A HISTORY OF PUBLIC SERVICE
Director of Marketing, Museums of New Mexico & Department of Cultural Affairs, New Mexico
Jan. 2003- Jun. 2009
Coordinated outreach for four Santa Fe Museums
Drew record audiences to the World Premier of Nicholas & Alexandra
Bolstered the New Mexicans visitation to their museums and monuments by 33 percent
Managed all advertising buys and secured leveraged buys at a four to one level
Garnered Special Recognition Award from the Marketing Organization of America
Strategically marketed openings of two new monuments to record number audiences
Facilitated healing dialogues between Mescalero, Apache and Navajo people
Built renewed trust and achieved goals and objectives of the Department
Directed special projects for the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC)
Secured funding from the Federal Government to construct bridge between Bosque and the NHCC
Created concept, raised funds, wrote text, published and distributed twenty thousand copies of Good Food, GoodHealth, and 10,000 copies of Buena Comida, Buena Salud to target Hispanic and Native American Audiences as part of The Field to Feast collaborative initiative
Distributed book in alternative pdf version to all Native American tribes within the United States
Host KNNE/TVAlbuquerque, NM
Jan 2003- May 2005
‘Host In-Focus Round House Reports’
Weekly round-up of pending legislative issues and actions.
Interviewed key legislators live from the State Capitol Building
Host KNNE/TV ‘Stateline’
Host a weekly public affairs show covering key issues facing the state of New Mexico.
A weekly interview and call in Public Affairs program covering important New Mexico issues
Consultant to Chairman of Board of Directors of the First Church of Christ Scientist
May 2001- Dec. 2003
Provided strategic planning,, communications, speech-writing and U.S. Hispanic marketing .
Coordinated special projects and planning services.
Developed U.S. Hispanic Marketing plan to forward organization’s mission
Author, It’s All in the Frijoles 100 Famous Latinos Share Real-Life Stories: Time-Tested Dichos
May 1998- May 2001
Conducted interviews for book
Wrote and edited cultural book
Secured agent and book deal with top publisher
Organized and implemented successful 9-city book-tour
Host, “Life & Times Tonight”, KCET/TV, Channel 28, Los Angeles, CA
Jan. 1998 - Feb. 1999
Host, live, nightly half-hour alternative newscast offering viewers a unique form of local broadcast
Conducted field and in-studio interviews
Communications Consultant/Development Director, LA Unified School District, Los Angeles, CA
Jul. 1991 - Feb. 1998
Division of Adult & Career Education
Developed, coordinated and implemented Division’s public information and outreach programs
Created media outreach communication and advertising with television, radio, print media, billboard display companies, community-based organizations, and public agencies
Conducted development campaign or the award –winning Eastside FamilyLiteracy & Child Development Center (The first family literacy program initiated on an adult school campus LAUSD)
News Reporter/Host, KCBS/TV, Channel 2, Los Angeles, CA
Apr. 1987 – Apr. 1990
Wrote and produced daily news stories for nightly newscast as well as half-hour documentaries for broadcast
Served as Host and member of the production team for a weekly public affairs show “Two-the-Point”
Co-Founder & Vice President Ponce-Nicasio Broadcasting, Inc. Sacramento, CA
Apr. 1987 – Apr. 1990
Secured a license from the Federal Communications Commission to start-up KCMY/TV, Channel 29
KCMY was the first television station in the nation to be owned and operated by Mexican American women
West Coast Producer & Host/ WRDC/TV (NBC), Washington D.C. & La Raza Productions
Jul. 1983 – Sept. 1987
Segment producer host “Latin Tempo”, nationally syndicated television news magazine
Responsible for writing, producing, and editing of weekly West Coast segments
Hosted the half-hour program.
AWARDS/RECOGNITION
• Honored by inclusion as author in the “Latinas: The Spirit of California” Remarkable Women, 2005-2009
Exhibit, California Museum of Women, History, and the Arts, Sacramento, CA
• Latino Literary Hall of Fame Best Self-help Book Award 2001
• IRWIN Award Best Non-Fiction Campaign, 2001, Book Publicists of Southern California
• Woman of the Year Award, March, 2001, Los Angeles County Commission on the Status of Women
• Five Key Latinos in California, 2001, CAL TEACH campaign to encourage people to enter teaching profession
• Who’s Who in America, 1999-2000
• Who’s Who of American Women, 1999-2000
• Who’s Who in the West, 1997
• Emmy Award, Best Live Coverage of an Unscheduled News Event, “Earthquake”, October 1, 1987, Channel 2 News
• Radio and TV News Association of Southern California Award, Best Live Coverage, “Earthquake: October 1, 1987”
• Women of Achievement Award, Westside Women’s Center, May 1986
• “5 Women of Achievement”, Los Angeles Times, May 1986
• Named one of “25 Major Hispanic Leaders,” by Los Angeles Herald Examiner, July 24, 1986
• One Hundred Top Hispanic Women in California, 1983
• Outstanding Women of America, 1981
• Community Service Award by the Sacramento Child Abuse Council for documentary series on Child Abuse, 1978
• Soroptimist Award for Outstanding Women Under 35, 1971
PUBLICATIONS
Good Food, Good Health/ Buena Comida, Buena Salud, National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque, NM, 2008 part of The Field to Feast Collaborative Initiative
It’s all in the Frijoles: 100 Famous Latinos Share Real-Life Stories, Time-Tested Dichos, Favorite Folktales, and Inspiring Words of Wisdom (May, 2000, Fireside/Simon & Schuster, ISBN# 90-684- 84900-3)
“It’s All in the Frijoles” - in Chocolate for a Woman’s Heart, edited by Kay Allenbaugh, Fireside/Simon & Schuster, 1998
Columnist, Eastern Group Publications, the nation’s largest bilingual community newspaper. - May 1995-1999
“Hispanics and the Media” - National Hispanic Center for Advanced Studies & Policy Analysis, November, 1986
“Chicanas and the Media” - National Hispanic Center for Advanced Studies & Policy Analysis, November, 1981
“The Chicana and Employment: Needs Analysis and Recommendations for Legislation” - A Report of the California Commission on the Status of Women, 1975
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT
Music Center Performing Arts Council Education Committee
Chair, Olympic Dance Festival
Advisory Committee, The California Highway Patrol, Women Traffic Officer Program
Attorney General’s Task Force on Women’s Rights
Founding Member & Past President, Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional, Inc.
Founder, Centro de Niños Child Care Centers
BOARD MEMBER AFFILIATIONS PAST & PRESENT:
New Mexico Community Foundation, Santa Fe Advisory Board
Plaza de Cultura y Artes Foundation, Founding Member
Los Angeles Mexican Museum of Arts & Culture Founding Member
Reading is Fundamental
Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity
L.A. Area Boy Scout Council
Eastside Family Literacy & Child Development Center
YWCA
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Advisory Council
Bella Lewitsky Dance Company
The Dance Gallery
The Music Center Theater Group
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
The California Center (published The California Journal)
The California Center for Education and Public Policy (Advisory) Plaza de la Raza
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28-year member, International Women’s Forum, Southern California Chapter