee member, has been elected as Secretary of the Board. He stated: “I can’t imagine a better time to invest in our community as the public and private sector come together to advance our regional plan for economic growth.”

Five additional notable leaders have joined the AREA Board: Teresa Costantinidis, Executive Vice President for Finance & Administration, University of New Mexico; Tracy Hartzler, President, Central New Mexico Community College; Pepper Lang, Vice President of Strategic Development, Albuquerque Journal; Dr. Richard Luarkie, President & CEO, Tamaya Ventures; and Joan Tafoya, Director of Global Operations, META.

Danielle Casey, President and CEO of AREA, commented “The Board of Directors was integral to creating our AREA 1.0 Strategic Plan and transforming our organization from a 501(c)(6) to a 501(c)(3) public charity. Our organization is better each and every day because of their commitment to the greater Albuquerque region.”