Meet the board

 Susie is a lifelong resident of Lordsburg, NM. She is a 1993 graduate of Lordsburg High School. She is also a graduate of Western New Mexico University, where she earned her Associate of Science degree in office administration and her Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice   Susie has spent almost two decades in public service, in the Hidalgo District Attorney’s Office.  

Susie has been married for 12 years and is the proud mother of Austin and Aspen. As a mother she became and advocate and started the Bubbles for Autism event, approximately eight years ago to bring awareness and acceptance in and around her community.

Susie is a tireless volunteer and enjoys lending a hand to those around her, wherever she can, especially when it comes to the youth of Hidalgo County. She believes it is important to provide support and encouragement to them in all off their endeavors. 

Susie has served her community on Lordsburg/Hidalgo Library Board of Directors, Lordsburg Municipal School Board, Lordsburg City Council, and the Hidalgo County Fair Board.  Holly was born and raised in Lordsburg, NM. She loves her community and firmly believes in giving back to the place she calls home. Go Mavericks! Holly is a wife, and mom of two kids. She absolutely loves her family and would not be the person she is today without them. 

Holly has been employed with Lordsburg Schools for over eight years as an Instructional Assistant, with five of those years being in a Special Education classroom. She is currently working in the LHS SPED classroom and highly values her role with her students. She is also a Catechism teacher for her church. Holly, alongside her sister, teach a First Communion class of seventeen! 

Holly is currently taking classes from Western New Mexico University to someday become an elementary teacher. She believes the youth are our future and takes pride in helping them grow and become comfortable with themselves. Holly is also involved in youth athletics and stays busy constantly. She is excited to be involved with this organization to make this community stronger! 

  Holly was born and raised in Lordsburg, NM. She loves her community and firmly believes in giving back to the place she calls home. Go Mavericks! Holly is a wife, and mom of two kids. She absolutely loves her family and would not be the person she is today without them. 

Holly has been employed with Lordsburg Schools for over eight years as an Instructional Assistant, with five of those years being in a Special Education classroom. She is currently working in the LHS SPED classroom and highly values her role with her students. She is also a Catechism teacher for her church. Holly, alongside her sister, teach a First Communion class of seventeen! 

Holly is currently taking classes from Western New Mexico University to someday become an elementary teacher. She believes the youth are our future and takes pride in helping them grow and become comfortable with themselves. Holly is also involved in youth athletics and stays busy constantly. She is excited to be involved with this organization to make this community stronger! 

  Olivia Pantoja leads clients through advocacy and strategy efforts, serving organizations in a range of industries with their most complex issues. With a long-standing history of representing professional and trade associations, Olivia often incorporates her relationships with industry leaders in her work at all levels of government. She has partnered with organizations in hospitality, health care, nonprofits, sports teams and more on initiatives including criminal justice reform, supplier diversity, procurement and environmental matters. Prior Experience Olivia has served as a government relations consultant at all levels, including federal, multi-state, Cook County and the City of Chicago. In addition to her extensive experience representing restaurant groups, health care associations and other industries, she has also served as an adjunct faculty member at National-Louis University. Olivia co-founded The Maverick Movement, a non-profit that is committed to improving the quality of life in her hometown of Lordsburg, New Mexico. As a member of the Latino Leadership Council board, Olivia is proud to bring the perspective of a historically underrepresented group to her work at the national level. Personal Interests Olivia’s favorite season is golf season — you’ll often find her enjoying her free time on the course. She also loves doing yoga and running. 

 Victoria is a 1999 graduate of Lordsburg High School. She earned her associates degree in Radiologic Technology from New Mexico State University in 2006 and began her radiology career in Las Vegas, NV with one of the largest radiology groups in the country. After 7 years of xray and fluoroscopy, Victoria became a licensed mammographer and is currently performing mammograms and assisting radiologists with stereotactic breast biopsies in the greater Phoenix area. 

 Bianca is a general dentist serving all the children and families of southern New Mexico. She was born and raised in Animas, New Mexico and returning to her beloved state has afforded her the opportunity to give back to the many communities she has had the honor of being a part of in both Hidalgo County and surrounding areas.
Bianca has lived in various parts of the Land of Enchantment and other states throughout her journey to becoming a dentist; through this experience she has learned how overlooked smaller communities can be and wants to advocate on behalf of them all. Bianca is passionate about using her education and experiences to help lift up the families and communities who helped her achieve her dream.

 Karissa is a 2012 graduate of Lordsburg High School. She has spent the past decade working as a site manager for a renewable energy company.  Karissa’s work has taken her to numerous work sites around the country. She makes it a habit to serve whichever community she finds herself in. Karissa enjoys connecting with people and culture around her. She spends her free time traveling the world and experiencing new countries. She also enjoys hiking and spending time with her family. Karissa currently resides in Corona, NM. 

 Christina was born and raised in Lordsburg, NM. She is a 1992 graduate of Lordsburg High School. She refers to Lordsburg as her, “home,” and still has strong ties to the community.

Christina, moved to Tucson, AZ to attend Tucson College, where she successfully completed her Medical Assistant and phlebotomy program and did her externship at the Palo Verde Medical Center.

Christina’s desire to serve her community drew her back to Hidalgo Medical Services (HMS). Throughout her tenure at HMS, she furthered her education and received a certification as a limited x-ray technologist program through Eastern NM College.

Her role at HMS, expanded beyond patient services and was engaged in the community outreach, where she was able to build very special relationships. Tragically, a young patient was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer and did not survive. This experience had a profound effect on Christina, where she learned the importance of offering support to families experiencing hardships and taught her to approach life in a more intentional, compassionate and kind manner. In honor of her young patient, she raised money for Team Leukemia and ran her first marathon.

Christina’s experience and education created bigger opportunities and led her to Las Cruces, NM, to join Foothills Medical Center a comprehensive medical clinic that offered urgent care, pain management and family practice. She spent seventeen years there as a supervisor and performed every role within the clinic from a surgical assistant to a lab and x-ray technician.

She now works for 3 Crosses Orthopaedic Spine and happily resides with her husband, Joe, of twelve years. She has three step- children and is a proud Gigi to a baby girl. In her spare time she spends her time with her family, and splits regular travel between Southern California and Lordsburg, NM.

 Alyssa is currently the County Clerk of Hidalgo County and has worked for local government for over 9 years.

She was born and raised in Lordsburg, New Mexico and is a 2009 graduate of Lordsburg High School. Alyssa has served on the Lordsburg Municipal school board since 2019 and recently became part of the Hidalgo County Juvenile Justice Continuum Board. She has always been passionate about giving back to the community she grew up in and is particularly avid about helping the youth in our community. She wholeheartedly believes the youth is our future.

Alyssa is married to Scott Esquivel and is a mother of three wonderful children, Danielle, Adalynn, and Marcus. She loves to spend her free time surrounded by family and watching her children play sports.