Summit Speakers
Jack Allston
Allston has spent over 30 years in the field of economic development. He has worked throughout North America, including Canada, New York, Massachusetts, West Virginia, Nebraska, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Kansas. He has worked on dozens and dozens of site locations and expansions of companies such as: CB Sports, New Balance Athletic Shoe, Yuasa- Exide, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, CR Bard, Mallinkrodt, Nationwide Insurance, Hewlett-Packard, United Merchants and Manufacturers, and James River. For nine years he was a manager of site selection for Paragon Decision Resources, a major site selection and relocation company headquartered out of Chicago and California, and for five years he was their site selection manager. For this company, he wrote numerous plans, studies and reports. He also advised communities on how to develop, and he advised companies on where to locate.
He has lectured and been a guest speaker throughout the continent and is particularly noted for his talks in Canada on marketing and strategic planning, the American way.
Allston is a graduate of Lowell University, Lowell, MA, earning a B.S. Business Administration and Northeastern University, Boston, MA, earning a M.A. Economics (with a concentration in labor). Allston is also a graduate of the Economic Development Institute, University of Oklahoma, the American Economic Development Council, and the Institute for Organization Management sponsored by Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.
Allston is a Certified Economic Developer (C.E.D.) and former member of the Certification Board of the American Economic Development Council. He is a fellow member of the American Economic Development Council and winner of the Distinguished Service Award from that council in 1993.
While at Paragon, he completed site selection work for Reliastar/ING, Becton Dickinson, and EMD Chemicals, and completed a new corporate headquarters location for La Quinta Hotels in Dallas.
He conducted workshops on economic development in the following regions: Halifax- for the Regional Economic Development Authorities of the Province of Nova Scotia, CUED, the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Association; Stockton, CA- for educators and training agencies on workforce development (3X); Washington, IA- for area volunteers and business people on principles of economic development, the City of Toronto, Alliant Energy, Mid America Economic Development Council (MAEDC) and many others; Watertown, SD- on strategic planning and marketing, and several workshops in Northern Ontario on the strategies necessary to attract American investment.
The majority of his time is spent working for the New Mexico Economic Development Partnership arranging appointments and meetings for economic development officials in the state of New Mexico.
David Buchen
Buchen, director of Eastern New Mexico Art Space and a private consultant with First Step Consulting located in Tucumcari, New Mexico, has worked in entrepreneurial development throughout his career. Winner of the 2007 Star Award for the New Mexico Small Business Development Centers, David has been focusing his attention at small communities and how they work with their local assets to improve their economic profiles. He has worked as an Entrepreneur Center Director in Beloit, Wisconsin, served on the National Home-based Business Design Team led by the USDA, led a Rural Community College Initiative Project for Mesalands Community College and worked with organizations to develop fundable grants in New Mexico and Wisconsin. In 2006 – 2007 he wrote 2.8 million dollars worth of funded grants for organizations located in Eastern New Mexico.
Juan P. Casimiro
Casimiro began his career as an educator in 1987 after closing his first business in New York City. Now with over twenty years of experience as a public speaker, entrepreneur, educator, coach and mentor, Juan specializes in building individual and organizational strength from within. His teaching of Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy, One-on-One Coaching Sessions, Career/Personal Development Programs, and Non-Profit Organization Development workshops are known for the immediate enthusiasm they generate and the long-term benefits that flow from them. Mr. Casimiro holds a Masters Degree in Education (City University of New York, 1989), a BSSW Degree (Ohio State University, 1986), and FastTrac Business Program certification (Columbia University's School of Business, 1990). Throughout his 20+ year career, Mr. Casimiro has kept active by consistently creating and delivering effective courses and programs throughout the USA, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Along with being a guest lecturer/trainer at Columbia, Harvard, Miami Dade College, FAU, and other universities, Mr. Casimiro serves as an educational consultant for various education and training organizations in the United States. He is an active board member of the Dominican American National Foundation in Florida and Co-Founder of Alpha Psi Lambda. He is also a Partner/Volunteer for: Miami Dade Public Schools, National Academy Foundation, Broward County Schools Partner Program and AOIT. Previous directorship roles include New York's Empowerment Zone, Credit Where Credit is Due, Inc., Dominican American National Roundtable.
Harvey Kaplan
Kaplan is a Historic Preservation Specialist of the State of New Mexico Historic Preservation Division where he reviews building rehabilitation projects that utilize state and federal historic tax credits. He also reviews projects that affect the built environment and involve public funding or agencies.
Mr. Kaplan earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from Columbia University. His early design career involved the rehabilitation of Main Streets in Corning and Troy, New York, and he reviewed historic tax credit projects for the State of New York.
Mark Lautman
Lautman is CEcD and Vice President of Economic Development for Forest City Enterprises, Mesa del Sol, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since becoming a professional economic developer 24 years ago, Mark Lautman has started and managed four business attraction programs in New Mexico: Grants, Rio Rancho, Santa Teresa, and at Mesa del Sol. Mesa del Sol is a new community being developed by Forest City Covington on Albuquerque’s south west mesa. The master plan is approved for 100,000 residents, 38,000 homes and over 18 million square feet of commercial development. Under the development agreement Forest City Covington is committed to create 30,000 net new economic base jobs – twice the number required to support the residential population. He is a 1971 graduate of the University of New Mexico and a former Peace Corps Volunteer. He is married with three children - two Lobos and one Aggie. He is the current chairman of the New Mexico Economic Development Commission.
Dr. Beverlee J. McClure
McClure is the president and CEO of the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry (ACI). ACI is the statewide business advocate who aggressively lobbies the state’s legislative, executive, and judicial branches year-round to enact laws and policies that improve the state’s business climate. In this capacity, Dr. McClure is working to facilitate positive change in the laws and regulations that govern business and industry.Previously, Dr. McClure served as the state’s first cabinet secretary of higher education, a position she held for almost two years. In this position, she created the department and championed such causes as $100 million endowment in the College Affordability Fund to help meet the financial needs of low-income students. She also worked to implement performance-based funding and to increase the amount spent for deferred maintenance at public institutions.
Dr. McClure came to the state twelve years ago as the president of Clovis Community College and was the youngest sitting college president in the nation. While serving as president, she was appointed by Governor Bill Richardson to serve on the State Board of Education that governed K-12 (no longer in existence), served as the vice-chair of the Governor’s Task Force on Higher Education, and served as the Chair of the Governor’s Education Transition Team.
In addition to being a member of the New Mexico Women’s Forum and the New Mexico Amigos, she is a founding member and vice-president of the New Mexico Heart Gallery Foundation. She also serves on the boards of New Mexico First and New Mexico Community Capital.
Fred E. Mondragón
Mondragón has over thirty years experience in the public and private sectors, including over 15 years in the hospital and public administration and 15 years with the private sector. He has been the administrator of the University of New Mexico Hospital, Regional Administrator of a major hospital system in New Mexico, and the Deputy Chief Administrative officer for the City of Albuquerque. Mr. Mondragón has also worked in the consulting and information technology field for two national system integration companies. He has been a consultant to several government and healthcare agencies through this consulting company, Fred Mondragón and Associates.Mr. Mondragón has served in the New Mexico Legislature for three terms, was a member of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, and was the first Chairman of the Higher Education Subcommittee. He also has been the Science Advisor to the Governor of New Mexico and Served as Founding Chairman of the Governor’s Science and Technology Commission.
Raymond Mondragón
Mondragón is the Director of Economic Development/ Government Relations at ENMR•Plateau. He was born and raised in Clovis, New Mexico. Raymond went to work for the Clovis Police Department at the age of 16 as a communications specialist and is a 1976 graduate of Clovis High School. Raymond attended Clovis Community College taking courses in criminal justice and is a 1987 graduate of the 148th session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Raymond is also a 1995 graduate of the Arizona State University Command College in Tempe Arizona and a 1997 Graduate of the FBI National Academy Law Enforcement Executive Management Program for Police Executives.
Raymond rose through the ranks in the police department, becoming Deputy Chief of Police. On August 14th 1997, Raymond was named Interim City Manager for the City of Clovis and served in that capacity for 13 months.
Raymond was named Chief of Police in November 1999 where he served until his retirement on September 1, 2001, after serving 27 years in the police service. Raymond was then hired as City Manager for the City of Clovis and served in that capacity for four years. Thereafter, Raymond was hired by ENMR•Plateau in a newly created position and currently holds the title of Director of Economic Development / Government Relations. While in this position Raymond was appointed by Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico in June of 2006 to the New Mexico Economic Development Partnership Board of Directors representing Business Region 4.
Raymond serves on the City of Clovis Local Growth Management Organization which deals with growth issues during the transition of Cannon Air Force Base. Raymond was recently recognized by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, receiving a distinguished Presidential Volunteer Service Award by President George W. Bush.
Raymond has been quite involved in community and statewide organizations, receiving many recognitions and awards. These are just a few: the 1994 NAACP Honoree; 1990 Jaycees Citizen of the Year; 1997 Realtors Citizen of the Year; 1998 Sertoma’s Service to Mankind Award; 1987 United Way Presidential Award; 1988 United Way Volunteer of the Year; 1991 Boy Scouts Award of Merit and the United States Air Force Relations Award. Raymond has been selected City of Clovis distinguished City Employee once and was selected City of Clovis distinguished Supervisor twice. In 1994 Raymond was named the Clovis Police Department’s Officer of the year. Raymond has been selected three times in 1997, 1999 and 2000 by readers of the Clovis News Journal as “Best Law Officer”. In January of 2008 Raymond was named the Clovis Curry County Chamber of Commerce 2007 Volunteer of the Year. In 2007 Raymond received the Above and Beyond Award from the City of Clovis in appreciation for honoring the past while serving as Chairman of Clovis’ Centennial Committee and currently serves on the Curry County Centennial Committee.
Sandra Necessary
Sandra Necessary currently serves as the Director of the U.S. Export Assistance Center of the U.S. Commercial Service in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her territory includes all of New Mexico, Southern Colorado and El Paso, Texas. Her responsibilities in this capacity are to assist companies to enter foreign markets and to establish strong trade partnerships within her territory to enhance the level of export awareness and cooperation. Sandra also serves as the Native American program liaison for the U.S. Commercial Service. In this capacity she has organized many special international outreach programs for Native American entities in the sectors of tourism, jewelry and arts and crafts. She has also participated in the planning of the international tourism marketing segment of the Annual American Indian Tourism Conferences that are held throughout the nation.
Prior to accepting the position in New Mexico in June of 1988, Sandra served in the Washington, D.C. headquarters office of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service. The positions which she held there include Director, Domestic Field Operations; Special Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Domestic Operations, and Educational and Seminar Program Coordinator. During 1972, she also served as Special Assistant to the Deputy Director, "White House Conference on the Industrial World Ahead".
She studied Business Administration at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia and International Business at the American University in Washington, D.C. as well as the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She also completed a special six-week international trade program at the Department of State Foreign Service Institute in Rosslyn, Virginia. She completed an online Management training program through the Harvard University. Most recently, Sandra earned the classification as Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP). She served as the Acting Senior Commercial Officer at the American Consulate General in Casablanca, Morocco in the summer of 2000; and as Acting Principal Commercial Officer in Milan, Italy from August-November 2002.
Sandra has over 30 years of experience in international trade assisting U.S. companies to enter foreign markets.
In her personal time, Sandra is an avid bicyclist and telemark skier. She also enjoys traveling, backpacking, camping and hiking.
Tim Nitti
Tim Nitti is Principal of KLG, and he is the head of the location strategy practice at KLG, a consultancy dedicated to assisting companies make location and site decisions since 1993.
Since joining KLG in 1995, Mr. Nitti has advised numerous companies including Goldman Sachs, The New York Stock Exchange, Morgan Stanley, Fidelity Investments, Time Inc., Lehman Brothers, Citigroup, U.S. Bioenergy, VeraSun Energy, Credit Suisse, Charles Schwab, J.P. Morgan, The Equitable, and Reuters. He has led major projects throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, and these projects have spanned a wide range of both developed and developing nations.
As the leader of KLG’s practice, Mr. Nitti:
• Works with the senior executives of the firm’s clients in order to develop strategies that leverage geography to meet key business objectives,
• Coordinates and manages the development of specific location and site options by KLG’s team, and facilitating the executive-level decision-making processes of KLG’s clients, and
• Provides guidance on implementation methods aimed at ensuring successful execution of clients’ location strategies.
Mr. Nitti also sets the firm’s research agenda which is focused on identifying emerging demographic and geographic trends, predicting the likely impact on companies and communities, and developing strategies to help companies effectively capitalize on these trends. He devotes considerable time to familiarizing senior corporate executives, government officials, and economic development professionals with the firm’s research.
Mr. Nitti received his M.Phil. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from The George Washington University. He also holds a B.S. degree in Psychology and a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Presbyterian College.
Craig O’Hare
O'Hare was appointed by Governor Richardson in 2003 as the Special Assistant for Renewable Energy in the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. He is responsible for guiding the implementation of the Governor’s clean energy agenda, including: energy efficient green building, clean fuels and efficient transportation, and renewable energy development. Craig spearheads the Department’s effort to promote large-scale “Concentrating Solar Power” in the state. Mr. O’Hare serves as the Department’s lead lobbyist for promoting clean energy legislative initiatives at the New Mexico Legislature and is the Department’s lead staff person on the Governor’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Initiative. Craig is also significantly involved with policy analyses, program development and implementation, and representing the Richardson Administration at conferences, workshops, and other public venues.Previously, Craig was Water Programs Administrator for the City of Santa Fe from 1996-2002, where he directed water conservation, drought emergency, and watershed management programs.
Mr. O’Hare earned bachelor’s degrees in Business Economics and Geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and performed graduate work in Water Resources Administration at the University of Arizona.
Craig’s personal and professional emphasis is on demonstrating that environmental preservation and a strong economy are complementary over the long-term.
Kim Sorvig |
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Sorvig, a Research Associate Professor, UNM, has published widely on sustainability and interpretation of landscapes. His book, Sustainable Landscape Construction, is in international use as a text and professional reference; its second edition was released in Fall 2007. A long-time Contributing Editor to Landscape Architecture magazine, he has won writing prizes from the ASLA, The European Association for Architectural Education, and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. His consulting firm, Meaningful Places, is developing a master plan for a new botanic gardens in northwestern New Mexico, which will interpret arid-region landscape issues in a public setting.
His research focuses on the how cultural attitudes toward land and methods of land development can enhance or impair environmental services on which humans depend. He lives in an underground passive-solar near Cerrillos, NM.
Sherri L. Wells
Ms. Wells is responsible for building relationships and new business opportunities for New Mexico Moss Adams. She is the 2008-2010 Board Chairperson of Junior Achievement of New Mexico, the state's largest organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. These programs are provided at no cost to the school district, educators or students. In addition to her role as Board Chair with JA of New Mexico, she is a co-founder of the New Mexico Business Hall of Fame which began in 2005 and involved with Women in Philanthropy, New Mexico First and was Go Red for Women Chair 2006. Sherri has a degree in Business Communications and successfully turned around a fledging newspaper in the Albuquerque market prior to joining Moss Adams, LLP.
Mathew Woodlee
Woodlee was appointed the Director of International Trade for the State of New Mexico in May 2006. In that position, he leads the efforts of the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s services that assist New Mexican companies expand into international markets. The Office of International Trade provides international business consulting services, particularly to small- and medium-sized companies. In addition, the office executes programs abroad that are designed to promote companies’ products and services, as well as attract interest for foreign investment into New Mexico.Prior to his current position, Mr. Woodlee served with the U.S. Department of Commerce/U.S. Commercial Service in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. While in federal service, he served within the E-Business Development Unit, part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce. In Baltimore, Mr. Woodlee served as Aerospace & Defense Team Leader and Senior International Trade Specialist, focusing on the aerospace, defense, security, IT and telecom industries. Mr. Woodlee’s international trade work has included developing market-entry, public relation and marketing strategies with clients in various markets throughout the world.
Prior to federal service, Mr. Woodlee served as a Fiscal Analyst for the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee. He received the Ronald H. Brown Commercial Service Fellowship in 1996, through which he completed a Summer Institute for Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Mathew received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and an MBA in International Management from the University of New Mexico.
Mr. Woodlee is active in the community in a variety of ways, including serving on the Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central New Mexico and participating as an active member of the United Way’s Young Leaders’ Society. He currently resides in Albuquerque with his wife Christina.