Corilia Ortega

AGE: 35

OCCUPATION: program coordinator, Alianza de Agri-Cultura de Taos

EDUCATION: MA, psychology,

BA, psychology, New Mexico Highlands University

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: none

POLITICAL PARTY: Democrat

CHARGED WITH A CRIME (MORE SERIOUS THAN A TRAFFIC TICKET): no SOCIAL MEDIA: coriliafortaos.com; facebook.com/coriliaforcouncil; instagram.com/coriliaforcouncil/

Corilia Ortega was born in and grew up in Arroyo Hondo to a large family. She attended and graduated from Taos High School. She attended New Mexico Highlands

University in Las Vegas, New Mexico where she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in clinical psychology. While pursuing her master's degree and afterwards, she worked from 20112017 at New Mexico Highlands University Center for Advocacy, Resources, Education & Support starting as an student intern in the master's program helping at-risk students and facilitating workshops. By the time she left she was serving as interim director and supervising grad student interns.

Ortega graduated from Emerge NM, an intensive and selective six month program which provides women and non-binary people with classes on the skills needed to run for elected office. She says friends and family encouraged her to run for office.

She works as a program coordinator for Alianza de AgriCultura de Taos, a nonprofit that works to increase food security through locally-grown food, economic stability, resilience and foster agriculture in Taos. Ortega said that promoting sustainable local agriculture and conserving precious resources like water and land is very important to her.

She also is in Taos Milagro Rotary, helped found the El Valle del Norte chapter of the National Young Farmer Coalition and is cofounder of and volunteer at the Talpa Farmer's Market. Ortega says she would make the right decisions if elected as a council member.

“If elected, my challenges would be the town's challenges: delivering desperately needed services to full-time residents, diversifying our economy, and reforging broken relationships with other keystone institutions in the community. I believe I'm the candidate for the job,” Ortega said.

“Gentrification is well underway in Taos, and if left unchecked by a change in town priorities, it will continue, with predictable results,” she said. “The emphasis on tourism has been the priority for too long. COVID-19 demonstrated the vulnerability of us having all our eggs in one basket.”