The Schedule

AI in Action

Session Host:

Synthia Laura Molina, City of Raton 

Featured Speakers:

• Andrew Woltje, Magnum Companies

• Matthew Ashby, Ayres Associates

• Jason Strickland, The Center for Rural AI

• Joze Petrich, Emergent Campus-Trinidad

Gubernatorial Race: Candidates Address Rural New Mexico 

Stephanie Garcia Richard, Democratic Nominee for Lieutenant Governor

Gregg Hull, Republican Nominee for Governor

Transportation Connects Everything:
Regional Growth Through Access to Education, Employment, and Healthcare

Moderator:  

• Si Trujillo, Colfax County Commissioner 

Panelists:  

• Lauren Garduño, Executive Director of the Ports-to-Plains Alliance 

• Mo Moabed, New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT)

• Rob Frei, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)

From Vacant Properties to Homes:
Land, Housing, and Rural Prosperity 

Session Host:

Jaden Welch, City of Raton

Featured Speakers:

• Donna Maestas De Vries, Housing New Mexico 

• Felicity Fonseca, North Central New Mexico Economic Development District (NCNMEDD)

• Enrico Gradi, YES Housing

• Michelle Den Bleyker, YES Housing

Quality of Life and Local Prosperity:
Building a Rural Outdoor Recreation Economy 

Session Host:

Jared Chatterley, OREC Consulting

Featured Speakers:

• Toby Velásquez, New Mexico State Parks

• Gus Holm, Vermejo Park Ranch

• Shelley O’Neill, Philmont Scout Ranch

• Nate Brown, NRA Whittington Center

Building a Rural Workforce: 

Regional Education Efforts and Employer Alignment

Moderator:

Dr. Sally Hoger, Raton Education Committee Member, City of Raton

Panelists:

• Kristie Medina, Raton Public Schools  

• Karen Torres, Luna Community College

• Dr. Carol Linder, Luna Community College

• Dr. Dustin Eicke, Trinidad State College

Employer Resources in Action: 

Leveraging State and Regional Programs to Upskill Your Workforce

Moderator: 

Dan Gerry, Workforce Integration Network, RDC

Featured Panelists:

• Chicky Lee Gomez, America’s Job Center

• Ruthie E. Mares, Northern Area Local Workforce Development Board

• Nina Valdez, One-Stop Operator for the Northern Region America's Job Centers

• Ericka Van Echkhoutte, Career Team, Workforce, Innovation, and Opportunity Act (WIOA)

• Concha Cordova, Youth Development, Inc. (YDI)

• Matthew Whitley, Employment Services Division

Empowering Social-Impact Employers: Meet a New Breed of Industry Leaders

Moderator:

Synthia Laura Molina, City of Raton 

Featured Panelists:

• Andrew Woltje, Magnum Companies

• Kevin Davies,  Miller Timber

• James Dietz, Carbogenics

Career Expo and Job Fair 

Career Expo and Employer Job Fair Tables: 

• Magnum Welding and Construction LLC (bringing a cement truck for students to explore)

• City of Raton/ Raton Police

• Miller Timber

• Philmont Scout Ranch

• Film Tucumcari

• State Personnel Office

• MCMC

• Citizen's for the Developmentally Disabled

• Colfax General Long-Term Care

• Telemed Nightingales

• Colfax County

• Youth Heartline

Resources:

• Luna Community College (bringing CDL Simulator for students to explore)

• Office of Broadband, Access, and Expansion

• New Mexico Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (NMDVR)

• Regional Area Intervention Network

• DWS Apprenticeship

• DWS Labor Relations 

• San Miguel/Mora/Colfax Career Team (WIOA)

• State of New Mexico Economic Development Dept. (EDNM)

• NM Workers’ Compensation Administration

• RAIN

Roundtable Discussions

• Rural Film Industry Communities - Lead: Ann Theis, El Raton Media Works

  • How can we work together to have a voice in legislative changes that could affect the incentives?

  • How do we attract workforce and support training and upskilling in rural communities without college film programs?

  • How can we support each other when films are coming to rural areas and need more local resources?

• Workforce Pathways with Luna Community College - Lead: President Carol Linder, Luna Community College

  • "You Talk, We Listen" Community Office Hours. Let Luna Community College know what you need!

• From Community Capacity to Economic Opportunity - Lead: Brandy Dietz, GrowRaton

  • How do rural communities build the conditions that allow local people to create businesses, those businesses to grow, and those businesses to become employers?

• Breakout Session: Building a Gate-City Soft-Landing Program

A famous management guru once said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This is a critical consideration for anyone interested in revitalizing rural communities. That’s why this breakout session will focus on how to protect and enhance the best of our local culture so others can enjoy becoming and being our neighbors. Breakout-session participants will learn about nine (9) critical steps in rural revitalization and the growing role of our Gate-City Soft-Landing Program in this process. They will revisit the types of ambassadors, subject matter experts, and troubleshooters needed to make potential and actual newcomers not only feel at home but also spread the word about the upsides of moving, living, and doing business here. They will explore ways to build an increasingly vibrant regional culture so more and more residents in the bistate, four-county region (1) practice the Golden Rule; (2) build lives of compassion, character, and contribution; and (3) become the reason outsiders want to move here.

Join this lively breakout session and learn more about welcoming relocation-minded visitors, ideal new residents, and job-creating businesses to our region.

Let’s ensure potential and actual newcomers feel at home … from their first inquiry to their first anniversary in the region.

Moderator: Synthia Laura Molina, Acting Director of Organizational, Community, and Economic Development, City of Raton, NM, USA

Participants: Local leaders, managers, professionals, tradespeople, frontline personnel, job seekers, and students … anyone wanting to help improve our region’s culture.