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NEW MEXICO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

• Boards and Commissions
• Sustainable Economy Task Force & Advisory Council
• Statewide Strategic Plan
• Public Notices
• Federal Assistance Programs

Sustainable Economy Task Force & Advisory Council Members

Sustainable economy task force (setf), get to know your seac members.

Wendy Atcitty

Wendy Atcitty is a Navajo Nation tribal member, born for the Bitter Water Clan and Salt Clan. From 1996 to 2007, Wendy achieved various research in science degrees in Earth and Environmental Science and Chemistry. Since 2007, she has been an educator in schools on Native American reservations, teaching a cultural-based science curriculum.

Wendy is working as an Indigenous Energy Program Manager for Naeva. She has an MBA in Sustainable Business and is establishing a consulting service in tribal grant writing and prospect research.

Born, and raised in New Mexico, Rob Black brings over twenty-five years of experience and leadership in elections, public policy, advocacy, and economic development to his role as the President/CEO of the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to joining The Chamber, Black was Senior Director for Community Relations at Pacific Gas and Electric of California, one of the largest combined gas and electric utility companies in the country.  During his tenure, he ran the company’s $28 million annual charitable program as well as its community initiatives, volunteer programs and professional sports sponsorships.

Black previously led the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, a 1,000 member nonprofit trade organization supporting the interests of the San Francisco Bay Area restaurant industry. Prior to that, Rob lobbied and advocated for the business community as the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President for Public Policy. 

Black holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of New Mexico and a juris doctorate from the University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco.

Prior to his lobbying and advocacy work, Black worked internationally supporting democratic transitions in countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America and was the National Director for Special Projects for the Screen Actors Guild in Los Angeles.

Currently Black serves as a member of the state’s Sustainable Economy Advisory Committee, Vice-Chair for the Early Childhood and Care Department Advisory Committee, and Chair of the Village of Corrales Planning and Zoning Commission.

Ahtza Dawn Chavez (she/her/Asdzą́ą́)

Ahtza Dawn Chavez (she/her/Asdzą́ą́) is a two-spirit member of the Diné Nation, born for Kewa Pueblo, and the Executive Director of Naeva, a 501c(3) and NM Native Vote, a 501c(4). Mrs. Chavez has 10+ years of professional fiduciary and investment experience.

Ahtza Dawn Chavez (she/her/Asdzą́ą́) is a two-spirit member of the Diné Nation, born for Kewa Pueblo, and the Executive Director of Naeva, a 501c(3) and NM Native Vote, a 501c(4). Mrs. Chavez has 10+ years of professional fiduciary and investment experience. She oversees organizations tasked with creating power and educating an Indigenous voting bloc in New Mexico by working with key organizations and governance within NM but has grown to organize regionally and nationally. Ahtza builds power for communities through systems change and critical infrastructure development, bridging gaps through fund or management sourcing, community engagement and organizing, and building partnership coalitions amongst community members, Tribal leaders, and local, state, or federal governance. She is passionate about ensuring Tribal sovereignty and self-determination in the fight to protect our land, air, and waterways through policy and law, while creating pathways for investments in Tribal broadband access, renewable infrastructure, and economic development.

She led the 2020 NM Native Census and 2021 Native Redistricting Coalitions, which brought all 23 NM Tribes, Nations, and Pueblos together to Get Out The Count and negotiated a full Tribal Consensus Redistricting Map that maintained all AIAN minority-majority districts while creating additional Native influence districts. In 2023, Naeva organized Tribal support for the passage of the New Mexico Voting Rights Act, which incorporates the most comprehensive Native American Voting Rights Act (NAVRA) provisions in the country. Naeva formalized these coalitions into the NM Native Civic Engagement & Policy Table. She is a member of the NM Sustainable Economy Advisory Council, City of Albuquerque Justice40 Committee, All Pueblo Council of Governors Legislative Committee Co-chair and a board member of Groundworks, NM. 

Ahtza is the small business owner of IndigeLens Media, centered on empowering community voices, promoting social entrepreneurship, and increasing visibility of authentic representations of Indigenous culture and language. She attended Stanford University as an undergraduate until her senior year when she moved home to care for family. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (urban policy) from the University of New Mexico, an MBA from the Anderson School of Business, and an MSL with a concentration in federal Indian law from the UNM School of Law.

Patricia M. Knighten

Director, Innovation Commercialization, Office of Intellectual Property, Arrowhead Center, New Mexico State University (NMSU). Ms. Knighten has worked for over 25 years developing and implementing strategies for technology-based economic development and advancing new technologies toward customer and user adoption.

Her work has supported both small and large businesses, state and federal governments, and federal research laboratories and universities. She joined NMSU Arrowhead in early 2021 to manage the invention portfolio and intellectual property office, and to foster a lab-to-market culture for translating NMSU research. Prior to that, as Vice President of Business Development, Vibrant Corporation, Albuquerque, she led the commercialization of Small Business Innovative Research projects in commercial and defense aerospace. Among her recent accomplishments, Ms. Knighten contributed to the reinstatement of New Mexico’s (NM) Office of Science and Technology (2014 to 2016), where she published, implemented, and funded “Innovate NM – NM Science and Technology Plan.” The key emphasis of the plan, to commercialize federally funded research, was enabled by her work to create the $40M Catalyst Fund of Funds to seed New Mexico tech start-up companies.

Ms. Knighten proudly serves the State of New Mexico as a member of the Sustainable Economy Advisory Council, and on the Technology Enhancement Fund committee. She is on the board of advisors for the Air Force Logistics Officers Association and is an Industry Forum Advisor for New Space Nexus, a Team Kirtland Wingman, and a Command Chief Civic Leader for the Air Force Global Strike Command. She enjoys the diverse great outdoors of New Mexico from hiking, river rafting, swimming, and hot springs to snow skiing.

Joseph Little

Joseph Little is an enrolled citizen of the Mescalero Apache Tribe located in southern New Mexico. His father, Bernard, came from Mescalero Apache, and his mother from Ohkay Owingeh in northern New Mexico.

Mr. Little grew up on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. At age fourteen he left home for California; Santa Barbara, where he attended high school and two years of college in San Luis Rey. He finished his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of New Mexico and went on to acquire a Juris Doctorate at the University of New Mexico School of Law. He became a member of the New Mexico State Bar in 1977 and is a current member in good standing.

Shortly after being admitted to the Bar, Mr. Little established a private law practice that concentrated on Indian Law, eventually representing not only individual Native clients but also providing legal services as General Counsel to several New Mexico Pueblos. He also served as General Counsel to the All Indian Pueblo Council, comprised of the nineteen Pueblo governments of New Mexico.

Throughout his career, Mr. Little has served as the Director of the Office of Indian Affairs for the State of New Mexico and has held various executive positions within the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of the Special Trustee within the Department of the Interior. After leaving federal service, Mr. Little served as an Associate Judge for the Pueblo of Isleta; Chief Judge for the Mescalero Apache Tribe; and as Chief Judge and later General Counsel for the Pueblo of Zia. Mr. Little has served on various boards of directors for non-profit and profit organizations. Currently, he serves on the Board for New Mexico Native Vote.

He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife of over 30 years, Charlotte Little. They have a blended family of two sons and one daughter who have blessed them with nine grandchildren!

Glenn Schiffbauer

Glenn Schiffbauer, a native New Mexican, received his BBA from New Mexico State University and his MBA from the Robert O. Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico. In 2005 he was hired as liaison and project manager for Robert Redford in New Mexico working on a variety of projects in film, government, and sustainable construction.

In October of 2012 he became the Executive Director for the newly founded Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce (SFGCC). The Green Chamber has grown to 180 business members. Mr. Schiffbauer has co-chaired the organization to co-host the Next Generation Water Summit for seven years, a conference dedicated to water conservation that attracts speakers and attendees from around the world.  Arising from that conference came a partnership between the SFGCC and the City of Santa Fe to develop and institute the country’s only Restaurant Water Conservation Program, which will be expanding to other businesses in 2023. Mr. Schiffbauer has been appointed to the NM Economic Department Sustainable Economic Advisory Council.

More member bios coming soon…

New Mexico Economic Development Department Joseph M. Montoya Building 1100 S. St. Francis Drive Santa Fe, NM 87505-4147

Mailing Address: New Mexico Economic Development Department P.O. Box 20003 Santa Fe, NM 87504-5003

Main number: (505) 827-0300 (se habla español)

The mission of the New Mexico Economic Development Department is to Improve the lives of New Mexico families by increasing economic opportunities and providing a place for businesses to thrive.

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505-827-0300

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