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Fredica D. Acosta– is currently a Specialty Sales Representative in Bariatric & Thoracic since March of 2015. She worked as an Endoscopy District Manager at Cook Medical for over 2 years in Houston, Texas. She has previously worked as Network Account Manager at United Healthcare, Marketing & Sales Representative at Rotech Healthcare, Pharmaceutical Sales Representative at Quintiles, Territory Manager at MCR American, and other various positions.
Nicki L. Adamson– is currently working as a Store Manager at Walgreens since November 2001 for over 13 years.
Patricia Adu-Mensah earned a BA in Theatre Arts and a minor in Music from the University of Ghana. She then attended the Ghana Institute of Journalism where she majoried in Journalism and earned a BA in Communications. Patricia then went on to earn a MA in Communication Studies from NMSU in 2019. Patricia now works at Dona Ana Community College in the Academic Readiness Center where she loves having the opportunity to help students!
Melissa A. Aguilera– is currently working as Adjunct Faculty in English and Communication at Dona Ana Community College and El Paso Community College. Some of her Specialties are:Budget planning, Excellent computer skills; knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet, internet research, Adobe Audition, Audio Vault, Cool Edit Pro, iMovie, Photoshop, Scott Studio, Simian, and Vox Pro. Deft in script writing, press releases, article and various other writing styles. Working in groups and organizations to plan and carry out events. public relations, social media marketing, non profits, public speaking, promotions, event planning, marketing, youth development, new media. She is Instructing courses in English and Communication including business writing and speech. She is a Communication and Speech professor and multimedia specialist for public speaking courses as well as business communication courses. Teaching courses for both the regular college student and Early College High school students as well.Rebecca E. Agnew– is currently a Program Technician at USDA- Farm Service Agency for over 3 years in Portales, New Mexico. She interprets & explains procedures, program regulations & forms to producers and other agency personnel. Answer phones and help walk-in traffic while working reports and updating records, organize & maintain sensitive documents and files following PII. She has also worked as an Accounts Receivable and Billing Specialist at A-Perfect Medical Billing for over a year in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Duncan Allard- is currently working at Hewlett-Packard as an Inside Sales Representative in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. For the first three years of his career with HP, he worked in the Inbound Sales Division. This involved taking inbound calls, recommending product to a variety of customers, and selling effective HP solutions. He recently transitioned to a Commercial Inside Sales Representative role, and cover North and South Carolina. He is still able to use the extensive product knowledge I gained from the Inbound queue, and now help complete larger-scale refreshes and project roll-outs.
Ryan Apostol- is currently a Leasing Specialist at Providence Management Company, LLC.
Susan Arnsdorff, MA 1997, is now a Chief Development Officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the midlands, November 2011 to present.
Guy Bachman, MA 1996, completed his Ph.D. in Communication Studies at the University of Arizona in 2002, and is currently providing instruction at California State University, Long Beach.
Justin Bannister, MA, is currently the Assistant Director of the News and Media Relations department at New Mexico State University and occasionally teaches courses in TV reporting (JOUR 110), Newswriting for Print and the Internet (JOUR 210), and Writing for the Mass Media (JOUR 314) on campus.
Marcia Bardwell, BA 2012, is currently an Adjunct Professor at El Paso Community College and a GA at New Mexico State University.
Krissy Beoka, MA 1999, As the Merchandising Manager for Montessori Services, Krissy scours the country (and in some cases the world) for the perfect items to outfit a Montessori classroom or home. She has worked for Montessori Services for over 11 years. She would worked in a management position for a California company while living in Boise, Idaho. She is now looking forward to serving on the CCAA Board.
Arthur Binder, MA 2012, is currently the Director of the Development and Public Relations department/s at the Doña Ana Community College where he finds donors and foundations to develop scholarships for students.
Krista Black, BA 2006, completed her Master of Science at the University of North Texas in 2008 and is now a Lean Six Sigma Process Improvement Specialist at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Kristi Vollmer Blackburn, MA 1993, completed her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and is currently the Dean of Institutional Effectiveness at Los Angeles Harbor College, July 2011 to Present.
Bobbi Bowen, BA 1998, moved with her family to Chicago in September 2003 and is now Director, Communications and Public Affairs for Argonne National Laboratory at the University of Chicago.
Adil S. Al-Busaidi – Dr. Adil used to work as a Network Engineer before he had started serving the College of Economics and Political Science (Sultan Qaboos University, Oman) as a lecturer and currently as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Adil’s main areas of expertise include research methodologies for social science (Univariate to Multivariate Statistics, Mediation & Moderation, Multilevel Modeling, Item Response Theory, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), Missing Data Analysis, Scale Development and Social Network Analysis. He conducts Data Analysis & Visualization using Statistical Package such as SPSS, R, Mplus, and AMOS. Dr. Adil Received extensive training in the aforementioned Quantitative Methods from Ohio University, University of Kansas, and Texas Tech University (Institute for Measurement, Methodology, Analysis & Policy). Dr. Adil’s current research interests are in the areas of Organizational Behavior, Leadership Communication, Conflict and mediation, and Change Management.
Barbie Breeden, BA 2000, Business owner of Mad Hatter Cupcakes located in Las Vegas, Nevada, 2007 to present.
Stephen Carr, BA 2004, small business owner of Steven Carr and Associates, check out his website at www.stephencarr.net.
Liliana Carreon earned her BA in Communication Studies and Foreign Languages (Concentration in Spanish) and a Minor in Marketing from NMSU. She then went on to earn her MA in Communication Studies from NMSU in 2019. Liliana is now pursuing her PhD at the University of Texas at El Paso and is teaching Communication Studies classes at El Paso Community College.
Jennifer Cervantes, BA, has been Assistant Dean for advancement and alumni relations at New Mexico State University’s College of Health and Social Services. She is responsible for leading development-related activities as well as coordinating and directing alumni relations activities, including annual giving, major and planned gifts, alumni relations, media relations and event coordination.
Tamanda Chabvuta received her BA in English Literature from the University of Malawi. She then went on to earn her MA in Communication Studies from NMSU in 2019. Tamanda holds a passion for the environment, agriculturue, and development issues, and strongly advocates for the attainment of zero hunger. She is a Fellow of the Cornell Alliance for Science and the Leadership for Environment and Sustainable Development for South East Africa (LEAD SEAL). Tamanda is now pursuing her PhD.
Paul Chavez, MA 2012, is currently the A&R Coordinator at Peak’s Behavioral Health Services where he works as part of a team focusing on client mental health. He is also part of Adjunct faculty in El Paso Community College and New Mexico State University where he teaches general studies, human communication, and public speaking amongst others.
Beth Cole, BA 2014, is currently working on her Masters degree in Communication Studies at New Mexico State University. She is an active member of the Communication Studies Graduate Student Association (CSGSA) and works as a graduate teaching assistant.
Alexis Duprey, BA 2013, is currently a graduate student working on her Master’s Degree in Communication Studies at New Mexico State University, her expected graduation date will be May 2015. She is currently one of the departments Communication Studies Teaching Assistants and a Tap Dance Teacher at the Las Cruces School of Dance and Music.
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Ashley Echavarria, MA 2012, works now as an Executive at It Works Global which is a company that offers the world’s first naturally based body contouring line. She is also the Chief Professional Officer at the Boys & Girls Club of Las Cruces.
Anthony Epperson Sr., BA 2013, is currently a graduate student working on his Master’s Degree in Communication Studies at New Mexico State University, his expected graduation date will be May 2016. Aside from being a graduate assistant/student, Anthony is also a High School Coach at Oñate High School and an Officer Candidate of the Army National Guard.
Kay Flowers, MA 2009, is currently an Instructor at New Mexico State University where she instructs students both in online and face-to-face classroom settings. She has taught Principles of Human Communication, Public Speaking, and Developmental English. She is also now the Commander at Awana International where she reaches to children with the Gospel of Christ in a fun and nurturing manner.
Ron Foster, MA 2006, is now an Exploration Geologist for an Iraqi Kurdistan team at Marathon Oil Corporation and is a very proud dad.
Cuyler Frank, MA 2011, is an SR Public and Community Relations Officer at Dine’ College (Formerly Navajo Community College) in Arizona.
Maury Giles, BA 1995, is currently living in Austin, TX with his wife and four children. He is now leading the strategy and vision development arm of a recently global innovation group within Ipsos OTX as the Global Lead of the Strategic Solutions Group.
Amanda Gonulsen, MA 2000, is living large in Denver, CO and is currently the Platform Sales Manager for NICE Systems, Inc.
Annette Granillo, BA 2010, MA 2013, is the Academic Communication Specialist at University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Annaliese Harper, MA 1994, received her Ph.D. from ASU and is a faculty member at Scottsdale Community College. She works in advisement and teaches Intercultural Communication, Interpersonal Communication, and Research Methods.
Carrie Hamblin, MA 1995, is now an Executive Director at the Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce, a nonprofit organization management industry. On her free time she oversees two LBGTW nonprofit organizations: Southern New Mexico PRIDE and PFLAG Las Cruces. She is also back at New Mexico State University and is expected to complete her Masters of Public Administration in 2014.
Cheryl Harkness, MA 2006, is leading a very busy life in at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. She is the Deputy Director, NAF Human REsources at MCAS Iwakuni. She formerly owned/operated a Mobile Nail Care Salon called SAtin Touch, LLC and is the founder of Angel Paints Community Care Program. She has new and exciting projects on the horizon as well. She looks forward to spending time vacationing the world with her husband Terrell.
Terrell Harkness, MA 2006, is living in Deagu, South Korea and is a Management Analyst at the United States Army Medical Materiel Center - Korea. He is responsible for a number of functions for the center and providing for the efficient running of the center. He has taught as an Adjunct Faculty member at Central New Mexico Community College, Rappahannock Community college and the Northern Virginia Communicty College since graduation. He looks forward to vacationing the Pacific with his wife Cheryl.
Audrey (Hardman) Hartley, MA 1987, is currently the Executive Director of Jardin de los Niños here in our very own Las Cruces, NM. Her job responsibilities include managing the organization’s strategic plan, assuring state and federal compliance for Day Care Centers, leading the Leadership Team staff, and many other tasks.
Merj Hemp, MA, has a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from NMSU. Her master’s thesis focused on crisis communication. She recently published a book called “Beyond the Shadow of 3,000 Pairs of Shoes.”
Heather Heyser, MA 2014, is currently the Administrative Assistant at the University of New Mexico in the Albuquerque area. She provides a wide array of registration services to prospective and current students, reviews and analyzes records to help empower prospective students in choosing correct courses, compiles various computerized spreadsheets detailing deposits and their appropriate ledger accounts, and partakes in a variety of other duties.
John Howard, MA 1994, is currently an Instructional Designer at South Dakota State University.
Whitney Hughley, MA 2013, is currently in a position as the Junior Broadcast Engineer (Temp) for Playboy Plus Entertainment where she works as the studio camera and video operator, the video and highlight editor, and the master control operator and associate director in the greater Los Angeles area.
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Michelle Dixon Johns is a seasoned health communicator ath the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) Office on Smoking and Health in the Health Communications Branch. She is in her 15th year and some of her focuses include formative research, product development, health disparities (such as work with American Indian/Alska Native and Hispanic/Latino populations) and coordinated communication campaigns. Currently, her work passion is Tips from Former Smokers, a multi-award winning counter-marketing campaign that encourages people to quit smoking by highlighting the toll that smoking-related illnesses take on smokers and their loved ones (http://www.cdc.gov/tips). Michelle graduated from NMSU in 1997 with a BA in Communication Studies and in 1999, with a MA in Communication Studies (Health Communcation emphasis). She was hired by CDC and moved to Atlanta in 1999, married her husband in 2004, and is now the proud mother of two young children, which makes her particularly passionate about protecting her family from the dangers of tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure.
Anna Kolarikova earned her MA in Communication Studies in 2019 from NMSU and is now an office manager at a Greek college in Boston. Anna loves having the opportunity to work with students and encourages everyone to study abroad.
Genea Kreger, BA 2003, MA 2006, currently a Meetings Manager at The Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa and a Certified Tourism Ambassador.
Mandy Leatherwood, BA 2007, is currently a graduate student working on her Master’s Degree in Business Administration at New Mexico State University, her expected graduation date will be in May 2017. She is currently an active volunteer in the March of Dimes coordinating fundraising events at Memorial Medical Center and has raised over $45,000 in 5 years with this organization. She also volunteers for the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce where she was recently recognized as the Young Professional of the Month in August 2014.
Kelsey Lentzmeier, MA 2010, is the Co-Owner at Blooming Sprout Yoga in Albuquerque.
Kari Logan, BA 1998, oversees memberships for four branches in the San Diego area as the Department Head for Membership at YMCA.
Joyce Liy, BA 2009, MA 2011, is currently an Event Planner/Director at Party Tenders Inc. Recently enrolled at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and expected to graduate in 2017.
Lauren Lopez, MA 2011, is now a Human Resources Specialist at the United States District Court.
Liang (Liang) Ma, MA 2011, is currently attending the Ph.D. program at the University of Maryland, College Park with an expected graduation date of 2015 while working as the Admissions Assistant at the Department of Communication there at the University of Maryland.
Steven Madden, MA 1990, received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern Mississippi and is now an Associate Professor in the Speech and Communication Studies Dept. at Clemson University.
Daisy Maldonado, BA 2006, after receiving a Bachelor’s in Communication Studies Daisy obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Economics by 2012. She now is an Adjunct Faculty member at the Doña Ana Community College and a Guest Teacher within the Las Cruces Public School system.
Anne Mehochko, MA 2000, works for the Home Builders Association of St. Louis, Missouri, as an Assistant Staff Vice President for Government Affairs.
Ellie Moore, MA 2009, is currently a Speech Communication Instructor at Laredo Community College where she teaches Public Speaking and Intro. to Speech Communication. Her current research consists of: “The participation-observation study of intercultural socialization of pedagogy within story-telling praxis” and “Through standpoint feminism we explore dialogue and storytelling that details the experiences of two-college professors through the lens of age, class, spirituality, gender and race.
Rodrigo Rau Mora, BA 2010, has recently received his Doctorates degree in Business Administration and Management at New Mexico State University in 2014.
Elena Moreno, BA 2009, is a bilingual graduate which has been working as the Office Manager at the South Central Solid Waste Authority for 12 years now.
Robin Murphy, BA 1996, has recently obtained a position at The University of Texas at Austin as the Marketing and Communications Manager at the Austin Technology Incubator, IC2 Institute. Robin also currently volunteers for the Human Rights Campaign gala committee in Austin and on the Austin Food and Wine Alliance events committee.
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Rick Nezzer, BA 1983, MA 1993, runs a busy life as the Marketing Director for the Sisbarro Dealerships, the Event Coordinator for the NMSU Aggies Are Tough Enough To Wear Pink committee, and the Marketing Communication Consultant at Rick Nezzer Creative.
Vicki Nisbett, MA 2012, is currently one of the adjunct instructors in NMSU Communication Studies Department teaching human communication courses (i.e. COMM 265) while also an adjunct professor at the Doña Ana Community College teaching human communication and public speaking courses.
Jamie O’Malley, BA 2009, has recently obtained a new position as the Race to the Top Coordinator at the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department in the Santa Fe, New Mexico area.
Corey Purcell, BA 2008, MA 2010, is currently an Instructor at Doña Ana Community College.
Kellene Rees, MA 2005, is now a Senior Learning and Development Consultant at Kaiser Permanente in the Greater Denver Area.
Charles Reyes, MA 2001, is currently teaching Interpersonal Communication, The Art of Public Speaking, Mass Media and Contemporary Culture, and Communicating Queer Identity at Indiana University/Purdue University. Charles has recently received the Sigueme “Follow Me” Lifetime Award- March 24, 2013, Favorite Professor Award by IUPUI student athletes- 2013, and the Favorite Professor Award by Jaguar Forensics Team 2012, 2013.
Maria Roth, BA 1996, is now entering her 12th year as a member of the NMSU athletic staff and her 7th year as the Senior Women Administrator. Throughout the years she has been associated with NMSU Athletics as a student-athlete, an assistant coach, and now as an administrator. Roth was recently named to the NCAA Division I softball committee and was the 2007 and 2008 WAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament director which brought thousands of visitors and dollars to the University and the community.
Marcus H. Royo, BA 2012, is currently working as the Underwriting Marketing Coordinator at KRWG TV/FM using aspects of public relations to establish and maintain communication with viewers, listeners, and underwriters through personal visits, television and radio activities, and other networking events. He is also the Marketing and Planning Committee Member of the Las Cruces International Mariachi Conference. Some of his duties include purchasing media buys on TV, radio, and print as well as running the conference’s social media.
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Cyrus Salazar, BA, serves as the Director of the Early Resolution and Conciliation Division within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. In this capacity, he oversees the USDA alternative dispute resolution (ADR) policy for employment and program cases. Mr. Salazar joined the USDA from the Department of the Air Force where he served as the Air Force Equal Opportunity Program Manager and Deputy Director of Air Force Equal Opportunity. He developed and administered Air Force-wide policy regarding military and civilian requirements for over 300,000 Airmen. See more.
Mario Selle, MA 2014, is currently the (HR Generalist/IT) direct assistant to CEO and President of a female owned, minority employed commercial concrete corporation called Getman Concrete Incorporation at Belton, TX. His typical duties include: technical writing, business representative, certified payroll, excel spreadsheet design, recruitment of new staff/employees, and many more tasks.
Laura Crank Shelton, MA 1997, currently resides in Minneapolis, MN and worked at Carlson Wagonlit Travel.
Jose Solis Jr., MA 2011, is the President/CEO of Renaissance Maven LLC with multiple years of business experience, organizational leadership, and a diverse education. Mr. Solis is in the Special Rapporteur Support Team of United Nations conducting research and drafting in the field of human rights.
Madelyn Stoltze, BA 2013, is currently a graduate student at New Mexico State University pursuing a Masters degree in Communication Studies. She is an active member of the Communication Studies Graduate Student Association (CSGSA) and is also a Teaching Assistant for the Communication Studies Department at NMSU.
Jeremy Taulbee, BA 2004, is the Pre-Health Professions Academic Advisor here at NMSU. As an Academic Advisor he has guided students here at NMSU through career and academic goal setting, navigating program requirements and assisting them in selecting the degree program and courses necessary to achieve these goals.
Joshua Rex Vanderhoof, is currently working on his Masters degree in Communication Studies at New Mexico State University. He is also an International Recruiter for the International & Border Programs at the Center for English Language Programs here on the NMSU campus.
Virginia (Ginny) Van Doren, MA 2013, is currently the Marketing Coordinator of the Cedar Park Center in the areas of Cedar Park and Austin Texas where she assists with promotions for third party events to include social media, e-newsletters, websites, press, and online contests. Along with many other responsibilities she also manages online branding of the venue through social media and website content.
Terra Van Dyke, BA 2001, The Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce has recently named Terra Van Dyke Winter as the Secretary of the Chamber Board of Directors. Previously employed as executive director of the Mesilla Valley Hospice Foundation, she joined the Chamber Board in 2009. Currently, she is also the forms and records advisor for Pi Delta.
Kayla Vigil. Kayla is currently working at a Denver hospital in the PR/Marketing department. She manages their social media, market a few of the medical services and handle the on-call phone which fields media requests.
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Liz Walcher, MA 2001, has pursued her Ph.D. in Organizational Training from the University of New Mexico.
Shawn Werner, MA, is currently the Associate Director of the ADVANCE Teaching Academy at New Mexico State University. She is also the Organizational Development Consultant at Werner Communications where she participates in workshops that incorporate: executive coaching, leadership development, conflict management, dealing with difficult people, and developing and retaining quality employees.
Jess Williams, MA 1997, is now in government administration as the Director of Public Information/Special Projects at Doña Ana County.
Rob Winson, MA 1994, is currently the LTD Claims Manager at Disability RMS.
Caroline Zamora, MA 2013, is currently the Public Relations Coordinator at Aprendamos Intervention Team where she handles all community relations for Aprendamos, Esperanza Children’s Therapy, Mariposa Autism Service Center, and Alegria Family Counseling. She is also currently a Board Member for the Hearts for Autism Fund, the March of Dimes New Mexico Chapter Mission Committee, and the NMSU Wesley Foundation.
