Ben was born and raised in upstate New York. They earned a B.S in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Rochester. From there they moved to Albuquerque for a PhD program in plant biology and began working with a local non-profit, Common Bond New Mexico Foundation. Their work with CBNMF and interests in how the world works brought him to the UNM Evaluation Lab. Their goal is to work in STEM education policy reform, with an emphasis on engaging research as a teaching tool throughout a student’s educational journey.

Brisa was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 2020, Brisa graduated from the University of New Mexico with degrees in Political Science, Spanish, and a minor in Women’s Studies. During the last year of undergraduate school, she joined a local political spiritual group Yoga for People of Color Sangha where her advocacy roots began.  In the future, Brisa hopes to work with the state of New Mexico to advocate for legislation to provide opportunities of self-improvement for minorities and people living in poverty. Outside of school, she enjoys the outdoors such as camping, fishing, and going on hikes with her two dogs Echo and Trixie.

Florent Nkouaga is a third year PhD Student studying public policies and American Politics in the Department of Political Science UNM. He is also a graduate student in the Public Health minor program with the College of Population Health of the University of New Mexico. Florent works as a TA in various undergraduate Political Science courses including populations policies, statistics, health politics and policies in the US, international conflict and cooperation. Florent also served as TA for a graduate level course in Advanced Statistics for Social Research with the department of Political Science of the University of New Mexico.

Florent received both his BA and MA in Applied Economics from the University of Yaounde II (Cameroon), an MA in International Affairs from the University of Jean Moulin Lyon III (France), and an MA in Public Policies and Methods from the University of New Mexico. Currently Florent is interested in questions related to health policies and politics within the US congress. In his work with the Evaluation lab, Florent is partnered with All faiths Children’s Advocacy Center.

Emily Guerra is a longtime resident of the Southwest having grown up in the border city of El Paso, Texas. She received her Bachelors in Anthropology with minors in Women’s Studies & Liberal Arts Honors from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in 2016 and in May 2019 completed a Master of Arts in Anthropology from UNM. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Public Health with a scheduled graduation of May 2021.

In addition to school and research, Emily has worked as a Graduate Teaching assistant for a number of courses across disciplines. Her current position is as a Graduate Research assistant with the Community Engagement & Dissemination Core (CEDC) of the Transdisciplinary Research, Equity, and Engagement (TREE) Center for Advancing Behavioral Health.

Upon completion of her second Masters, Emily plans to stay in New Mexico and hopefully work with a local nonprofit or similar organization that is dedicated to addressing and alleviating behavioral health issues for marginalized populations.

Camille Velarde raised in rural northern New Mexico, is a third year PhD Student studying health communication in Department of Communication & Journalism. She works as a TA teaching various undergraduate communication courses including public speaking, organizational communication and health communication. Currently, Camille serves as the graduate student board member for the IRB on UNM’s Main campus office and works as a graduate assistant at OMBUDS for faculty.

She proudly received both her BA and MA from the University of New Mexico, where her undergraduate work focused on organizational communication which Camille applied in the field as a legal secretary for several years and minored in psychology which she applied in her master’s work which was centered around mental health communication.

As a PhD student, Camille has won two top paper awards for her work titled “Critical Socioecological Model: A Critical Perspective to Historicize Health Inequities” at both the The International Association of Applied Demography Conference and at Western States Communication Conference both in 2019  and has presented her work at various popular culture, health, and communication conferences. Her current research interests tend to intersect digital media and mental health.

As native New Mexican, Camille feels a connection and responsibility to the students and community she serves at the University of New Mexico which is evident in her teaching and research practices.

Felicity Fonseca is the Director of Embudo Valley Library and a Masters of Public Administration Candidate in the School of Public administration at UNM.  Felicity holds a Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College in Ohio.  Under her leadership, the library has implemented new programs, expanded partnerships, and made over $900,000 worth of capital improvements to the property, including building a new 3,000 square foot library and making major improvements and investments in the Dixon Cooperative Market building and business.  In 2015, Embudo Valley Library was awarded the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, an honor bestowed by the Institute of Museum and Library Services on institutions who provide outstanding service to their communities.  Felicity is committed to creating a vibrant library that contributes to the well being of area residents. 

Charla (Henley) Orozco is currently employed as an Institutional Researcher in the Office of Assessment & Academic Program Review at the University of New Mexico. She is also the Program Coordinator for the Monthly Evaluation Lab ECHO Learning Community and the upcoming 2020 Evaluation Lab Summer Institute. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish Literature and Business Administration, earned through Roanoke College in May 2014. She is also a graduate of UNM with a Master’s in Latin American Studies (class of 2016). Charla began working with the Evaluation Lab as a graduate student and fellow. During her first year with the Evaluation Lab, she worked with Enlace Comunitario to evaluate their Youth Leader program through a fun and interactive focus group, paired with other supplemental evaluation activities. The second year, she served as a Senior Fellow, continuing to work with Enlace Comunitario, but evaluating a different preventative program. In the third year, Charla continued with Enlace Comunitario as a Senior Fellow, evaluating an intervention program. Last year, she served as the Team Lead for the developmental evaluation of a new program at Enlace Comunitario. This year, she continues as a Team Lead with the Enlace Comunitario group, evaluating the LIDER program. 

Onesimus Al-Amin is currently a PhD student in the Human Development and Family Studies Department of the University of Delaware. Originally from Clearwater, Florida, Onesimus graduated cum laude with his BA in Family Studies and Sociology from UNM. Onesimus is a McNair Scholar with an interest in the impact of fatherhood involvement on interrupting the pre-school-to-prison pipeline. During his Evaluation Lab Fellowship he worked with La Red del Rio Abajo.

Derek Kuit is in the process of earning his MA in Educational Psychology at UNM and hopes to pursue a doctorate in the same field. Derek's research interests center on promoting prosocial behaviors in students through education and currriculum. Derek currently works as a Research Assistant for Mission: Graduate and the Center for Education Policy Research at UNM. As a Fellow of the Evaluation Lab Derek worked with PB&J Family Services.