My journey to learn public history began with the March, 2014 Albuquerque Police Department shooting and killing of James Boyd, a “Homeless camper” who had been identified by nearby housed individuals as transient, potentially dangerous, and in need of assistance.…
Kit Elliott graduated from New Mexico State University class of 1962, earned English, Spanish, and Secondary Education degrees, and became an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) instructor through Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Central New Mexico Community College. Born and raised in the…
Julie Boxer grew up hiking the forests of Washington state, a colder, rainier, Pacific northwest ocean climate compared to the Chihuahuan Desert which surrounds the City of Las Cruces. Boxer became an outdoors skills trainer with The Mountaineers, a Master…
Nicole Martinez grew up in California and Oregon, studied Sociology at Brigham Young University, and, after working for Utah’s child protective services, earned Social Work and Sociology masters’ degrees from Western New Mexico University and New Mexico State University. In…
Gabriel Anaya was born and raised in Moriarty, New Mexico. In high school, Anaya worked at a family restaurant on the famous US Route 66 and developed a love for cooking from the simplicity of recipes. An early alumni of…
Gabe Martinez grew up in the agricultural “Bread basket” of California’s San Joaquin valley. A veteran of the United States Air Force who, following “Retirement,” also served with the United States Air Coastal Guard, Martinez has helped people during times…
Karen Currier studied Commercial Art in Dayton, Ohio, traveled to New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina; and, before settling in Las Cruces in the 1980s, lived on a kibbutz in Israel to learn Hebrew. An artist, Currier became fascinated with lapidary,…
Jack Turney grew up in Lexington, Kentucky and La Habra Heights, California. In addition to food delivery with Meals on Wheels, Turney volunteered alongside family members during community Thanksgiving events, cooked with Saint Joseph’s kitchen to provide “Dinner in the…
Yoli Silva helped New Mexico’s children as a Las Cruces Public Schools (Title 1– Education for the Disadvantaged) Social Worker for over twenty-seven years, including twelve years as Project Link Homeless Education liaison to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Silva…
Pamela Angell grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut. With a Professional Writing degree from University of New Mexico, Angell wrote for a small newspaper in Grants, New Mexico, later relocating to work as a reporter for the Las Cruces Sun News…
Dr. Nancy McMillan grew up in Las Alamos, New Mexico, an area known as a “Glow in the Dark” scientific community because of its history with radioactive elements and nuclear materials’ production. A youth member of Los Alamos Geological Society…
James Sassak was born in Pontiac, Michigan, moved to Las Cruces in 1986, and later attended college in Orlando, Florida. Sassak returned to Las Cruces after a 2011 winter storm known as the “Deep Freeze” threatened health conditions for both…
Audrey Hardman-Hartley was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, raised in El Paso, Texas and Hilo, Hawaii, and returned to Las Cruces to attend New Mexico State University. Twenty six years after completing a master’s degree, and following a career…
Randy Harris was born on Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington, studied history, social science, and communication, and worked in agriculture, media, energy conservation, and entrepreneurial creativity. In 2010, Harris engaged Las Cruces citizens to participate in a series…
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