Building better leaders
21-year-old program bridges diversity, state’s geography
Jimmy Trujillo said climbing through tunnels and portholes into alien worlds and dimensions at Meow Wolf’s wildly popular art exhibit in Santa Fe was a “crazy” experience.
It’s the kind of thing Trujillo, a principal at the REDW accounting firm in Albuquerque, might never have done on his own. But as a lifetime member of Leadership New Mexico, he joined fellow program alumni on a recent tour of Meow Wolf’s “House of Eternal Return,” an interactive and immersive fantasy exhibit that features 21st century experimental art.
It introduced him to the tremendous potential of Santa Fe’s bustling artistic talent, something Meow Wolf CEO and co-founder Vince Kadlubek discussed after the tour. Kadlubek told the group the exhibit earned $6 million in its first
full year and employed 130, encouraging Meow Wolf to expand to more states.
That snapped things into focus for Trujillo, who was still grappling with the exhibit’s wacky appeal.
“I’m still trying to figure it all out,” he said at the after-tour reception. “It’s a crazy concept that Vince and his group have made into a crazy profitable deal. And now they’re taking that footprint to keep doing more crazy profitable ventures in other markets.”
Exposure to such hands-on, eye-opening experiences is a fundamental part of Leadership New Mexico, a 22-year-old nonprofit organization that educates public- and private-sector leaders around the state about issues and challenges facing New Mexico. The program brings together leaders from a broad range of industries and communities to learn about each other and to collectively explore the state’s problems and assets.
Through those shared experiences, participants forge new friendships and lasting ties, helping to build the human networks needed to resolve problems and make the state a better place, said Leadership NM President Patty Komko.
“We strive for diversity in our programs in terms of gender, ethnicity and the businesses and geographic regions people come from,” Komko said. “We throw them all into the mix to get people together who might not otherwise meet. In the process, they form new relationships and learn about issues, policies and challenges around New Mexico.”
To do that, Leadership offers three different educational programs, plus continuous alumni activities to keep people engaged in educational and networking opportunities like the Meow Wolf event.
Leadership’s core program is an annual, 10-month class that takes participants to nearly all corners of the state to tour facilities, meet with local business and community leaders, and attend presentations by experts on critical issues. That program, which launched in 1996, has to date graduated 860 senior-level leaders from 54 New Mexico communities.
The organization also offers more-condensed programs for local government leaders, and for younger, next-generation business leaders ages 25-40. A total of 625 people have graduated from those two programs combined.
This year’s core class, which began
in September, includes 34 people from 15 communities and 14 different industries. Participants attend six threeday sessions from fall to spring, each one focused on a specific theme.
So far, the group has learned about leadership in Santa Fe, health and human services in Las Vegas, N.M., economic development in Las Cruces, and education in Hobbs. Still to come: Environment and natural resources in Farmington, and crime, justice and government in Taos.
The sessions include tours of facilities often closed to the public, such as White Sands Missile Range and the URENCO USA uranium enrichment facility south of Hobbs.
The curriculum is nonpartisan.
“We present right down the middle without leaning in any direction,” Komko said. “The intent is to educate and inform people, not make up their minds.”
As leaders in their professions and communities, graduates are later positioned to apply what they learn to better solve problems, Komko said.
Laura Ann Crawford, northwest region director for Presbyterian Medical Services in Farmington, said for her, this year’s core program is “lifealtering.”
“I’ve gotten a much bigger picture of things,” Crawford said. “People do things differently in different corners of the state. But if we come together, we can work more effectively to resolve problems.”
Likewise, Albuquerquebased Presbyterian Healthcare Services Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Carolyn Green said she’s gained a broader vision of New Mexico.
“I’ve always been Albuquerque-focused,” Green said. “But Leadership has helped me look up and see the state from all perspectives.”
Benjamin Gardner, vice president and principal at Albuquerque architecture firm Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, said he’s now connecting a lot more dots on statewide issues.
“I’ve lived in New Mexico nearly all my life, but it’s eyeopening to find out what I don’t know,” Gardner said. “That’s important for me to be a better ambassador for our state.”
With nearly 1,500 graduates from all the Leadership programs, alumni strive to stay connected and participate in activities.
Patricia Aragon, who co-owns three McDonald’s restaurants in Carlsbad and Artesia, drove to Santa Fe with her husband and business partner, Steve, to attend the Meow Wolf tour.
“It’s important to get out to learn and network and continue the relationships we’ve built through the program,” said Aragon, a 2015 core-class graduate. “I’m constantly learning new things.”