Faces & places
Susan “Suzy”M. Bienvenu, a child therapist and registered play therapist in private practice in Santa Fe, has been elected as a board member for the New Mexico Play Therapy Association.
The LANL Foundation has appointed John McDermon as the new scholarship program manager. McDermon joins the foundation staff after nine years as a member of the Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund advisory committee, where he also served in leadership roles as committee chair and chair of the student ranking sub-committee. McDermon will oversee the daily program operations, lead fundraising activities and manage the committee, as well as the Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund.
After 24-year career in information technology and management, McDermon recently retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory. Prior to his work at Los Alamos, he served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force as a civil engineering officer. He retired from the Air Force Reserves as a lieutenant colonel in 2010 with 28 years of combined active and reserve service.
McDermon graduated with a bachelor of architecture degree from the Arizona State University in 1982 and was an architect in Hawaii for 20 years. He received his master’s degree in urban planning from the University of California-Los Angeles in 1990 and his master’s degree in computer science from The University of New Mexico in 1999.
Southwestern Regional Forester Cal Joyner recently announced the selection of James Melonas to take the helm of the Santa Fe National Forest as its new forest supervisor. Melonas returns to the Southwestern Region after serving as deputy forest supervisor of the National Forests of North Carolina. Prior to that, Melonas was the New Mexico state liaison for the Southwestern Region. Melonas begins his new job March 6
Melonas started his forest service career as a Presidential Management Fellow in the chief ’s office, where he helped implement special projects. While in Washington, D.C., he also worked on the Forest Stewardship Program, the Open Space Conservation Strategy and the forestry provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill.
Melonas holds a master’s degree in public affairs with an emphasis on environmental policy and natural resource management from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Prior to joining the Forest Service, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi.
Kris Swedin has been hired as continuing education and contract training director at Santa Fe Community College.
Swedin worked for SFCC from 2006-08, most notably on the college’s $25 million bond election. She also led efforts to establish the Trades and Advanced Technology Center. Her experience also includes development of entrepreneurship training programs, serving as director of community action for Creative Santa Fe and serving as director of the city’s Economic Development Division.
Before relocating to Santa Fe, Kris worked for the Small Business Administration in Washington, D.C., for seven years, two as chief of staff. She holds an master’s degree in international commerce and policy from George Mason University and also earned a creative writing certificate from SFCC.
Patricia Lee Chavez, a commissioner of the New Mexico Commission for Community Volunteerism has been elected to the Board of Directors of the American Association of State Service Commissions, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing
and promoting state service commissions across the U.S.
A native New Mexico businesswoman, Chavez is owner of Albuquerquebased PLC Enterprises, which specializes in corporate government relations and event planning.
Housed at the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, the New Mexico Commission for Community Volunteerism engages citizens of New Mexico of all ages and backgrounds in community-based service.
The Shikar Safari Club International has named New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Captain Tim Cimbal the 2017 New Mexico Wildlife Conservation Officer of the Year.
Cimbal received the award at the department’s third annual Governor’s Special Hunt Auction and Awards Banquet on Feb. 18 in Albuquerque. Cimbal, 36, is stationed in Albuquerque. He is a 12-year veteran of the department and holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science Policy and Management from State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.