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Board of Directors
Larry Cheek, President of GROW SFCC Foundation, is Executive Vice President of First National Bank of Santa Fe. He is a member of the board of directors for the Bank and also serves as the bank's chief credit officer. Mr. Cheek has more than 20 years of banking experience in both Santa Fe and Albuquerque. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with both a Bachelor of Business Administration in the honors program and a Master of Science in community and regional planning. He is also a graduate of the Pacific Coast School of Banking at the University of Washington in Seattle. He has served as president of the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe and the New Mexico Chapter of Robert Morris Associates and has served on a number of different boards.
Heidi Tilton, Vice President of GROW SFCC Foundation retired from her position as Vice President and Senior Trust Team Manager at Wells Fargo Bank. Ms. Tilton graduated from the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico with bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration. Ms. Tilton joined the Investment Management & Trust department at Norwest (now Wells Fargo Bank) in 1995, and became the Santa Fe trust office manager in 2000. She has earned the designation of Certified Trust and Financial adviser (CTFA) issued by the American Bankers Association and is currently a member of the Santa Fe Estate Planning Council, the finance committee for the Santa Fe Community Foundation, and the finance committee of Girls Inc.
Jeff Case, Ph.D., Treasurer of GROW SFCC Foundation serves as a volunteer with the Council for International Relations, the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, and other community organizations and events. Having been an adjunct faculty member for Lansing Community College in Michigan from 1975 to 2003, Dr. Case is very familiar with community colleges. For much of that time, he was also president of J. Case Bookmart, LTD, a retail college bookstore serving Lansing Community College. He has also served as a research consultant to the Michigan Department of Education, taught graduate level courses at Michigan State University, taught for two different public school systems, and was a Peace Corp volunteer in Swaziland, Africa from 1970 to 1973. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in education and a B.S. in social sciences, all from Michigan State University.
Randy Grissom, Secretary of GROW SFCC Foundation serves as Dean of Economic and Workforce Development and Director of the Sustainable Technologies Center of Santa Fe Community College. Mr. Grissom is responsible for the development of academic programs in the Sustainable Technologies Center, industry collaborations and equipment funding. Mr. Grissom has rejoined SFCC for the third time. He taught the first class offered in 1983, helped develop many of the business and vocational programs in the early years of the college, served as the first director of the statewide New Mexico Small Business Development Center, and served as the Vice President for Finance. He recently returned to the college after spending eight years in the private sector working in the technology, agriculture and hospitality fields. (Ex Officio)
MEMBERS
Richard Abeles received a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics and a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School. He practiced law in Chicago for several years and then traveled the world, visiting more than 50 countries. He moved to Santa Fe in 1975 where he has practiced law and been involved in real estate development. Mr. Abeles has been actively involved in community activities and has served on many local boards, including election to the Metropolitan Water Board. He founded and served as president of the Santa Fe Children's Museum.
Rachel Belash spent most of her career in education, moving from undergraduate work at Oxford University to a Ph.D. in Latin American Studies from the University of Kentucky. She was awarded tenure at Vassar College, then became head of independent girls' schools first in Connecticut and then Toronto, and was manager of the Search Group at an educational consulting firm. She was also a vice president in the (then) Bank of Boston's Trust Division. Ms. Belash is a past board member of Cornerstones Community Partnership in Santa Fe and was the founding Board Chair of Compassion Beyond Borders. She serves on the Board of the United World College USA, and is a volunteer tutor for basic literacy and ESL training under the aegis of SFCC's Adult Basic Education division.
Carole Brito is the Chair of SFCC's Governing Board and is the President and Founder of LEAD (Leadership, Education, Assessment and Development) for Excellence. Ms. Brito has 30 years of experience as an educator, kindergarten through graduate level, and retired from New Mexico Highlands University in June 2006. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Educational Administration degree from New Mexico Highlands University. (Ex Officio)
Gay Dillingham is the Co-Founder and former President and Chair of Earthstone International, LLC. Earthstone is an environmental IP company manufacturing recycled glass into an engineered “white foam glass" for surface abrasion, non-toxic cleaning technologies, agriculture products and soon to be building products. This flexible revolutionary material is a superior replacement to many strip-mined materials and the new factory located at the solid waste landfill captures the greenhouse gas methane, converting it to power the kilns. Ms. Dillingham also served as Chair of the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board for six years. She owns her own production company, CNS Communications, and is an award winning producer/director. As the part time executive director of the Livingry Foundation, Ms. Dillingham served as board chair for the New Mexico Association of Grantmakers, and as a member of the boards of New Voice of Business, the Coalition for Quality Children's Media, and the World Security Institute in Washington, D.C.
Robert Glick is Vice President for Philanthropy of Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and Executive Director of the St. Vincent Hospital Foundation. Mr. Glick holds a doctorate in comparative literature from Indiana University, and was professor of English and Comparative Literature at the Universities of Cincinnati and Maryland, as well as a Visiting Fellow at Yale University. In Santa Fe, he has served on the board of many nonprofit organizations, including La Familia Medical Center, the Lensic Performing Arts Center, Santa Fe Prep, Shakespeare in Santa Fe, and the New Mexico Children’s Foundation.
Sheila Ortego, Ph.D., President of SFCC, specializes in grant writing and has brought more than $8 million in special grants to Santa Fe Community College. Dr. Ortego also contributes as a member or consultant to numerous community and professional organizations, including Santa Fe Economic Development, Inc., the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Universities, and the Council on Podiatric Medical Education. (Ex Officio)
Rosemary Palazzi Mulcahy has been a self-employed CPA in Santa Fe for over 30 years. Her accounting practice has focused on small business, tax and estate planning. She received a degree in International Affairs from the University of Colorado. Prior to pursuing a career in accounting she was associated with Merrill Lynch and the Legislative School Study Committee. She worked with Peat Marwick prior to opening her own practice. She was actively involved in the Build Our Neighborhoods Decent Schools (BONDS) campaign in years past to improve many of the Santa Fe schools and secured funds for the expansion and development of Santa Fe High School.
Thomas C. Schwab, Psy.D., CFP® is the founder and managing member of T.C. Schwab Financial Planning, LLC, a strictly hourly fee-only independent financial planning firm in Santa Fe. Dr. Schwab graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts and with a Doctorate in Psychology (Psy.D.) from the University of Denver. He received a Certificate in Financial Planning from Boston University’s Center for Professional Education in 2004 and attained the designation of Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) in 2005. He is an active member of the Financial Planning Association (national and New Mexico Chapters) as well as the Santa Fe Estate Planning Council. He is also a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, and the New Mexico and Santa Fe Collaborative Practice Groups. He has served for the past year on the GROW SFCC Foundation's Finance Committee as well as the Santa Fe Community College President’s Advancement Council. Dr. Schwab is also a member of the Santa Fe Alliance and the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, and is a major sponsor of the Eldorado Art Studio Tour.
Baryalai Shalizi, or "Baro" as he is known, was born in India and lived overseas for many years. He has a bachelor’s degree in languages from Brandies University and a master’s degree in international law and international business from The American University in Washington, D.C. Mr. Shalizi has lived in Santa Fe for many years and has been very involved in community organizations such as Volunteer Involvement Service, Leadership Santa Fe Alumni Association, Foundation for Indian Leadership, the Santa Fe Community Theatre, Capitol City Jaycees, Cultural Affairs Committee, Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Advisory Group, Sangre de Cristo Animal Protection Center, Moving People Dance Theatre, Compassion Beyond Borders and the Laguna Education Foundation. Mr. Shalizi is a Realtor and owns his own brokerage, Shalizi Real Estate. He holds the Certified Residential Specialist and Certified International Properties Specialist which very few realtors in the nation hold. He is also a GREEN and Certified Resort and Second Home Specialist.
Nancy Witter is retired from the field of Clinical Psychology. A member of Phi Beta Kappa scholastic honorary, she holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Iowa and a Master of Science degree from Purdue University. She has been active in the Santa Fe community for many years, having served on a number of professional and nonprofit boards and as a member of various organizations. A resident of Santa Fe since 1983, she has been supportive of and involved with Santa Fe Community College since its beginning and is the widow of its founding president, Dr. Bill Witter.
STAFF
Deborah Boldt serves as the Executive Director of the GROW SFCC Foundation and as SFCC's Director of Development. As an experienced development professional, Ms. Boldt has worked in both grant seeking and grant making for more than 20 years, seven of those in New Mexico. She served as a program officer for the Con Alma Health Foundation where she managed a $1.5 million portfolio and for the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation where she was responsible for raising over $3 million across all sectors: corporations, foundations, government and individuals. She has also worked in international development in Brazil, Argentina and India. Ms. Boldt holds a Master of Planning and Administration degree from Antioch University and has several research and policy publications to her credit, including a report published by the Con Alma Health Foundation in 2006: Closing the Health Disparity Gap in New Mexico: A Roadmap for Grantmaking.
For more information, please contact Deborah Boldt, Executive Director, (505) 428-1704, deborah.boldt@sfcc.edu.