We are pleased to introduce all our new Northern staff members. Welcome aboard Team Northern!

Bruno Guedes
Coordinator of Student Life

I am very excited to start my professional career at my Alma Mater as the Coordinator of Student Life. Since my first semester at NNMC, I got involved with student life as Student Ambassador and Student Senate Officer, and I can say that this changed my whole college experience. Now I look forward to having an impact on other students' educational experience and retributing to NNMC all the support that I had throughout my time as a student. I am from Brazil and earned my Bachelor's in Business Administration. I am a very outgoing person who likes to meet people and make new friends. In my free time, I like to call my family, watch movies and TV shows and play basketball. I can't wait to get to work and interact with students!!

Veronica Guillen
Administrative Assistant

Hello, my name is Veronica Guillen. Prior to joining NNMC, I worked as a Division Human Resource Specialist Supervisor for the Department of Health – Epidemiology and Response Division. I retired from the State after 29 years of service, then worked for Española Public Schools and Taos Pueblo for four years as a Human Resource Benefits Specialist.

My interest in working with Northern stems from my belief that I have the right combination of relevant experience, communication skills and high levels of organization. I am a dedicated and dependable individual who possesses excellent verbal and written communication skills, complemented by my foundation in organizing materials and sorting data in a coherent, workable method. I have a great attitude toward learning new ideas quickly and accurately.

I feel that a relationship with Northern New Mexico College will be mutually beneficial, as my administrative, human resource, benefits specialist experience and other qualifications makes me a perfect fit for your Administrative Assistant.  Working with Northern allows me to refine my skills in a new working environment and the opportunity to give back to the community of Española Valley and surrounding areas.

Alejandro Hernandez
Distance Education Technology

My name is Alejandro Hernandez and I come from Madrid, Spain. I just finished my bachelor’s degree in Information Engineering Technology here at NNMC. I have been a member of the NNMC men's basketball and have worked as a tutor at NNMC for nearly 2 years.

Alejandra Jaramillo
Editorial Assistant

My name is Alejandra Jaramillo, but everyone calls me Ale. I was born and raised in the beautiful Española Valley, but have roots as far as Chihuahua, Mexico. I recently graduated with my AA and BAIS in Criminal Justice with Magna Cum Laude honors from Northern. During my time here at Northern I have successfully completed the CAMP program and have had student tutoring jobs. I have also worked as a student employee for both the Office of the Registrar and Communications & Marketing. During my student employee experience, I learned a great deal about Northern’s systems and my love for NNMC’s mission and the impact we have on our communities has grown.

I recently got hired on as an Editorial Assistant for Northern’s Communications & Marketing department. I have been with NCAM for two years and have already learned a lot, but I am so excited to make the transition from a student to an official employee. I couldn’t have chosen a better team or group of inspiring women like those in NCAM to work alongside after graduation. I am excited to continue to help students and to officially join the Northern family. Aside from work I love learning new things, helping others, baking, shopping, music and above all spending time with my beautiful family.

Ricco Leichtle
Custodian

 My name is Ricco Leichtle.  I am from Española, New Mexico.  I graduated in 2005 from Mesa Vista High School.  I am honored I was given a chance to work here at Northern New Mexico College as a Custodian.  I want to thank, President Medina and my supervisor, Shawn Madrid for the opportunity given to me.

Amberly Martinez
College Receptionist

My name is Amberly Martinez, but some people call me Amber for short. I was born and raised in the beautiful valley of Española, New Mexico. I graduated from Northern in May with my ABA and BBA in Business Management and a certification in Project Management with Cum-Laude honors. While pursuing my degree, I worked as a student employee for Financial Aid, Registrar and Admissions, which gave me the skills and knowledge to help students achieve their goals and learn more about Northern and how it operates.

I was recently hired as the College Receptionist. I am excited and look forward to continuing to help students and making the transition from a student employee to a regular full-time employee. In my free time I enjoy spending time with my family, snowboarding, being outdoors, shopping, music and traveling.

Janett Orozco
Degree Works Analyst Intern

My name is Janett Orozco, I am the new interim degree audit analyst. I was born and raised in Española. I am currently a senior majoring in Information Engineering Technology. I have received my associate degree in Software Engineering and will be acquiring my bachelor’s in December 2022.

Prior to this, I worked as a CASSA peer tutor and tutor coordinator, as well as an Eagle technician. It is an honor to continue to be part of NNMC's team, impacting students and helping create clear paths for success.

Higinia Padilla
Title V and Title III Program and Data Coordinator

I was born and raised in Northern New Mexico. I have lived in Hernandez all my life and I am raising my family there as well. I am a first-generation college graduate. I was in the CAMP program as a student, CAMP leader and intern advisor. I have worked in the Communications and Marketing department as a work study. I was also a Tutor Coordinator/Tutor for the CASSA Madrid Tutoring Center. I received my bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Northern in May 2022. My current position at Northern is the Administrative Coordinator for the Title V CASSA, Title V F2F, and Title III grants. In my spare time I enjoy hiking, camping and fishing with my family.

Thomas J. Quintana
Veterans Resource Coordinator

Thomas aspires to reach veterans of Northern New Mexico and advocate for them in utilization of their benefits. A veteran himself, Thomas has served in active-duty Army for 14 years from North Carolina to Italy and continues to serve in the Army Reserve in Oklahoma, with a total of 21 years. One of Thomas’s favorite pastimes is participating in running events. His favorite event is the Annual Army Ten Miler in Washington D.C. every October.

Patrice “Joleen” Trujillo
Health and Safety Officer

I was born and raised in Alamosa, Colorado, in the San Luis Valley. My educational career began when I was approached about attending Adams State University (ASU) as a first-generation, low-income student by the TRIO, Upward Bound program. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993 and obtained my master’s degree from ASU in 2001.

I have taught Elementary Education, Affective Needs classroom and Inclusive Special Education. I was also Director of a TRIO, Student Support Services program, spending my summers teaching Migrant Education and for ASU’s Upward Bound. I branched out to Alamosa County Public Health, starting as case manager for Options for Long Term Care and then later promoted to the Regional Emergency Preparedness and Response Team. I wrote emergency plans for six counties and worked very closely with their emergency managers as well as the Regional Department of Homeland Security Field Manager.

My most recent position was as Public Health Team Lead for Conejos County Public Health, where my expertise in emergency preparedness and response was put to use during the COVID Pandemic. I served various roles of incident command and was responsible for COVID case investigation and contact tracing for Conejos County.

I look forward to the opportunity to work as the Health and Safety Officer for Northern New Mexico College and being involved with staff, faculty and students.

Josephine Velasquez
Chief Procurement Officer/Compliance Officer

I am originally from Cañones, NM, and a high school graduate from Coronado High School.  I have made my home in Alcalde with my life partner and together we have 2 children, Elijah and Aaron.  I worked for the City of Española for the past 25 years serving in different compacities.  I began as a Correctional Officer transferred to the Municipal Court. I then moved to the Beatrice Martinez Senior Center and was the Director for 11 years.  Working for our elderly population was truly one of the most rewarding jobs I have had.  I transferred to the Finance Department and served as the Chief Procurement Officer/Assets Manager before joining NNMC.

In 2021 I received my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in Project Management from NNMC.  I am CPO certified with the State of New Mexico and I bring over five years of experience in public purchasing.  I am excited to share my work experience, education and passion for public administration while serving as the Chief Procurement Officer for Northern New Mexico College.

Mary Walsh
Library Collections & Technical Services Manager

Mary has been a librarian for over 30 years, and most recently worked at Adams State University in Alamosa, CO. Most of her career has been in college libraries, but she has also worked as a medical librarian. She has expertise in collection development, purchasing and cataloging (looking for materials to support the curricula, obtaining it and adding it to the library). For fun, Mary enjoys weaving, sewing and (of course) reading.

We also have several people to congratulate on their promotions or transfers

Kendall Armstrong, Associate Professor of Nursing
Robert Beshara, Assistant Professor/Chair of Arts and Human Sciences
Mateo Frazier, Associate Professor of Arts and Humanities
Donna Jaramillo, Interim Director of EOC
Mariah Martinez, Interim Athletic Trainer
Sara McCormick, Recruiter/Admissions
Stephanie Sandoval, Human Resources Generalist
Patricia Sutliff, Supervisor of Title V Student Employees & Academic Coach Coordinator
Ambrosia Tuero, Advisor II
Julianne Wagner, AE Instructor