CREATIVE BRAVOS

Dr. Shelle VanEtten de Sánchez - Director of Education, National Hispanic Cultural Center
Dr. Shelle VanEtten de Sánchez has – since the beginning of 2002 – been the Director of Education at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, where she manages multidisciplinary education and outreach programs for teachers, students and the community.  She holds a B.A. in Spanish and French, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Education from UNM.  Shelle’s professional background spans 25 years and includes private tutoring, classroom teaching, university instruction and research, teacher training, distance education, community arts instruction, community-building and project management. She is committed to arts and cultural education with special attention to collaborative programs, community connections, youth programs and celebrating the power of individual creativity. To indulge her personal creativity, she makes things and writes; her book, Crossings, was co-written by Catalina Delgado Trunk and published in 2008 by National Hispanic Cultural Center. Shelle is married and mother of two boys.

Tim Nisly - Founder and Curator, TEDxABQ / Chief Operations Officer, Rio Grande Community Development Corporation
Tim Nisly is the Founder / Curator of TEDxABQ and the Chief Operations Officer for the Rio Grande Community Development Corporation. As COO, Tim built the South Valley Economic Development Center’s commercial kitchen into one of the largest commercial kitchen operations in the country; works with small businesses on business plans, financing, and marketing strategies; and is currently developing a network of community kitchens around New Mexico. As Curator of TEDxABQ, Tim works with dedicated volunteers to find the Southwest’s most extraordinary ideas and people, which are then presented in a full-day TED-style conference to over twelve hundred New Mexicans. Tim has been a Quality New Mexico certified examiner for 2008 and 2009, a board member for the Rio Grande Valley Farmer’s Guild, and is the co-founder and past president of NetImpact Professional. He’s studied at University of Edinburgh in Scotland and holds an MBA from UNM’s Anderson School of Management.

Carlos Contreras - Teacher, Gordon Bernell Charter School / Poet in Residence, MDC / Host, NHCC Voces Program / Collaborator, Urban Verbs
Carlos Contreras is a two time national champion performance poet and local educator, who leads writing workshops in the adult jail facility at the Gordon Bernell Charter School. He also plays host to the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Voces Program, and he was a participant in the NHCC’s National Latino Writers Conference 09’. A member of 8 spoken word poetry teams at the college and professional level, Contreras has used spoken word as a tool for personal growth and community advancement. He has visited more than 35 elementary, middle, high school, and college campuses throughout his poetry career. He has also been the guest of and is currently the poet in residence at a correctional facility (MDC). Contreras is an English major. He currently creates alongside Colin Hazelbaker and Hakim Bellamy as part of Albuquerque’s Urban Verbs, a Hip-Hop influenced experimental theatre adventure.

Sofia Resnik & Mikala Aragon-Sterling - Co-founders and -publishers, Fraise Magazine / Students, Amy Biehl High School
Sophia Resnik and Mikala Aragon-Sterling are in 11^th grade at Amy Biehl High School and the co-founders and -publishers of Fraise, a magazine that focuses on fashion, design and community resources. Sofia and Mikala write, photograph, design, layout and finance (largely through ad sales) the full-color, professional-quality publication, which took shape when the girls could not find the magazine they wanted to read and so decided to make their own. The result of a two-year collaborative partnership, supported by Amy Biehl High School’s electives programs, issues one and two of Fraise were sold locally in limited runs; issue three is in the works – outside of school hours, as an independent project. Sofia and Mikala are both aspiring designers (Sophia in architecture and interior design; Mikala in fashion), honors students and volunteers.

Albuquerque Theatre Guild
Albuquerque Theatre Guild (ATG) is an all-volunteer arts organization, founded in 2007 to acquaint the world with the marvelous treasure trove of live theatre that exists in Albuquerque. In five years, ATG has grown to include 43 live theatre companies and venues, as well as over a hundred individual theatre practitioners. ATG works to promote public awareness of theatre in the greater Albuquerque area, to encourage the growth of theatre audiences, to foster cooperation and collaboration among its member theatres, to facilitate and assist the work of individual members involved in all aspects of theatrical production.  The Guild publicizes local theatre in a twice-yearly guide, through its website and social media, on radio and television, at numerous community events, and via the Theatre Lovers Community – a group ATG formed for its most devoted audiences.  ATG also has an annual theatre scholarship program for young people, invites students to preview performances and supports local high school drama programs. ATG embraces professional through community theatre and student productions.

Dale Dekker & Dekker/Perich/Sabatini
Dale Dekker & Dekker/Perich/Sabatini (D/P/S) have been anchors of Albuquerque’s creative economy for decades.

A founder and principal of D/P/S, Dale Dekker, AIA, AICP, has over 30 years experience as a registered architect and planner. His work includes one of a kind research facilities for Sandia National Laboratory, award winning school designs for Albuquerque Public Schools, socially responsible assisted living facilities for the elderly, and the nationally recognized adaptive reuse of the Old Albuquerque High School. Dale serves on the executive committee of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and the board of Albuquerque Economic Development (AED), as Current President of NAIOP and was the inaugural ULI New Mexico District Council Chair from 2008-2011. He was appointed to the New Mexico Construction Industries Commission and the State Workforce Board by Governor Susana Martinez. Dale lives in Albuquerque with his wife Diane and has three children.

Dekker/Perich/Sabatini (D/P/S) is an award-winning design firm with expertise in architecture, interiors, planning, structural engineering and landscape architecture. A regional leader in design excellence and sustainability, D/P/S has a 50-year portfolio of education, healthcare, commercial, civic and mixed use projects. D/P/S strives to help clients realize their dreams by partnering with them through a collaborative, multi-disciplined process that recognizes new trends and utilizes technologies to create functional, comfortable and stimulating places. D/P/S is focused on the future and committed to solutions that provide healthy, productive environments and make long-term economic sense. D/P/S has offices in Albuquerque and Las Cruces, NM; Las Vegas, NV; and Amarillo, TX.