Panelists

Carlos Avila serves as the Bilingual Multicultural Education Program Specialist under the Language and Culture Division at the New Mexico Public Education Department. He is a double alumnus of New Mexico State University and loves giving back to the Las Cruces community. As a former middle school educator in Las Cruces Public Schools, his classroom experience brings a unique lens, and he uses his background knowledge and personal experiences to strengthen relationships and serve school communities to the best of his ability. Lastly, Carlos is a huge Brené Brown fan, and her research and storytelling continuously shapes the way he approaches many facets of his life. He is driven by compassion, empathy, and by leaning into discomfort to continue to learn, grow, and better connect with the world around him.

Julia Rosa Emslie has over 20 years of progressive education experience working in public school systems, university programs, and at the state-level. Her work includes professional learning and leadership development for parents, families, teachers, principals, superintendents, advisories, and governance boards. She loves education event planning and project management and what she does best is design non-regulatory policy guidance to ensure compliance, understanding, and equity in the implementation of federal and state laws/funding. She currently serves as the Hispanic Education Liaison for the New Mexico Public Education Department and is tasked with ensuring that the department leverages the components of the Hispanic Education Act to support and empower local school districts and charter schools to improve how they serve Hispanic students and families.

KatieAnn Juanico, NMPED Deputy Secretary of Indian Education, is an enrolled tribal member of the Pueblo of Acoma and was raised on the reservation by her parents, Marietta and Melvin Juanico. She began her career in education as a Head Start teacher and over the years has served in many educational capacities – including as a Head Start teacher, an education manager, a director, a FOCUS consultant, and as one of the trustees for the Santa Fe Indian School (SFIS). She most recently worked for the San Felipe pueblo as the Education Director. Ms. Juanico has taught two courses at the University of New Mexico (UNM) – Human Growth and Development & Learning and the Classroom – over the past nine semesters. She has earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education with an endorsement in language arts and a master’s degree in educational psychology from UNM. She is currently classified as a doctoral candidate and will attain her Ph.D. in educational psychology in May 2024.

Kimberly currently oversees the Black Education Bureau for the New Mexico Public Education Department. She is a doctoral candidate at Grand Canyon University, completing a Ph.D. in Psychology with an emphasis in Organizational Psychology. Her dissertation focuses on perceived organizational support and occupational burnout. She is an Independent Licensed Clinical Social Worker (mental health therapist) with over 25 years of blended experience in organizational leadership, youth development, training facilitation, and racial and social justice. She excels in education and community-based development, strategic planning, and systemic transformation. Her clinical competencies include resiliency-based mental health assessments, treatment planning, and conducting individual and group therapy with children, youth, and families.

As a servant leader, Kimberly has a proven record of commitment to service. She was appointed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to the New Mexico Racial Justice Council and elected as the Diversity Coordinator of Las Cruces Chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). She previously held additional community leadership roles as the 2nd Vice President of Dona Ana County NAACP (Education Chair) and a member of the Executive Committee of the State of New Mexico Office of African American Affairs. She has provided consulting services to many organizations including Las Cruces Public Schools, United Way of Southwest New Mexico, Ngage New Mexico, La Casa, and more.

Kimberly holds a Bachelor of Social Work from Capital University. She earned a Masters of Social Administration and a Masters of Nonprofit Organizations (specialization in Nonprofit Management) from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). Additionally, Kimberly is an alum of the Treu – Mart Resiliency and Youth Development Fellowship at CWRU’s Mandel Center for Non-Profit Organizations. Her international experience includes organizational and youth development in Bangladesh and the Netherlands. Kimberly holds Independent Clinical Social Work license (with Supervision designation), Non-Profit Management Certification, Advanced Mediation Certification, and No Bullies, No Victims trainer. She is a Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) Practitioner, National trainer of Nurturing Parenting, and Circle of Security. She is most proud to be a National Resiliency Trainer and has completed National Character Education Training by the Josephson Institute on Ethics. She is a member of the Phi Alpha National Social Work Honor Society and the Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society for Adult Learners.

In May 2023 Kimberly was inducted into the Alpha Chi National Honor Society which recognizes top scholars for their academic achievements.

I am a strong research-driven instructional leader who understands the undeniable power of teacher, parent, and student collaboration; and I hope to function well as a facilitator, who can be a catalyst for change and a maintainer of excellence. I know how to balance a minimum degree of beneficial criticism with a healthy abundance of praise. I offer a commitment to collaborative team building, and shared decision- making to promote multicultural awareness, and the ability to create an effective staff development plan that engages in continued personal professional development. I believe in cultivating an inviting district environment where all students, parents and staff feel welcome in our schools. I believe we can achieve this if we maintain an atmosphere of Trust, Respect, Optimism and Intentionality, in what we do in our buildings & classrooms, and how we engage one another in and outside of the school environment. We have to genuinely remember that “KINDNESS” is a crucial aspect of having a safe and conducive environment for learning.

I grew up in a low socio-economic part of San Antonio with four brothers and a single-hard working mother. So as an administrator, I merged the knowledge of being a Certified Trainer of Ruby Payne’s Understanding of Poverty, and Jim Fay’s Love & Logic Approach to School-Wide Discipline, with my own personal experience growing up, to create a discipline ideology that is structured and teaches the logical flow of consequences-based on choice. It is reflective of the idea that both dignity and respect must be maintained for both teachers and students.

Christopher Love was born and raised in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Christopher Attended New Mexico State University where he received his bachelor’s degree in Elementary education and Special education in 2017. In 2019, Christopher received his Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with in emphasis in language, literature, and culture. Christopher’s was named 2019 most outstanding master’s student in the New Mexico State University Teacher Preparation and Leadership: Language, Literature and Culture program. Currently, Christopher is a 6th grade English/language arts teacher at Camino Real Middle School in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Christopher is in his 4th year of teaching and currently serves on the Las Cruces Public chools Equity Council. Christopher’s hobbies include coaching football, serving in his church, and spending time with family.