Mr. Nezzie will be responsible for a multi-year grantmaking portfolio averaging $1 million per year

SANTA FE — August 4, 2021 — Thornburg Foundation, a family foundation that makes grants in the areas of good government reform, early childhood education, agriculture reform, water policy and community funding, today announced Dave Nezzie has joined the organization to lead the strategic initiative focused on food and agriculture policy.

In this role, Mr. Nezzie will focus on the advancement of policy reforms, planning efforts, research, and other work to modernize food and agriculture in New Mexico. Mr. Nezzie will lead the ongoing adaptation and implementation of the Foundation’s strategic plan and be responsible for developing and managing a multi-year grantmaking portfolio averaging $1 million per year.

In response to the major issues identified as challenges to the agriculture sector, the food and agriculture initiative supports improved health for New Mexico’s rangelands and farmland to support the environment and future farming and ranching generations, advances alignment among key stakeholders to develop policies, laws and programs that champion local food systems, and increases long-term viability of farmers and ranchers producing food for local markets.

“We are delighted to have Dave leading our food and agriculture policy initiative,” said Mr. Oliver. “His unique experience on the federal level, working with state and tribal government on agriculture policy will be invaluable to the Foundation’s goal of supporting local ranchers and farmers and advancing practices for a resilient agricultural sector.”

Mr. Nezzie most recently served as a field representative for U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, focusing on food and agriculture work in Northern New Mexico and co-leading the office’s response to Covid-19 in Tribal Communities. In that position, he also worked on the 2018 Farm Bill and Agriculture Resilience Act authored by Sen. Heinrich.

“Food and agriculture systems can be both robust and resilient with diverse and effective solutions,” said Mr. Nezzie. “I am honored to do this important work on behalf of the Thornburg Foundation that benefits New Mexico’s farmers, ranchers and consumers.”

Mr. Nezzie has a JD from the University of New Mexico and is completing a Master of Laws in Agriculture and Food Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law. He worked in the Office of the Solicitor at the U.S. Department of Interior as a legal intern working on NEPA, ESA and Indian Land Consolidation.

About Thornburg Foundation
Thornburg Foundation is a family foundation that makes grants in the areas of good government reform, early childhood education, agriculture reform, water policy and community funding. We work to catalyze high-impact outcomes using evidence to understand and solve systemic problems, engage stakeholders to drive policy reform, and create meaningful and lasting change.

Thornburg Foundation was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico. For more information: www.thornburgfoundation.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 12, 2021

Patrick McCarthy joins Thornburg Foundation as Water Policy Officer

SANTA FE, NM — Today, the Thornburg Foundation announced Patrick McCarthy will lead the Foundation’s new strategic initiative focused on water policy and management.

New Mexico has seen growing stresses on water security due to ongoing drought, outmoded infrastructure and policies, and longstanding inequities in access to clean and abundant water. Federal, state and tribal leaders, philanthropy, and the non-profit sector  share a deep concern for the state’s water future.  To address the threat of water scarcity to families and farmers across the state, the Thornburg Foundation added a fourth initiative focused on water. 

“Our new Water Initiative will be in great hands with Patrick”, said Allan Oliver, Executive Director of Thornburg Foundation. “His extensive on-the-ground experience designing and implementing numerous collaborative water management efforts and his long-term partnerships with stakeholders and communities will be critical to our strategy of supporting smart collaborative policy.” 

In this role, Patrick will focus on the advancement of policy reforms, planning efforts, research, and other work to modernize and transform water management in New Mexico, including supporting native-led efforts to address Tribal and Pueblo water needs across the state.

“I am inspired to be working on this Water Initiative”, stated Patrick McCarthy, the Foundation’s Water Policy Officer. “I’ve worked for the past 25 years on water management across the Southwest, and I’m proud to bring that experience to bear on policy reform in New Mexico.”

In the near term, Patrick will lead the development and establishment of the Foundation’s strategic plan for the Water Initiative. He will then be responsible for developing and managing a multi-year grantmaking portfolio consistent with the strategic plan.

“Patrick has been a valuable thought partner for our work on water resilience,” said Daryl Vigil, Jicarilla Apache Nation water administrator and co-director of the Colorado River Basin Water & Tribes Initiative. “New Mexico’s communities have already benefited from his work, and I’m excited that he’ll be leading this new water policy initiative.”

The Foundation makes $1m in grants each year into each of its four strategic initiative areas of good government, early childhood education, food and agriculture and water.

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Thornburg Foundation is a family foundation that makes grants in the areas of good government reform, early childhood education, agriculture reform and community funding.  We work to catalyze high impact outcomes using evidence to understand and solve systemic problems, engage stakeholders to drive policy reform, and create meaningful and lasting change in New Mexico. Thornburg Foundation was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

To view the biographies of the Thornburg Foundation team, visit www.thornburgfoundation.org/about-us/staff/.

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Sixty-two years later, residents of Los Ranchos, located in Albuquerque’s North Valley, are expanding that vision by establishing their community as a center for urban agriculture.

Mayor Donald T. Lopez, an engineering graduate of New Mexico State University, turned to his alma mater for help forming collaborative action plans to move Los Ranchos urban agriculture to the next level of sustainable performance.

“I approached Chancellor Dan Arvizu to see what resources NMSU had to help us,” Lopez said. “A year later, we are well on our way with the Aligning Our AgriFuture project.”

Funded by a Thornburg Foundation grant, NMSU’s Engineering New Mexico Resource Network worked with Los Ranchos leadership and NMSU’s College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences to build the project.

Using Strategic Doing, an agile collaboration process, the project team held six meetings during 2019 and early 2020 to bring together dozens of participants to network and brainstorm ways to transform the village’s Larry P. Abraham Agri-Nature Center into the destination hub for onsite community connections and agricultural education, as well as ways to strengthen agricultural production across perceived boundaries.

Those involved in the sessions consist of Los Ranchos and Albuquerque metro-area community members, small-scale growers and producers, state and local government, K-12 school and enrichment programs, subject matter experts, non-profits, agriculture-related businesses and others.

“The core of the project is to build connections and leverage networks among people in agriculture so they might combine their efforts for mutual benefit,” said project facilitator Lauren Goldstein, an organizational development specialist at NMSU. “Rather than creating new projects, through collaboration, they are aligning their projects to create new opportunities.”Fergus Whitney, agricultural program manager for the village, said the key to the process is “building confidence and trust among people who represent parts of the ecosystem. As that trust evolves, many great ideas surface.”

Six working groups were developed in alignment with Los Ranchos’ master plan. Those areas are education and youth, next generation, farming resiliency, agri-tourism, crops and orchards, and community connections.

 “Each group was asked to imagine, if they aligned their assets and strengthened their networks, what could they do to reach their group’s goal,” Goldstein said. “Some amazing collaborations evolved from each of the groups.”

A wide variety of projects began to form.

The education and youth group organized a conference for public school teachers to support education about horticulture and where food comes from through school gardens. More than 150 teachers had registered for the two-day program before the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizers to change direction.

“Not having the conference was disappointing, but it evolved into Virtual Binder, a distance learning project,” said Kateri Sava, Albuquerque Public Schools’ coordinator of school garden programs. “Using the platform Alive Binder, we were able to upload all of the resource material online. As teachers transitioned to virtual learning for their students, it provided an accessible gardening archive.”

Working with Whitney at the Agri-Nature Center, John Garlisch, NMSU’s Cooperative Extension Service horticulture agent in Bernalillo County, has established a series of workshops to educate gardeners and small-acreage farmers.

A series on growing wine grapes is also being offered by Gill Giese, NMSU Extension viticulture specialist.

Another project is a soil improvement program led by Isabelle Jenniches and Christina Allday-Bondy of the New Mexico Soil Initiative.

The village’s Agri-Nature Center and the Rio Grande Community Farm, located near the agri-nature center, are now networking on several projects.

“Because of the trust that we have developed through Strategic Doing, we are creating the framework for equipment sharing,” Whitney said. “This form of agreement could be used elsewhere to share equipment.”

Los Ranchos has a well-established growers’ market and lavender festival. The agri-tourism group brainstormed on other possible events that could draw people to the village.

“We quickly agreed that the Los Ranchos area’s unique agricultural and cultural traditions are little known outside of Albuquerque,” Whitney said. “Our research prompted us to consider a variety of opportunities that include collaborating with Corrales to start joint events to educate visitors on traditional and sustainable farming practices, also to create branding and marketing material to appeal to a variety of visitors.”

The crop and orchards group serves as an interconnection between producers. A seed-sharing program has grown from those connections.

An energy efficiency and pollution prevention evaluation for Steel Bender Brewyard evolved from meeting networking.

Chris Campbell and Jalal Rastegary, project managers with the Engineering New Mexico Resource Network, housed in NMSU College of Engineering, conducted the no-cost, two-day evaluation, which was funded by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant.

In March, Aligning Our AgriFuture moved online and capitalized on its strengthened collaborative networks to accommodate COVID-19 related shifts.

A seventh working group, “ag-triage,” formed in March by dedicated project participants, quickly evaluated – and continues to organize – response to emerging community agricultural needs in the wake of COVID-19.

The ripple effects of the project continue to grow.

“One exciting outcome of this year has been the involvement of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and the Village of Corrales as collaborators,” said Goldstein. “Each of these organizations see a value in exploring the process and potentially scaling the Aligning Our AgriFuture model to their organizations.”

To get involved or to learn more about Aligning Our AgriFuture, contact Fergus Whitney at 505-344-6582.

Written by:Jane MoormanNew Mexico State University 

Jane Moorman writes for New Mexico State University Marketing and Communications and can be reached at 505-249-0527, or by email at jmoorman@nmsu.edu.

Click here for original article

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— 2020 has been a banner year for ranked-choice voting.

— Several Democratic primary and caucus contests used the system, which asks voters to rank their choice and forces winners to achieve majority support, albeit through votes from those who did not pick them first on their ballot.

— Democrats seem more open to ranked-choice voting than Republicans.

The proliferation of ranked-choice voting

With everything else that’s going on, you may not have noticed, but 2020 has been something of a landmark year for ranked-choice voting — the system that allows voters to rank their favored candidates in descending order, with their vote re-allocated to their next choice if their top choice is eliminated.

The system was used for the first time, seemingly without a hitch, in four Democratic presidential nominating contests: Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, and Wyoming. It was also used for early voting in the Nevada caucuses.

RCV, as it is known, is now used widely in Maine. Currently, ranked-choice voting is used in U.S. House and Senate races and in gubernatorial primaries, but not in races for the state legislature or the general election for governor. It’s slated to be used for the state’s upcoming voting in the 2020 presidential election, though in June, the state GOP submitted more signatures than required to set a referendum in November that would keep ranked-choice voting from being used in this year’s presidential contest.

Both the Utah Democratic and Republican Parties used ranked-choice voting for their conventions this year, while five states — Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina — use it for military and overseas voters.

Meanwhile, since 2018, such cities as Las Cruces, NM, have joined others that had earlier implemented ranked-choice voting, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN, and San Francisco and Oakland, CA. Starting in 2021, it will be used in New York City, and earlier this year, Virginia enacted a law that enables cities to use it.

With ranked-choice voting gaining momentum, we thought it would be a good time to take a closer look at how it works and what its spread might mean for the political landscape.

How does ranked-choice voting work?

Generally speaking, if no candidate wins 50% of the first-round votes in a ranked-choice election, the candidate with the smallest number of votes is eliminated and their backers’ votes are reallocated to the next-highest choice. This process continues until one candidate’s votes exceed 50% of those cast.

The benefits of ranked-choice voting are clear. In a three-way race, there’s a chance that a candidate can win with as little as 34% support, leaving a solid majority of voters dissatisfied. Ranked-choice voting, by contrast, ensures that a more broadly popular candidate wins.

RCV also allows voters to vote for third- or fourth-party candidates without endangering the prospects of the major-party candidate they favor as a backup. This potentially helps both third-party candidates (by imposing less of a penalty on voters who would prefer to vote for them) and major-party candidates (who don’t have to worry as much about losing due to a “spoiler” candidacy).

That doesn’t mean that RCV lacks downsides. One is that voters need to be educated about the process. Another is that voting machines need to be reconfigured, one of several factors that could potentially add to the cost of holding elections.

Heavily vote-by-mail states, such as California, pose specific challenges, said Marcia Godwin, a professor of public administration at the University of La Verne.

“There are more problems with using RCV on vote-by-mail ballots compared to electronic voting systems,” Godwin said. “If you vote on a touch screen system, you can be prompted if you don’t rank a ballot correctly. Then, only a correct ballot gets submitted and printed out. At home, you are more likely to make a mistake and have your ballot voided.”

Ranked-choice voting can get especially complicated when the system attracts large numbers of candidates. In a 2013 mayoral race, for instance, Minneapolis saw some 30 candidates run in an RCV election.

Ranked-choice voting is also vulnerable to party meddling, although regular voting systems are too.

Jim Fossel, a critic of Maine’s ranked-choice voting law, wrote in 2018 that “in the past, the two major parties either ignored minor candidates or did their best to squash them like a bug. Now they might assist them in the hope that they’ll be able to drag their candidates across the finish line by bringing out people to the polls who haven’t been inspired by their nominee. Ranked-choice voting could end up encouraging a proliferation of narrowly focused or single-issue candidates who run to draw attention to their particular cause, rather than really being in it to win it.”

How well have voters adapted to the system where it’s been tried?

When we asked political observers in areas with ranked-choice voting how well the system has been operating, they said it’s generally been welcomed by voters.

When the system was initially used in the Twin Cities, “there was some confusion,” said Hamline University political science and law professor David Schultz, who has studied the system’s implementation. “But since then, the city and the voters have adapted to RCV and largely seem to like it as an option. The initial confusion was related to the need for better voter education and ballot counting issues that have largely been resolved.”

In New Mexico, where RCV was used in Santa Fe in 2018 and Las Cruces in 2019, “the indicators are positive,” said Fred Nathan Jr., the founder and executive director of Think New Mexico, a think tank based in Santa Fe. “In both communities, government and philanthropy partnered to provide extensive voter education about the new voting system, including door-to-door canvassing, ad campaigns, mailers and many public meetings,” Nathan said.

The initial public acceptance of RCV was more widespread in Santa Fe, Nathan said, probably because the community had passed it by ballot measure and needed to mount a years-long court battle to implement it, making the concept more familiar to voters. Exit polling conducted on Election Day showed that 94% of respondents were satisfied with their voting experience, Nathan said.

Las Cruces, the state’s second-largest city, had a bumpier roll-out, Nathan said. Its city council voted in 2018 to deploy RCV for the 2019 municipal election, meaning that the time to educate voters was shorter. In addition, 10 candidates were running for mayor.

“Initially, voters and candidates were skeptical,” Nathan said. “A lot of public education was required, including editorials, community presentations, and a televised town hall to answer voters’ questions.” Ultimately, 85 percent of exit poll respondents said they understood RCV, although only a small majority of respondents — 53% — said they would support the future use of RCV.

Meanwhile, in 2019, the city council in New Mexico’s largest city, Albuquerque, voted down a shift to RCV.

Maine has also faced some turbulence implementing RCV, though voters seem to be warming to the process.

After RCV was approved by Maine voters in a 2016 ballot measure, it faced constitutional challenges. Multiple inconsistencies within the language necessitated involvement by both chambers of the legislature, the secretary of state, the supreme judicial court, and the voters.

A 2018 Bangor Daily News exit poll found that 53% of respondents wanted RCV expanded, another 7.5% wanted it kept in place for the races it’s currently used for, and only 39% wanted to end the practice.

“I think Maine voters have adapted fairly well,” said University of Maine political scientist Mark Brewer. “One of my concerns was that there would be a fair amount of confusion, but that has not happened. Maine has a pretty high level of civic engagement, so that likely helped.”

The partisan division was stark, however: About 81% of Democrats wanted to expand RCV, while 72% of Republicans wanted to stop it entirely.

That likely stems from Republicans seeing RCV as a reaction to the 2010 victory by Republican Paul LePage, in which he got just 38% of the vote in a race with three major candidates. LePage won reelection in 2014, but with only 48% of the vote. Intensifying Republican frustration was the 2018 loss by GOP Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R) after Poliquin had finished atop the field in first-place votes with 46.3 percent, to 45.6 percent for Democrat Jared Golden.

As for states that hosted RCV presidential primaries in 2020, political observers said the systems worked well there, despite the states’ lack of experience using RCV in prior elections.

In Alaska, which switched the Democratic nominating contest from a caucus to a primary this year, participation roughly doubled, without significant confusion about the ranked-choice voting system, observers said.

Ranked-choice voting “appealed strongly to the younger party members, who are increasingly filling leadership positions,” said University of Alaska political scientist Gerald McBeath. “They are more likely to use Facebook and other social media. For them, RCV is a good way to choose a candidate who will have broad appeal.”

In Kansas, which shifted its primary to all-mail due to the coronavirus pandemic, the election went “pretty flawlessly,” said Bob Beatty, a Washburn University political scientist. “There seemed to be no confusion at all regarding RCV, and the people I observed marking their ballots enjoyed it.”

Meanwhile, in Nevada, organizers of the Democratic caucuses for the first time harnessed RCV for early voting. Doing so enabled early voters to participate in much the same way as those taking part in the same-day, in-person caucuses. Under the caucus system, supporters of candidates who fail to meet viability thresholds are allowed to realign to stronger candidates, much as ranked votes under RCV are reallocated.

Nevada saw improved turnout for its caucuses compared to 2016, and observers credited that to the addition of early voting. In its post-mortem of the caucuses, Vox.com called ranked-choice voting one of the “winners” of the caucuses.

What have the results shown?

The outcome of the Golden-Poliquin race, with a switch between the first-round winner and the ultimate victor, is unusual among recent contests.

In Alaska’s Democratic primary, the voting went eight rounds. In the first round, Joe Biden secured 49.9%, with Bernie Sanders at 39.3%. After all votes were reallocated, Biden defeated Sanders, 55.3%-44.7%.

In Hawaii’s primary, where the voting went 10 rounds, Biden led Sanders 56% to 31% after the first round and ultimately defeated Sanders, 63% to 37%.

In Kansas’ primary, the voting went only four rounds. Biden took the first round over Sanders, 70% to 18%, with Biden winning the fourth and final round, 77% to 23%.

And in Wyoming’s caucus, where the voting went eight rounds, Biden was leading Sanders 66% to 24% and ultimately defeated him, 72% to 28%.

It’s hard to tell whether the existence of RCV has changed the strategy and tactics of campaigning, experts say.

In the Twin Cities, Schultz said, “it has changed strategy in terms of making it less likely that candidates will attack one another, for fear that negative attacks will alienate voters whom the candidate may want to list them as a second choice. There is evidence, although not conclusive, of increased candidate civility.”

Nathan of Think New Mexico said that “anecdotally, voters and election observers report that candidates are more policy-focused and less adversarial in an RCV election than a traditional one.”

What are the prospects for RCV spreading elsewhere?

Ranked-choice voting will likely see additional gains, but it probably isn’t going to be adopted everywhere, experts say.

“I think the system fits well in Maine because of the highly participatory political culture we have and would not be as popular elsewhere,” said University of Maine political scientist Kenneth Palmer. “Maine has long been willing to experiment with governmental processes that differ from those of many or most other states.”

Republican doubts about the results of the Maine congressional race are likely to be amplified by the generalized questioning of election reforms by President Donald Trump.

In Minnesota, for instance, “there seems to be a partisan divide, with the GOP opposed to ranked-choice voting,” said Carleton College political scientist Steven Schier. “That makes statewide adoption unlikely as long as Republicans control the state Senate.”

RCV has tended to sprout in bluer, more urban enclaves. In California, for instance, “RCV has been a slowly diffusing, mostly Bay Area phenomenon, so far,” Godwin said.

Ranked-choice voting, Schultz added, “has mostly been implemented in the more liberal enclaves where there is a high degree of political consensus on values and issues. What is left to be seen is how well it works in more politically diverse or contested races.”

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By Louis JacobsonIn: 2020 House, 2020 President, 2020 Senate

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Private contributions for the fund will be matched by federal grants at a rate of up to $3 for every dollar donated. That means the Thornburg Foundation’s $250,000 gift could result in up to $1 million in aid.

Established by the state Department of Finance and Administration and the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the NM COVID-19 Emergency Match Fund allows the state government to seek reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for its 3-to-1 match of private donations.

“This fund is very unique in the grant world,” said Allan Oliver, executive director of the Thornburg Foundation.

In the past, the Santa Fe-based foundation has invested in health, education and community resources such as homeless shelters, with a focus on boosting food security, Oliver said.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the foundation also has engaged in relief work, providing grants to The Food Depot, shelters and community clinics, including La Familia Medical Center.

It also has been working directly with the Native American Relief Fund and the New Mexico Farmers’ Marketing Association, Oliver said.

As soon as the Thornburg Foundation found out about Lujan Grisham’s plan to launch the FEMA-supported fund, it quickly got involved, he said. “We really wanted to step up in a way that feels significant,” Oliver said.

This latest contribution brings the Thornburg Foundation’s total amount of pandemic-related aid to nearly $940,000.

Oliver said the aid is especially necessary in the Native community, which has been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Many Native communities are still under lockdown, making food access increasingly difficult — something The Food Depot has been working to remedy.

“The additional funding from the NM COVID-19 Emergency Match Fund will guarantee that we can continue to deliver millions of meals to families in crisis,” said Sherry Hooper, executive director of The Food Depot.

Oliver said he is confident the governor’s new fund will be used to make a difference. But, he added, more help is needed.

“Even as the state begins to reopen, New Mexico’s COVID-19 health crisis and the resulting food emergency are real and ongoing. We urge other donors to join us in this fight,” Oliver said.

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By Hannah Laga Abram hlagaabram@sfnewmexican.com

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SANTA FE — June 30, 2020 — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham today announced the launch of a Federal Emergency Management Administration matching fund to fight hunger and provide health services in areas hit hardest by Covid-19.

The NM COVID-19 Emergency Match Fund will allow private contributions to be matched by federal grants at a rate of up to $3 for every dollar contributed. The Thornburg Foundation, a New Mexico-based family foundation, announced a $250,000 grant to kickstart the launch. The grant will be matched by up to $750,000 of state funding, an amount that will later be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Administration. In total, this will result in up to $1 million for New Mexico communities still reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“While New Mexicans are taking tough measures to flatten the Covid-19 curve, many tribes and pueblos have been disproportionally impacted by high numbers of cases,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham. “With shelter-in-place orders still in effect in hard-hit areas, these residents have limited access to food and healthcare. In addition to consistent state support from the beginning of this crisis, the NM COVID-19 Emergency Match Fund will allow us to ensure that private donors can help more New Mexicans secure adequate food and proper protection.”

The matching fund, established by the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration and the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, allows the state government to seek reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Administration for emergency expenses at a rate of 75 percent. The state of New Mexico has also established agreements with emergency food providers, such as Food Depot and Roadrunner Food Bank, to help efficiently procure and deliver procure emergency food for communities in need.

“Covid-19 has intensified the hunger crisis in our communities where so many people are
economically vulnerable,” said The Food Depot Executive Director Sherry Hooper. “Limited
access and a higher cost of food means that more New Mexicans—especially children—go to bed hungry. The additional funding from the NM COVID-19 Emergency Match Fund will guarantee that we can continue to deliver millions of meals to families in crisis.”

As of June 12, state agencies have provided more than 11 million meals to children and youth; 1,788,665 grab and go and home delivered meals to seniors; and more than 1.9 million pounds of food to New Mexico communities most in need since the start of the pandemic.

“We strongly support Gov. Lujan Grisham’s decision to open the matching fund, which triples our impact and provides new and vital resources to communities—especially Native communities—facing a high incidence of Covid-19,” said Thornburg Foundation Executive Director Allan Oliver. “Even as the state begins to reopen, New Mexico’s Covid-19 health crisis and the resulting food emergency are real and ongoing. We urge other donors to join us in this fight.”

The emergency response to food security has been a coordination between the New Mexico Governor’s Office, the state’s Emergency Operations Center, the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, along with multiple state agencies, tribal governments, the United States Department of Agriculture, and in partnership with local nonprofits such as Food Depot and Roadrunner Food Bank. The New Mexico National Guard has been making food deliveries.

For more information about making a contribution to the NM COVID-19 Emergency Match Fund, please contact Danielle Gonzales at the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management at Danielle.Gonzales2@state.nm.us.

About Thornburg Foundation

Thornburg Foundation is a family foundation that makes grants in the areas of good government reform, early childhood education, agriculture reform and community funding. We work to catalyze high-impact outcomes using evidence to understand and solve systemic problems, engage stakeholders to drive policy reform, and create meaningful and lasting change. Thornburg Foundation was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico. For more information: www.thornburgfoundation.org

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“No two individuals were more critical to identifying the need for this new department and building a broad coalition of stakeholders in favor of it than Michael Weinberg of the Thornburg Foundation and Katherine Freeman of the United Way of Santa Fe County,” said Dr. Paul Roth, Former Chairman and Board member of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce.  “They are consensus builders, and like us, they want results for our kids.  They want every child to be prepared to enter kindergarten, ready to learn… safe… and healthy.”

“The groundwork to develop the policy concept of the Early Childhood Education and Care Department and the extensive community outreach and policy advancement, were an enormous effort led by both Michael and Katherine.  We are delighted to see them recognized for their roles in helping advance the concept of the department and educating the public on the need to provide better coordination of early childhood services,” said Allan Oliver, Executive Director of the Thornburg Foundation.

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But there’s nothing like reaching the top of your home country and continent.

Read full article on the Albuquerque Journal

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Read full article on the Santa Fe New Mexican

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Opening in August, the prekindergarten center ultimately will serve 200 children, ages 3 to 5, providing year-round access to early childhood education. The center will focus on early literacy with a dual-language approach.

“Thornburg Foundation’s support is a major milestone as we work to close the gap of our $5 million goal at Kaune,” said United Way President and CEO Katherine Freeman. “Their support of children and families in the community is significant.”

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