Meet our Leadership Team
Carlos Matutes
Executive Director
Sandia Park
Carlos is an experienced advocate of outdoor education, recreation, and sustainability. As the Executive Director of the Southwest Idaho Mountain Biking Association for over four years, Carlos has been dedicated to creating a supportive community and fostering the development of trails. Throughout his life-long exploration of trails, Carlos has found joy in introducing others to the transformative power that nature can have on people’s lives. From teaching mountain bike skills courses, writing curriculum for Boise State University’s Summer Youth Sports Program and leading large scale trail construction projects, Carlos believes that by encouraging engagement with nature we can all develop a greater appreciation and understanding of our environment. Since making his move to New Mexico, Carlos has been enjoying every minute spent marveling at the beauty of Sandia Crest with his partner Daniella and their two beloved dogs. Email Carlos.
Board of Directors
Our volunteer board sets the course for EENM and connects us with our community. As advocates for environmental education, they do strategic planning, goal-setting and fundraising. Board members serve for two-year terms. If you are interested in learning more about the board, please contact us.
Shantini Ramakrishnan
Co-President
Las Vegas
Shantini builds capacity of New Mexican youth to lead the conservation of local landscapes through the Conservation Science Center @ Highlands University, based at the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute. She develops place-based outdoor learning programs to build pathways in STEM disciplines, which combined with mentorship, leadership development and resilience strategies, encourages persistence among students of color in STEM. She has been working in northern New Mexico since 2012, and has experience in protected land management, habitat restoration, disease ecology, and community engagement. She holds an MS in Life Sciences with a concentration in Biology from New Mexico Highlands University, a BS in Zoology from Southern Illinois University, and a BA in Mass Media from Mount Union College. She serves as a board member with the High Plains Grasslands Alliance and Hermit’s Peak Watershed Alliance, an outreach committee member with Albuquerque Wildlife Federation, and served in the inaugural cohort of Fellows with Environmental Education New Mexico.
Marcia Barton
Member at Large
Santa Fe
Marcia Barton has been involved in formal and informal education involving environmental issues for over 30 years. She spent 13 years as a high school science teacher in Santa Fe, New Mexico. During that time, she taught Environmental Science and AP Environmental Science; she has also taught Botany, Biology and Chemistry. Early in her career, Barton worked as the recycling education outreach coordinator for the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor, went on to learn organic farming, and co-founded the Community Farm of Ann Arbor.
Barton holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan, completed a two-year training in biodynamic organic agriculture in Pennsylvania, earned a post- baccalaureate teaching certification from the University of New Mexico, and holds a Master of Science Teaching from New Mexico Tech University. In 2010, she achieved National Board Teaching Certification in Environmental Science. A recipient of the 2010 Fulbright US-Japan Teacher Exchange on Education for Sustainable Development, Barton also participated in the Toyota International Teacher Program to the Galapagos Islands in 2008. Most recently, Barton worked for the New Mexico Public Education Department’s Math and Science Bureau as the STEM Teacher Professional Development Specialist.
The Toyota trip to the Galapagos Islands and the Fulbright trip to Japan immeasurably strengthened her commitment to education about the environment and sustainability. Those experiences reinforced the urgency and appropriateness of incorporating education about sustainability into all curricula.
Barton is an urban beekeeper and gardener, bicyclist, and hiker, and loves anything that will take her outdoors.
Steve Glass
Co-President
Albuquerque
Steve Glass earned an MS in Biology from NM State University in 1976. After graduation, Steve held environmental virology research positions for ten years in Los Angeles, CA, Chapel Hill, NC and Las Cruces, NM. Between 1989 and 2009, Steve worked with the City of Albuquerque, then with the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, managing programs in regulatory compliance, environmental laboratory, biosolids composting, and constructed wetlands research. In 2009, Steve joined Bernalillo County as Water Resources Planner managing the NPDES Phase II stormwater quality permit compliance program. For ten years, beginning in 2003, Steve represented local governments on the NM Water Quality Control Commission by gubernatorial appointment. Steve retired from local government in December 2011 and now teaches classes in biology and environmental science at the Central New Mexico Community College. In addition to his continuing representation of Bernalillo County on the interagency Water Protection Advisory Board, Steve has been a member of the Bernalillo County Open Space Master Naturalists Program Advisory Committee since its inception.
Steve has also served four years as President of the Open Space Alliance, a non-profit friends group supporting the Albuquerque Open Space Division and has been Chair of the Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) Board for fifteen years, and represents seven SWCDs on the NM Soil and Water Conservation Commission by gubernatorial appointment. In 2016, Steve was named as a Dr. Richard W. Becker Excellence in Environmental Education Awardee!
LuAnn Kilday
Treasurer
Las Cruces
Throughout her career she has shared her knowledge about the Rio Grande Bosque, New Mexico’s wildlife, and the history of agriculture with adults and children of all ages. LuAnn’s current passion is fiber art and loves to demonstrate wool processing and its role in sustainable agriculture. When LuAnn isn’t spinning wool or weaving, she enjoys hiking, camping, gardening, bird watching, hunting, and spending time with her other half, Victor, and their pack of dogs.
Holly “Noelle” Chavez
Board Member
Belen
Holly Noelle Chavez was born in El Paso, Texas. She graduated from Osan American High School in South Korea and moved on to New Mexico State University where she earned her BAS in Criminal Justice and later her MS in Psychology from the University of Phoenix.
She co-owns and manages H2 Academic Solutions, which offers intervention and acceleration tutoring, alternative to detention, diversion, mentoring, and restorative programs in Valencia County. She is a board member of La Vida Felicidad and H2 Academic Solutions Scholarship Fund.
Olivia Marin
Board Member
Albuquerque
Olivia grew up between Denver and the southern coast of Spain. She was always encouraged to go outside and spent her childhood playing in the foothills of the Rockies and in the cork forests and beaches of Andalucía. A lover of all animals, Olivia has continued to enjoy exploring the outdoors through backpacking, climbing, cycling, scuba, and swimming in any body of (clean) water she can find! After graduating from the University of New Mexico with a degree in Environmental Planning and Design, Olivia accepted an apprenticeship with Yjastros, the American Flamenco Repertory Company. She worked with several farms during this time, developing a love for local food systems. She became a corps member of the company in 2018, performing throughout New Mexico, and the same year, joined the collective Spanish Broom Flamenco- an independent artistic collaborative focused on Flamenco performance. Her love for the outdoors motivated her to continue searching for a way to bring working with the environment into her daily life. In 2020, she was accepted as a 2020 EENM Fellow. She joined Cottonwood Gulch in September of 2020, where she is the Program Manager for the Students in Wilderness Initiative- working with 8th graders in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Gallup. She is excited to serve on the board of EENM and continue to support outdoor experiences for New Mexican youth.
Marcella Talamante
Board Member
Dulce
Marcella is a Native New Mexican. Many of her core memories were made spending time with family and friends while enjoying and appreciating nature. She has high regard for sustainable practices which support the wise of use natural resources, while preserving culture, history, and language of our communities. Marcella strives to promote and provide an inclusive, learning environment where youth and adults gain confidence to take positive risks, and dedicates her efforts in providing educational opportunities to assist in improving communities. She is an experienced educator, knowledgeable in non-formal, hands-on, experiential educational experiences, and has a deep-rooted passion for education and providing opportunities for others to gain knowledge and skills to help improve their lives and quality of living.
Marcella served as an Extension 4-H Youth Development agent and Associate Professor at New Mexico State University for thirteen years, before joining the Dulce School District in August 2022, as the Community Education Liaison. She strives to be a highly productive, strategic planner, and organized project leader; creative and resourceful problem solver with the ability to adapt to changing demands. Marcella embraces diversity and draw upon personal lived experiences to support the successes of other.
Amanda Keith
Board Member
Shelby Bazan
Secretary
Albuquerque
Shelby Bazan (she/her) was born and raised in Albuquerque and has a great passion for the city, land, and culture. She is currently an environmental educator with the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) and a volunteer outings leader with Latino Outdoors NM. In her free time, you can find Shelby crafting, concert going, bird watching, and spending time with her cat, Lilith. She’s excited to join the EENM Board of Directors and learn from this experience. Shelby was part of the 2021 EENM Fellow Cohort.
Kirsten Couevas
Board Member
Tomé
Kirsten Couevas grew up all over southern NV with most of her childhood spent on her grandparents horse ranch in Logandale NV. That is where her love of agriculture comes from training horses and working in the fields. Her grandfathers family has deep ties to NM as they have been since the 1700’s. When she had the opportunity to take over the property they had in NM after they retired she did. Kirsten bought her farm in 2018 and started a regenerative farm in the Middle Rio Grande Valley. She decided to do what she loves bringing culture and farming together.
Kirsten enjoys working with youth to teach them about Mother Earth and how we all work together to raise better food for our community. Kirsten has won awards for her techniques in regenerative farming in NM. Kirsten is also on the Boards of The Young Farmers Federal Policy Board and The American Kune Kune Pig Society for the future of heritage breed of pig. Kirsten also works with her local Soil & Water Conservation to bring farming to the youth.
Susan Schipull
Member at Large
Albuquerque
Susan Schipull is the Garden Resource Teacher for Albuquerque Public Schools. She is the former garden elective teacher for Wildcat Blooms Garden at Wilson Middle School. Susan is currently part of the APS Outdoor Learning Team who works with teachers in all grade levels and capacities to create spaces and places for students and teachers to learn outdoors. In 2022, the Outdoor Learning Team secured funding for transportation to get every APS third grader out to the Los Padillas Wildlife Sanctuary located at Los Padillas Elementary School. Susan was part of the 2021 EENM Fellow Cohort.
Susan grew up on a farm in Iowa and always enjoyed helping on the farm and taking care of animals as a kid. She now experiences nature by biking, hiking, running, and fishing. Susan began teaching 30+ years ago in southern Arizona as a high school biology/chemistry teacher. She has also been at At-Risk Coordinator and an administrator during her career. Teaching and gardening has brought Susan back full circle to her agricultural roots. She believes that children should put down their devices, get outside and explore the natural world every day. She has witnessed how a garden can provide opportunities for students to learn, make discoveries, self-regulate, and find their strengths.