The New Mexico Public Education Department – Black Education Act (BEA) Bureau – is pleased to announce our 5th annual conference:

Building an Equity Bridge Conference: Sustaining the Pillars

April 16, 2026 – Kickoff | April 17–18, 2026
New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum – Las Cruces, NM

Kimberly York

Kimberly York
Manager, NMPED Black Education Act
Conference Organizer

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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.

Yvonne Garcia

Yvonne Garcia
Deputy Secretary of NMPED Student Support Services Division

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Dr. Tia Mills

Dr. Tia Mills
Executive Committee Member of the National Education Association
Keynote Speaker – April 17

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Dr. Tia Trumaine Mills is a special education teacher from Baton Rouge, La., with more than 20 years of classroom experience. Dr. Mills was elected to the NEA Executive Committee in 2025 for a three-year term.

Dr. Mills is the immediate past president of the Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE) and the youngest person to serve as president in the association’s history. In her capacity as president of LAE, she served as the official spokeswoman of LAE where her primary duties included leading the association’s efforts at the Louisiana State Legislature and the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meetings.

She also served as local president of the East Baton Rouge Parish Association of Educators (EBRPAE) for seven years. As president, Dr. Mills led the association’s efforts in the fight to enhance the salaries of district employees by convincing the school board to unfreeze educators’ pay schedules. She was also instrumental in helping increase membership in the local by 30 percent during her term as EBRPAE president and led the local association’s push for fair standards for the state’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program.

Dr. Mills’ state-level activism includes her service on the LAE Board of Directors, as well as the Board of Trustees for the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana. In 2017, LAE honored Dr. Mills with the association’s top honor, the LAE Teacher Image Award. A strong and fierce advocate for students and their educators, Dr. Mills has received numerous accolades, including the NAACP’s Benjamin Hooks Keeper of the Flame Award, the NEA Foundation’s Horace Mann Award, and recognition as one of Southern University’s “40 Under 40.” Dr. Mills is affiliated with several professional and civic organizations, including the Southern University Alumni Federation, the NAACP, 100 Black Women of Metropolitan Baton Rouge, and is a proud member of the Tau Kappa Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

Dr. Mills believes that the fight for public education and labor is inseparable from the fight for equity and racial and social justice. As an adjunct professor at Southern University in Baton Rouge, she hopes to inspire a new generation of activist leaders to uphold the NEA’s rich legacy of fighting for great public schools for every student.

Dr. Mills earned her bachelor of arts in history, master of arts in social science with a concentration in history, and an alternative certification in special education, all from Southern University and A&M College. She received her EdD in higher education and organizational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

Dr. Royce James
Howard University Plasma Physics Laboratory Executive Director
Keynote Speaker – April 18

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Black Education Act Advisory Council Members

  • Dr. Johnna Rocker-Clinton – Chair
  • Dr. Stephanie Mack – Vice Chair
  • Sandra Aaron – Secretary
  • Hakim Bellamy
  • Dr. Manuel Bustamante
  • Andrea Determan
  • Chrishawna Nickols
  • Olivia Oyinatumba
  • Cecil Rose
  • Dr. Brandi Stone
  • Dr. Patricia Trujillo
  • Dr. Lenell Walton
  • Nic Williams
  • Dr. Cynthia Wise