Poet, Hip-Hop Artist, DJ, Artistic and Executive Director of Vital Spaces

Raashan Ahmad is a father, musician, poet, community worker, and DJ. He has released six critically -acclaimed albums which have taken him to over thirty-five countries around the world. This, in turn, has led him down a path of international collaboration across artistic mediums, borders, and cultures.

Raashan loves the intersection of the arts & community and is passionate about equity and access to the arts, he is an Arts Commissioner for the city of Santa Fe, a founding member of Earthseed Black Arts Alliance, a commissioner for the Santa Fe Film and Digital Media Commission, sits on the advisory board for the National Parks Arts Foundation and is a director & producer of video and storytelling projects. Raashan lives by the Emma Goldman quote “If I can’t dance I don’t want to be in your revolution,” so is also passionate about throwing the best dance parties. He brings his passion for building connections across barriers that can divide communities to his work at Vital Spaces.

Project Based Organizational Support

Erin Haldane is a mixed-media artist working primarily within watercolor illustration, block printing, and oil painting nature morte. Erin is native Alaskan, Tsimshian and was born in and spent most of her childhood in Anchorage, Alaska. She received her BFA from Santa Fe University of Art and Design in 2014. She has maintained a rigorous studio practice and her work has been shown both internationally and locally.

Digital Communications

Jenjoy Roybal is an artist, urbanist, writer, editor, and digital content creator. As a studio resident at Vital Spaces since 2020, Jenjoy supports the organization’s work by maintaining and updating the organization’s website and sending out our email communications.

Special Events Manager

Artist, Musician, and Shoegaze* Enthusiast (*It’s a type of music genre that really jump-started his passion for music, guitar, and the local DIY scene)

Special Events Manager

Artist and owner of Mad Thrifty (“a truly thrifty thrift store in Madrid, N.M.”), experienced project manager.

Grant Writer

Nicole Morris has supported Vital space’s growth and development through her role as our Grant Writer since 2021 - raising over $100,000 in funding for the organization. Nicole is a writer and provides education and coalition building that increases community participation and leadership in public health policy and clinical care provision.

Creative Director

Chadwick Shao brings vast experience in branding, digital products, and design strategy to his role as Creative Director. He’s led corporate teams and created globally recognized websites with prestigious clients: Nike, R/GA, Samsung, MasterCard, and more. Chadwick is passionate about integrating meaningful design into the DNA of his clients’ organizations, and uniquely gifted at collaborating with both change agents and global blue-chip companies, transforming their visions into reality.

Co-founder of Santa Fe Breakin Academy, Dance Instructor

Alejandra Avila, born and raised in Santa Fe, NM, is a multi-disciplined dancer, ranging from Classical Ballet, Ballet en pointe, Modern and Contemporary to the roots of Hip-Hop and Breakin’. Ale takes pride in being able to spin on the tips of her toes as well as on her head! Currently Ale holds the title of top B-girl in New Mexico and is a dance instructor at New Mexico School for the Arts.

Writer, Photographer and Community Leader (Capital Fundraising)

Joan Baker is a writer, photographer, long-time supporter, and steward of some of Santa Fe’s most ambitious community-driven initiatives. Joan has been involved with the Santa Fe community through her work with The Farmers’ Market, New Mexico Women.org, KSFR Radio, The Girls School, and Cornerstones. Joan’s understanding and commitment to realizing large-scale community-centered work in Santa Fe are critical to gathering local support.

President and CEO of the Santa Fe Community Foundation

Christopher Goett, President and CEO of the Santa Fe Community Foundation, has a background in community development and civic engagement. He previously served as Executive Director of the Wescom Foundation. Christopher holds degrees from Villanova and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. He and his wife Julie enjoy hiking, volunteering, and traveling.

Organizational Expert

Mr. Heynen has been a leading consultant in media, education, philanthropy, and public service for 5 decades. Jim has served 1,200+ organizations from healthcare to manufacturing to universities to governments. He’s directed hundreds of enterprise formations, mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, conflict resolutions and succession plans.  Jim’s writings appear in twenty-nine university texts and reference works including Oxford University’s Words of a Century: The Top 100 American Speeches, 1900-1999.

Co-Founder, Director, Indigenous Ways
Part of the multi-award-winning duo, Indigie Femme

Elena Higgins, Samoan/Maori heritage, was born in New Zealand and later moved to Australia before settling in Santa Fe, NM. Known for her captivating stage presence and vibrant personality, Elena is a visionary leader, co-founding and directing Indigenous Ways, dedicated to supporting arts, music, and community connection.

Zizi Mueller, a Juilliard-trained flutist and conductor, has held leadership roles in contemporary music. As President of Boosey & Hawkes (2008-2015), she represented top composers and launched initiatives for emerging talent. She’s produced records for major labels and served on numerous music boards, advocating for gender equality in the field.

Principal, Webster Collection (Capital Fundraising)

Christopher Webster is an entrepreneur, gallerist, publisher, and producer. He is a principal of Webster Enterprises and Director of Webster Collection. Christopher has been on the board of Vital Spaces since its inception supporting its growth and transition over the last four years.ption

Professor IAIA/ Curator /Art Historian

Amber-Dawn Bear Robe, from Siksika Nation, Alberta, Canada, achieved an MA in American Indian Studies and a second MA degree in Art History, both from the University of Arizona. Currently, she is Assistant Faculty of Art History in the Museum Studies department at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), Santa Fe, NM. Current projects include producing the annual Indigenous fashion show for the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, and developing new curricula for the IAIA Art History department, such as the History of Indigenous Fashion. Previously, she was the Director/Curator of Urban Shaman: Contemporary Aboriginal Art, the largest Aboriginal artist-run center in North America.

Former Executive Director of Warehouse 21 (W21)

Ana Gallegos Y Reinhardt, a local Santa Fean, is the former Executive Director of Warehouse 21 (W21), an arts and entertainment center in the Railyard. She stepped down in October 2017 following 21 years of service. In the summer of 2019, she was asked to develop a summer youth program. In December 2019, she played a critical role in W21’s transition out of their city-owned facility. She has been assisting with the new W21 2020 HUB Sites, one at Vital Spaces and one in Eldorado. Ana has also co-founded other non-profits in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. She currently has a new theater company, ReinART Productions and produced False Witness, The Trial of Humanity’s Conscience at the Swan Theatre in September 2019.

Bilingual Educator
at the Museum of International Folk Art

Kemely Gomez is a multidisciplinary artist and educator currently working at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa, NM as the Bilingual Educator. Gomez was born in Guatemala and moved to the United States at the age of twelve. She received her BFA in Studio Arts from the Santa Fe University of Art and Design in Santa Fe, NM. Gomez’s studio practice focuses on themes of memory, absence, and displacement. As the bilingual educator she is dedicated to expanding access to museum education and empowering individuals and communities through art.

Storyteller, memory keeper, journalist, and poet

Mya Green is a storyteller and memory keeper, journalist and poet. As a Black American woman originally hailing from the Southeastern United States, Mya has a keen understanding of disparity in underserved communities. Most recently, she served as the Social Justice and Media Fellow at KSFR Public Radio in Santa Fe, reporting on the nuanced truths often overlooked by mainstream media. Mya graduated from Sarah Lawrence College (M.F.A., B.A.), and has multiple certifications, including Ethically Conducting Primary Research from the National Institute of Health.

Director of Programs at Ghost Ranch

For the past 17 years and in her role as Director of Education and Curator of Public Practice at SITE Santa Fe, Joanne Lefrak  curates all public programs and performance art for the institution and works with artists to co-create commissions enacted within the community. Since 2011, Lefrak volunteers as the Chair for the City of Santa Fe Children and Youth Commission and has worked to improve the lives of children by supporting local non profit and school programs that work for youth.  She is one of the founding members of the Community Educators Network which is committed to the power of collaboration and collective impact to successfully address community needs by creating and sharing resources across the non-profit sector.

Luce Curator of Art and Social Practice at The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

Bess Murphy is currently a curator at the Coe Center for the Arts, a small art center in Santa Fe that is focused on global Indigenous arts from the past to today. At the Coe, she has worked on many community and artist-driven projects including the 2018-19 exhibition IMPRINT and the upcoming project Function with artist Cannupa Hanska Luger. Murphy received her doctorate in Art History, with a focus on Native and American 20th century art, from the Universityx of Southern California. She was formerly a Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Research Center fellow and has published in exhibition catalogs and El Palacio Magazine. Murphy was born and raised in Santa Fe and is happy to be able to call it home again.

Chief curator of New York’s Museum of Sex

Ariel Plotek is Curator of Fine Arts at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Prior to this, he served as Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the San Diego Museum of Art, where his projects included Gauguin to Warhol: 20th Century Icons from the Albright Knox Art Gallery, Ron Nagle: Peripheral Cognition, The Art of Music, Louis Kahn: The Power of Architecture, Modern Masters from Latin America, and Nancy Lorenz: Moon Gold. He received his undergraduate degree from the Courtauld Institute of Art, in London, and his PhD from the New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts where he studied under Linda Nochlin and Robert Rosenblum. In addition to his research work, he is also an artist and writer.

Building Owner

Krupnick Studio Architecture, Architect

Contractor