Who can serve on the JPEC?

Name:

Felix Briones, Jr.

Title:

Chair

City:

Farmington

Appointed to JPEC:

JPEC Member since 1997

Biography:

Felix Briones, Jr., has been in private law practice in Farmington since 1959. He is also secretary of the board of directors of Four Corners Community Bank and is vice chair of the Farmington Public Utility Commission.

Briones is an active community volunteer. He has served on the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority Board, the UNM Foundation Board, and the San Juan Community College Foundation Board. In 1997, he received the UNM School of Law Distinguished Achievement Award. In 2001, he received the State Bar Association of New Mexico Professionalism Award.

Briones earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of New Mexico in 1956, and a juris doctor degree from UNM Law School in 1957. From 1957-1959, he served in the U.S. Air Force’s Staff Judge Advocate’s Office at Amarillo Air Force Base, Texas.

Name:

Gene E. Franchini

Title:

Vice Chair

City:

Albuquerque

Appointed to JPEC:

JPEC Member since 2007

Biography:

Gene Franchini is a retired Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court who served on the Court from 1990 to 2002. He also served as a district court judge in the Second Judicial District for six years. He was in private legal practice for 24 years and has been a member of the State Bar of New Mexico for 48 years. He currently provides arbitration, mediation and counseling through his own consulting firm, Dispute Resolutions, P.A.

He is a member of the New Mexico Bar Association, the Albuquerque Bar Association, the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association, and the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has been involved in the High School Mock Trial competition in New Mexico for more than 20 years, serving as a scoring or presiding judge in the National Finals and National Championship Round for 14 years.

Franchini earned his LLM (Master of Laws) degree from the University of Virginia, his Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University and his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of New Mexico.

Name:

Richard L. Alvidrez

City:

Albuquerque

Appointed to JPEC:

JPEC Member since 1999

Biography:

Richard L. Alvidrez is a shareholder and director with the Albuquerque office of Miller Stratvert P.A. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1980 from Texas A&M University-Commerce, and a Juris Doctor degree from the Southern Methodist University School of Law in Dallas, Texas in 1983.

Alvidrez served as chairman of the board of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce from 2000-2001. He was president of the New Mexico Young Lawyer’s Division of the State Bar of New Mexico and was recognized as the Outstanding Young Lawyer by the New Mexico Bar Foundation in 1993.

Alvidrez served as the district representative for New Mexico and Arizona for the Young Lawyer’s Division of the American Bar Association and as Law Practice Notes Editor of the American Bar Association’s Barrister Magazine. He presently serves on the boards of several community and professional organizations.

Name:

Barbara Castillo Velarde

City:

Raton

Appointed to JPEC:

JPEC member since 2007

Biography:

Barbara Castillo-Velarde retired in 2007 after completing more than 31 years in county government. She served as Colfax County Clerk for 16 years, Chief Deputy County Clerk for 10 years, Deputy Assessor for three years and Deputy Clerk for more than two years.

Castillo-Velarde was the first Hispanic woman in New Mexico elected as president of the New Mexico Association of Counties and served on the organization’s board of directors for 10 years. She is listed in the Two Thousand Notable Women, Sixth Edition and in the World Who’s Who of Women, 13th edition, 1995-1996.

She has volunteered as a teacher with the confirmation class at Patick’s/St.Joseph’s Church and is a former ward secretary and former secretary for various county political organizations.

Currently, Castillo Velarde is a volunteer at the Miners Colfax Medical Center Hospital Auxiliary, the St. Vincent De Paul Food Pantry and the St. Patrick’s/St. Joseph’s Second Grade Catechism Education Program.

Name:

Avilio Chavez

City:

Los Lunas

Appointed to JPEC:

JPEC member since 2007

Biography:

A New Mexico native born in Belen and raised in Los Lunas, Avilio Chavez currently teaches in the Los Lunas schools and is the owner and operator of a small business.

He has been teaching for 23 years, and coached football and track for 19 years, including serving as head football coach at Belen High School and Los Lunas High School for a total of 10 years. His most recent coaching assignment was head coach of the 2003 South All-Star Football team.

After graduating from Los Lunas High School, Chavez volunteered to join the U.S. Marine Corps. He spent most of his enlistment at Quantico, Virginia, and received a meritorious promotion for outstanding performance.

After fulfilling his military obligation, Chavez attended New Mexico Highlands University on an athletic scholarship, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in education.

In addition to continuing his career in education and owning a business, Chavez is involved in a number of community organizations.

Name:

Phyllis A. Dominguez

City:

Corrales

Appointed to JPEC:

JPEC member since 2007

Biography:

Phyllis Dominguez is a prosecuting attorney in the felony domestic violence division for the Second Judicial District in Albuquerque. Her previous experience includes positions as a guardian ad litem for Advocacy, Inc., working for the New Mexico Corrections Department, and teaching in the Albuquerque and Grants/Cibola public school systems.

She is a previous chair of the Mt. Taylor Jr. Quadrathlon Committee and the Character Counts! Program in Grants, New Mexico. She also served on the Excellence in Education Committee while in Grants, and was a member of the International Reading Association.

Dominguez received her Bachelor of Science in Education degree and her law degree from the University of New Mexico.

Name:

Leonila Durán Serna

City:

Taos

Appointed to JPEC:

JPEC member since 2007

Biography:

Leonila Durán Serna, a native of Taos, New Mexico, earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from New Mexico Highlands University. Her post-graduate studies have taken her to the University of Madrid, the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, the University of Kansas, the University of Texas, and the University of New Mexico.

During her career in education, she has held various positions. She has taught students from kindergarten to the university level. She began her early career in administration as a Ford Foundation Fellow. As the Director of Bilingual Education, she received the Joseph Montoya Award. For seven of the 15 years that she worked as an educational leader, she held the position of Superintendent. Currently she is the Reading Coach and Language Therapist for the Taos Day School.

Durán Serna has been an active member of the National Dyslexia Association, the American Association of School Administrators, the Southwest Educational Development Lab (where she served as Chairman of the Board), and the International Reading Association. She has also served in several local civic organizations.

Name:

Joseph E. Gant III

City:

Carlsbad

Appointed to JPEC:

JPEC Member since 1999

Biography:

Joe E. Gant III has been in private law practice in Carlsbad since 1974, focusing on civil and criminal trial law. Previously, he served as an Assistant District Attorney, then worked for a private firm in Gallup before opening his own practice.

Gant earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics (double minor in English and American Studies) from the University of New Mexico in 1965. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the UNM School of Law in 1968 and served as a law clerk on the Court of Appeals to Judge Joe Wood from 1968-1969.

Gant belongs to numerous professional and community organizations, and serves as executive board member and vice president for finance for the Conquistador Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Name:

Lori Hartley

City:

Texico

Appointed to JPEC:

JPEC Member since 2006

Biography:

Lori Hartley has lived in southeastern New Mexico for more than a quarter century with her husband, Tom. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interior Design from Texas State Technical Institute (now part of the Texas State Technical College network). She pursued a different area of interest at Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU) in Portales, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis in coaching. While attending ENMU, she was in Epsilon Mu Beta, an academic honor organization.

Hartley was selected outstanding physical education female student of the year during her final year in college. While in high school, she coached Little Dribblers, assisted with community basketball camps, played on her high school’s team and made the All-District team for three years. She has continued her interest in basketball, coaching several Amateur Athletic Union teams in Clovis. Hartley has served on the board of directors of the United Way and was chosen United Way Volunteer of the Year in 1997. She is also a member of Beta Sigma Phi, a service sorority, and was previously named their woman of the year. In addition, she is a member of the Central Baptist Church in Clovis.

Name:

Eluid L. Martinez

City:

Santa Fe

Appointed to JPEC:

JPEC Member since 2001

Biography:

Eluid L. Martinez is president of Water Resources Management Consultants, LLC. He served as New Mexico State Engineer from 1990 to 1994 and as the presidential-appointed Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from 1995 to 2001, the first Hispanic American ever to serve as a State Engineer and as Commissioner for the bureau.

Martinez holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from New Mexico State University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and Land Surveyor. He is a member of the board of directors of the National Water Resources Association and is a past recipient of the New Mexico Distinguished Public Service Award.

Name:

Francesca Martinez Estevez

City:

Silver City

Appointed to JPEC:

JPEC Member since 2004

Biography:

Francesca Martinez Estevez is a criminal and civil trial attorney who has practiced law for more than 25 years. Since 1995, she has served as a prosecutor at the office of the District Attorney for the Sixth Judicial District in Silver City. Currently, she is a Deputy District Attorney and the Supervisor of the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Unit.

Her previous experience includes positions as a child support enforcement attorney for the State of New Mexico and as a managing attorney for Southern New Mexico Legal Services.

Estevez was an adjunct professor for Seton Hall Law School in Newark, New Jersey. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at City University of New York-City College and a juris doctor at New York Law School.

Estevez volunteers as a lifetime member adviser and is a past president of the board of directors for El Refugio, a shelter for battered women. She is also a member of the Grant County Community Health Council, the Grant County Domestic Violence Task Force and the board of directors of Legal Aid, Inc. of New Mexico. In 2007, she received a "Prosecutor of the Year" award from the Prosecutor Section of the State Bar of New Mexico.

Name:

Josephine F. Mitchell

City:

Albuquerque

Appointed to JPEC:

JPEC Member since 2000

Biography:

Josephine F. Mitchell holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Food, Nutrition and Institutional Administration, and a Master of Science degree in Food Service Administration from Oklahoma State University. During her professional career, she held various positions as clinical dietitian in hospitals and nursing facilities in Albuquerque, and was an instructor at the University of New Mexico. From 1977 to 1983, Mitchell was food coordinator for transatlantic, transcontinental and transworld balloon flights of the Double Eagle, Kitty Hawk and Jules Verne balloons. She also served as Director of Food Service for Lovelace Medical Center for 13 years.

Mitchell actively served the Albuquerque District Dietetic Association and the New Mexico Dietetic Association from 1965 to 1981. She was a member of advisory boards for both TVI and Albuquerque Public Schools, and served on the New Mexico Food and Nutrition Licensure Board from 1989 to 1994, 1991 to 1994 as chair.

Name:

Regis Pecos

City:

Cochiti

Appointed to JPEC:

JPEC member since 2007

Biography:

A native of Cochiti Pueblo, Regis Pecos is co-founder and co-director of the New Mexico Leadership Institute. He is a member of the Cochiti Pueblo Tribal Council, and serves on the Advisory Council of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Honoring Nations Program and the University of Arizona’s Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy International Advisory Council, Native Nations Institute.

A dedicated educator and public servant for more than 30 years, Pecos has served as Governor of Cochiti Pueblo, chief executive director of the New Mexico Office of Indian Affairs, chair of the board of Santa Fe Indian School, and director of research for Americans for Indian Opportunity as well as director of the National Bilingual Education Center at the University of New Mexico.

A native of Cochiti Pueblo, Regis Pecos is co-founder and co-director of the New Mexico Leadership Institute. He is a member of the Cochiti Pueblo Tribal Council, and serves on the Advisory Council of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Honoring Nations Program and the University of Arizona’s Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy International Advisory Council, Native Nations Institute. He is also a retired Trustee of the Board of Trustees of Princeton University. A dedicated educator and public servant for more than 30 years, Pecos has served as Governor of Cochiti Pueblo, chief executive director of the New Mexico Office of Indian Affairs, chair of the board of Santa Fe Indian School, and director of research for Americans for Indian Opportunity as well as director of the National Bilingual Education Center at the University of New Mexico. He is pursuing a doctorate from the University of California-Berkeley and holds an undergraduate degree, with honors, from Princeton University. He is the recipient of a New Mexico Distinguished Public Service Award, a New Mexico Department of Education Recognition Award and a New Mexico Legislature Recognition Award for Strengthening State/Tribal relations.

Name:

Ruth M. Schifani

City:

Albuquerque

Appointed to JPEC:

JPEC Member since 1999

Biography:

Ruth M. Schifani earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of New Mexico.

She practices real estate and banking law and is a member of Modrall Sperling’s renewable energy team.  She has represented numerous financial institutions in public finance, real estate and asset-based secured transactions throughout the State of New Mexico and has represented both bank and retail establishments in regulatory and consumer compliance matters. In real estate matters, she assists clients to negotiate, structure and document transactions involving the purchase, sale, exchange, development, leasing and financing of commercial and residential real estate.

Schifani also handles business law matters, including transactions involving the formation, merger, sale and purchase of corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and their assets. She has been an attorney with Modrall Sperling since graduation from law school except for a short stint as Associate General Counsel for Sunwest Bank. She is past president of the Albuquerque Bar Association, a regent of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys and a member of the executive committee of the UNM Alumni Association.