Team
Joan Brown, osf, Executive Director, is a Catholic Franciscan sister from the Rochester, Minnesota community who serves as the Executive Director of NMIPL. Her farm background, passion for the Sacred Earth Community and many years of experience in the non-profit and social justice sector inform her work. She holds a Master’s Degree from California Institute of Integral Studies where she studied with Brian Swimme, Joanna Macy and others. Fr. Thomas Berry and Teilhard de Chardin inspire her work for the long haul in helping people come to a sense of wonder at the marvelous world we have been given and are called to take care of for the future of all beings.
Carlos Navarro, Media Assistant and Data Base Manager, is an anti-hunger activist and blogger. He volunteers as the convener for the Interfaith Hunger Coalition and as state coordinator for Bread for the World in New Mexico. He is retired from the University of New Mexico, where he worked as editor for the Latin America Digital Beat, an online news site on Latin American affairs. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications/Journalism and a Master of Business Administration degree in International Trade.
Clara Sims, Assistant Executive Director, is a (soon-to-be) minister in the United Church of Christ. She holds a Masters of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School where her studies focused on the legacies of colonization, religion and ecology, and theology and climate change. With work experience in both congregations and social justice non-profits, she is delighted to bring her passion for environmental justice and social healing in service of her beloved home state. Clara also serves part-time as Assistant Minister at First Congregational UCC Albuquerque.
Rita Snyder, Grant Writing, volunteers with New Mexico nonprofits to write grants for clean energy and climate justice. She also volunteers with Kiva to review Microfinance loans for people across the globe. Rita has actively worked for equality and social justice for over 50 years. She is Professor Emerita of Psychology at Denison University.
Board Officers
Ann McCartney, Co-Chair, moved from her home state of Kansas to New Mexico in 1975. She graduated from the University of New Mexico Law School in 1983 and has operated a solo law practice in Valencia County focusing on guardianship, estate planning and civil rights for I/DD individuals since 1990; She is now semi-retired. Ann is an active member of the Grace Essence Mandala which draws on the unitive traditions of Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism. Her primary focus in addressing climate change has been advocating for energy savings at the individual, municipal and county levels. Ann is also a board member of 350NM and active with its legislative action team. She is active with NM IPL’s Cool Congregations Committee and the Forest of Bliss tree planting project.
Ruth Striegel, Co-Chair, grew up in Wisconsin loving music and the natural world. An Albuquerque resident since 1982, she is Director of Music and Green Justice team member at First Congregational UCC. Volunteering with NMIPL has given her opportunities to meet New Mexicans around the state in the cause of environmental justice. Working with the FCC Green Justice team has given her opportunities to educate the congregation about EJ issues and enlist them in communicating with local and national decision-makers. Ruth is retired from Albuquerque Public Schools, where she taught orchestra in grades 4 through 12.
Cynthia Gonzalez, Secretary, resides in El Paso, TX. She graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) with a double bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Political Science in 2014 and a Master’s Degree in Social Work in 2019. She has experience working in the non-profit and public sectors. Cynthia has worked on developing and implementing programs in education, housing, homelessness, mental health, migration, and environmental justice. Cynthia is currently working as the Advocacy Coordinator for the Missionary Society of St. Columban, an International Catholic missionary society of priests and lay missionaries. In this role, Cynthia is in charge of advancing national and international advocacy efforts in migration and ecology using the experiences of Columban missionaries living and working in some of the most marginalized communities around the world . She is passionate about social justice and the defense of human rights.
Emma O’Sullivan, Treasurer, grew up outside of Los Lunas, New Mexico. She graduated from University of New Mexico School of Law in 2016 and then began working as an immigration attorney for Santa Fe Dreamers Project, where she currently serves as a legal director. As a seventh generation New Mexican, a mother, a Roman Catholic and an abolitionist, environmental justice is a mandate Emma takes to heart. In her free time, Emma volunteers extensively and is a joyful amateur gardener.
Board Members
Andrew Black currently serves as an associate pastor to First Presbyterian Church Santa Fe, is a Commissioner to the Synod of the Southwest and is the National Wildlife Federation’s Public Lands Field Director. He is an avid fly-fisherman and passionate about the intersection of culture, community, collaboration, conservation and spirituality. A New Mexico native, Andrew witnessed first hand the healing nature of God’s creation while fishing the rivers of the west with his grandfathers, both WWII veterans. Andrew completed a joint degree Juris Doctor/Master of Divinity at University of Louisville School of Law and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Judy Brown has been at home in Albuquerque since 1979 when she came here to attend UNM and then taught at CNM for 30 years. Since she retired, she has worked at UNMHSC as a standardized patient, portraying simulated cases for med students to practice on. A member of Congregation Nahalat Shalom since 1996, she has served as board member and webmaster and now leads a monthly chanting Shabbat gathering. Following close study of the Song of Songs, she seeks to turn her Love into Action to serve the community and the natural world. Inspired by her friend Judy Smith, she is excited to take her place as the Jewish representative on the board and looks forward to engaging Jewish members with renewed energy to care for Creation and address climate change. She is especially concerned about nuclear issues and the nuclear sacrifice zones created in New Mexico by all the parts of that industry.
Arcelia Isais-Gastelum was raised and studied in Arizona, which is why she places a high priority on protecting our desert landscapes and resources, especially in light of our looming climate crisis. She moved to New Mexico after completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science and Biology to pursue her passion of working with diverse communities to advocate for the use of renewable energy. She hopes to continue working to promote positive changes that will bring forth a sustainable and equitable future for our communities.
Michael Prine is a member of the Baha’i Faith. He retired from the University of New Mexico in 2014 after working with computers for over 35 years. Solar technology has been a major part of his life since 1992, and he has lived in a solar powered house that has produced all of its electricity from a grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) system since 2016. In mid-2021, he purchased a used 2011 Nisan Leaf electric vehicle to further reduce his use fossil fuels and to learn more about how these types of autos function. He supports all efforts to reduce racism, sexism and other forms of prejudice in our society.
Terry Sloan is a Navajo and Hopi Native American from Tuba City, AZ. He has engaged in environmental, environmental justice, climate change and Indigenous Peoples rights and human rights work over the last 25 years. He is an accredited member of the UN, working as NGO for Southwest Native Cultures. He has extensive experience with Tribal governments and non-profit organizations, governments, economic development and is the current supervising/manager senior accountant with Sloan & Company. He is a member of Risen Savior Catholic Church in Albuquerque. He serves on several boards: United Nations Association-Albuquerque Chapter, Green Amendments for the Generations, Silver Bullet Productions, and the Jemez Community Development Corporation. He also serves as the Intergovernmental Tribal Liaison for the City of Albuquerque, working with the 23 Tribes of New Mexico.
Maziar Saleh Ziabari is an attendee of the M.T.O. Shahmaghsoudi® School and has drawn immense inspiration in meeting the selfless lives behind Albuquerque’s many interfaith, charitable, and advocacy nonprofits. He’s currently studying Quantum Optics at the University of New Mexico.
Born and raised in Albuquerque NM, Ryan Tate graduated with a bachelor’s in philosophy in 2021 from the University of New Mexico, and with a master’s in Christian Studies from University of The Southwest in Hobbs New Mexico in 2023. Ryan has participated heavily in community organizing surrounding racial justice and human rights with New Mexico Black Lives Matter. They are not only passionate about racial equity and justice for all, but environmental justice and restoration through indigenous sovereignty and wisdom. Ryan is of the African American Spiritualist(Spiritual) tradition religiously, soon to be ordained, and has deep interest in other ATRs(African Traditional Religions) such as; Santería, Ifa, Palo, Vudu/Vodou/Voodoo, and Umbanda. They are the director of Children’s, Youth and Family ministries at first UCC Albuquerque. Ryan believes that the land is our friend and deserves every due right a human being possesses, and fights to achieve that.
Advisory Board
Rev. Anita Amstutz Mennonite minister with 17+ years of congregational ministry, currently offers on-line counseling and spiritual companioning with Wisdom Ways of Being, teaches practical soul care, based upon her 2018 book, Soul Tending: Journey into the Heart of Sabbath, and contemplative courses at the Center for Action and Contemplation. As a beekeeper, Anita founded Think Like A Bee, an education/advocacy organization for pollinator protection and healthy food in New Mexico.
Larry Rasmussen is Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics Emeritus, Union Theological Seminary, New York. He is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, 2021, of the Society of Christian Ethics and the author of Earth-honoring Faith: Religious Ethics in a New Key (Oxford University Press, 2013). He and Nyla live in Santa Fe. He is a member of the United Church of Santa Fe.