Staff

As executive director of New Mexico Arts—New Mexico’s federally authorized state arts agency—Michelle works to develop creative ideas to strengthen, evolve, and diversify programs at the agency while forging new partnerships to address the changing needs of artists and arts organizations across the state. With a focus on better serving rural and other historically underserved and excluded communities, Michelle and the New Mexico Arts team explore innovative ways to address issues of access and equity in their grantmaking, public art programming, and field capacity building efforts.

An arts administrator for over 20 years in both the private and public sector, Michelle has recently become involved in arts advocacy at a national level. Her personal creative practices include writing poems and spinning fresh beats as a local radio DJ. She holds a BA in English from the University of Massachusetts, an MA from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, and hopes someday to complete her MFA in creative writing at the University of Texas, El Paso.

Anna Blyth is the Deputy Director/Grants Program Director at New Mexico Arts, working with a dedicated team to oversee the annual grants cycle to ensure that New Mexico Arts can contract with nonprofits, government entities and other organizations to deliver arts programs statewide.

Most recently she was a Public Art Project Coordinator providing technical assistance to artists and sites through commission and purchase programs. She spent nearly four years with New Mexico MainStreet as the Communications and Media Specialist where she worked with MainStreet nonprofits and New Mexico Arts & Cultural Districts.

She previously worked for a local arts council in grant making and public art and served as a grants program coordinator and public information officer for New Mexico Arts for more than a decade. She is interested in the role the arts can play in revitalizing communities. She grew up in Santa Fe and graduated from the University of New Mexico.

As Public Art Program Director, Doborski works with local and regional artists to enrich New Mexico communities through the purchase and commission of innovative and diverse public art.

Committed to strengthening the community through the arts, Doborski has dedicated her career to nonprofit work. With a background as a visual artist, art educator, and graphic designer Doborski continues to utilize her skillset to make the arts more accessible to community members across the state.

Doborski holds a BFA in Print Media from Alberta University of the Arts (formally Alberta College of Art + Design) and an MA in Art Education from the University of New Mexico.

Bio coming soon.

Katie Bruell was most recently the Executive Director of the Pajarito Environmental Education Center, operator of the Los Alamos Nature Center. After doing that job for 12 years she was ready for a change and is happy to have the opportunity to promote music in New Mexico with the Music Commission! Other jobs she’s had have been as an elementary school teacher, a librarian, a school administrator, a political fundraiser, an animal shelter worker, and many more.

She has a BA from St. John’s College and an MA in international relations from the George Washington University. She lives in Los Alamos and grew up near Boston, MA. She is the mom of two college-age young men and enjoys trail running, reading, and live music.

As the Grants Program Contracts Administrator, Ray works with the Grants team by Administration of Grants contracts, procurement and fiscal accountancy.
Ray brings over twenty years of experience with contract administration and business management. Having experience with DOT, DOD and Private Aerospace contracts.
Ray relocated back to New Mexico in 2023 after a successful career in both Public and Private sectors. He is motivated by giving back to the people and has taken this opportunity with New Mexico Arts!
Ray holds a Batchelor’s degree in Information Technology and several certificates in data forensics and Microsoft Professional Services.

Kiersten Fellrath (she/her) is an Art in Public Places Project Coordinator, working with communities throughout New Mexico to acquire diverse artworks for public spaces. Her career has included work in corporate art collections, museums, contemporary art spaces and artist studios. From 2008 – 2019 she was a Curator and Vice President of the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection, New York where her responsibilities included curatorial, acquisitions, education, programs and collection management. She has served on the board of the Fire Island Artist Residency (FIAR), New York, NY, the first LGBTQ artist residency in the world, since 2018. She is passionate about creating space and opportunities for emerging artists and their communities.

Fellrath received her Masters of Fine Art from Christie’s Education, New York in Theory, the Art Market and Connoisseurship and her B.A. from Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA. She lives in Nambe Pueblo with her husband where she attempts to transform the desert into a lush garden and food forest.

Cynthia Gonzales is the first friendly face visitors encounter at our office. She communicates general information to constituents, assists staff with projects, and provides assistance to the grants application process and Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts. She joined New Mexico Arts in January 2007.

Cindy is a Santa Fe native and catechist who helps young children with religious education. She worked at Cristo Rey Catholic School for 13 years. Her hobbies include singing, jewelry-making, and sewing.

Maggie Hanley serves as a Program Coordinator for New Mexico Arts. Her responsibilities encompass the Community Arts Development and Major Cultural Organization grant programs, the smallest and the largest organizations funded by New Mexico Arts. She is also the lead for the department’s organizational capacity building programs.

Maggie has spent most of her career as an arts administrator and comes to the New Mexico Arts after serving as Executive Director of the Santa Fe Gallery Association for many years. She is the former managing director of an arts center, a successful fundraiser, and has been an accomplished professional artist for over 30 years. Maggie holds a Bachelor’s Degree with a dual major in Fine Arts and Dance and a minor in Humanities from the University of New Mexico.

Kevin Lenkner is the Coordinator for Poetry Out Loud and Arts in the Military programs and also serves as the Arts in Education liaison between New Mexico Arts and New Mexico Public Education Department. Additionally, Kevin manages the Arts Learning: In Schools & In Community, Arts in Social Service, Local Arts Councils and Service Organization funding categories.

Kevin comes to Santa Fe after serving as the Executive Director of the Mimbres Region Arts Council based in Silver City since 2015. He directed the long-running Blues Festival and initiated new events like the Southwest Print Fiesta and the Southwest Student Arts Competition. Prior to his move to New Mexico, Kevin was the Executive Director of YorkArts Center for 22 years. He has taught art education classes in various locations, including public housing, community centers, juvenile detention, and public schools.

Kevin holds a degree in Public Administration from York College of Pennsylvania and has done graduate work in Museum Studies and Humanities at Penn State University. Artistically, Kevin likes to explore the borders of sound and visual arts. He has had audio works featured in the Sound Pedro festival and installations in various galleries and exhibition spaces.

Amy Mills is the program coordinator for folk arts and accessibility. She manages programs that support New Mexico’s folk and traditional arts through grantmaking, documentation, public programs, and fieldwork research, as well as advising on accessibility best practices.

From 2016-2023, Amy worked for the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), designing and producing national folk festivals in five states and supporting partnerships with the National Endowment for the Arts and National Park Service. She has also served as programs manager at the Western Folklife Center, managing the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and other regional programs. Other roles have included Northwest Folklife program coordinator, cultural historian, documentary filmmaker, dance teacher, and project manager for a computer company.

Amy has conducted ethnographic research from Oregon to Maryland, Romania to New Zealand. She is also an accomplished dancer of traditional styles ranging from ballroom to Balkan, swing to Scandinavian. She holds master’s degrees in anthropology and folklore from the University of Oregon, and bachelor’s degrees in anthropology, history, and international studies from the University of Washington. She grew up in New Mexico and is thrilled to have returned home to support our folk artists and traditional communities.

Therese Schoeppner serves as the Programs Administrator for New Mexico Arts.  Her work includes the Governor’s Arts Awards and support to the New Mexico Arts Commission. Enriched by the experience of growing up in Santa Fe, she is a graduate of St. Michael’ s High School.  An Alumni of the University of New Mexico Fine Arts Department, Therese graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Technical Theatre. She has the soul of an artist in her support of “all things art.”  As an adventurer, she has traveled to more than 32 countries working with people representing over 55 different nationalities.  She enjoys weaving her life’s work into her leisure.

Claude Smith is an arts professional based in Albuquerque, NM. He previously served as Operations Director at 516 ARTS and during his tenure, worked extensively to support artists and exhibition production since 2010. From 2016-2023 he oversaw the Fulcrum Fund, a partner in the regional regranting program of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts where he facilitated the distribution of over $725,000 in new project-related support to more than 300 New Mexico-based artists. Previous curatorial projects at 516 ARTS include 21st Century Cyphers (2019); Karl Hofmann: In the Balance (2017); Off the Charts and Beau Carey: Rise (both 2015).

He has written essays and articles for various publications including the New American Paintings blog, Edible New Mexico and Arid Journal among others. He holds bachelor’s degrees in art history and biology from the University of New Mexico and currently serves as the Public Art Program Coordinator for New Mexico Arts.

Sue Sneeringer is the Online Systems Administrator in charge of technical support for the Foundant Online Grant System, website maintenance for nmarts.org, and general office IT responsibilities.

Sue has years of experience in the non-profit sector. She was formally the Chief Operating Officer for the Greater San Diego Business Association, the second largest LGBT Chamber of Commerce in the U. S. She also served as the Board Chair of the Multicultural LGBT Literary Foundation and was a member of the Advisory Board of FilmOut San Diego.  Sue has a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego in Visual Arts and Communications. She also has a Graphic Arts certificate from Platt College and additionally holds many computer-technology certificates. When she isn’t working to help provide online support for New Mexico’s Arts programs, Sue devotes her time to creating art herself.