Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Latham recently appointed new members to the department’s regional marketing boards, which serve as all-volunteer groups focused on promoting and enhancing travel to their region as a whole. Considered the “best and brightest marketing minds in the state,” board members meet quarterly to act on marketing and tourism opportunities within their region, and work closely with the tourism department to increase awareness of, and drive travel to, New Mexico.
View all members of the department’s regional marketing boards
Submit a letter of interest for serving on a regional marketing board
Jennifer Lazarz | Northwest
Lazarz took over as the Tourism and Marketing Manager for the City of Gallup in September 2016 where she handles a variety of advertising responsibilities and marketing initiatives. Lazarz is also active in community advocacy, using her role to educate and activate the tourism industry.
Lindsay Mapes | Northwest
Mapes moved to Gallup in 2004 as an AmericorpsVISTA volunteer with a tourism development workplan. Since then, she’s worked in the public sector in Gallup and also recently started Turquoise Tours in Taos with summer expansion to Gallup as a hub for Zuni and Navajo tours.
Juanita Jennings | Southeast
Jennings is the Director of Public Affairs for the City of Roswell working to promote the city as a travel and professional business-meeting destination. Part of her responsibilities include providing direction to and planning with the City’s advertising agency to develop marketing strategies. Jennings is also passionate about the culture and traditions of the state.
Gina Kelley | Southeast
Kelley has been the Director of Tourism for the Village of Ruidoso since January 2011 and was formerly the chair of the Southwest Region board, which she served on for three years representing Sierra County. Kelley has over 30 years in the tourism industry, including 11 in the state of New Mexico, and has worked to forge successful partnerships with neighboring destinations and state and federal agencies for the promotion of tourism.
Rosa Bañuelos | Southwest
Bañuelos, the Business Development Manager at Spaceport America, leads the tourism and marketing revenue stream and commercializing efforts for the Spaceport America brand while also assisting in media and public relations and digital marketing. She serves as a bi-lingual Board Member for the Las Cruces Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, is actively involved with the Las Cruces Young Professionals organization and serves on the Borderplex Tourism Task Force.
Deborah Caldwell | Southwest
Caldwell serves as the Executive Director for the Friends of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge after holding the same role for the Socorro County Chamber of Commerce for nearly two years. Caldwell is well connected across not only Socorro County, but also the Middle Rio Grande region as a result of her work with the Middle Rio Grande Economic Development Association. With the National Wildife Refuge one of the top tourism spots in the state, Caldwell values economic development, tourism and conservation initiatives.