Explora Board of Directors

Alexis Kerschner Tappan, President
President, AKT Communications

Benjamin Gardner, President Elect
Partner, Dekker|Perich|Sabatini

Steve Rottler, Past-President Director and Fundraising Committee Chair
Former Deputy Laboratories Director and Executive Vice President, National Security Programs Sandia National Labs

Hilma Chynoweth, Director, Vice President
Director of Business Development, Garcia Automotive Group

Kamal Ali, Treasurer and Finance & Investment Committee Chair
CEO New Mexico Operations, BBVA Compass Bank

Adrián Pedroza, Secretary
Social Enterprise Director, Partnership for Community Action

Kathleen Holt Larese, Director and Nominating & Board Development Committee Chair
Director of Customer Operations, PNM; Administrator of PNM Resources Foundation

Dave Seely, Director and Capital Campaign Advisory Taskforce Chair
Former President and CEO, Kirtland Federal Credit Union

Deb Thrall, Director and Audit & Conflict of Interest Committee Chair
Executive Director at Albert I. Pierce Foundation

Dina Afek, Director and Executive Committee Member-at-Large
Attorney, New Mexico Legal Aid and Sawmill Area Neighborhood Association

Dale Alverson, Director and Executive Committee Member-at-Large
Professor Emeritus and Regents’ Professor, UNM

Beth Corbin Hsi, Director and Executive Committee Member-at-Large
Clinical Study Coordinator, Albuquerque Clinical Trials

Gabriella Blakey, Director
Associate Superintendent of Leadership & Learning, Albuquerque Public Schools

Cynthia Borrego, Director
City Councilor, City of Albuquerque

Jeron Campbell, Director
School Entrepreneur

Rathi Casey, Director
Partner & CEO, UKUU Creative

Klarissa Culbreath, Director
Director of Infectious Disease Diagnostics, TriCore; Associate Professor of Pathology

Will Elias, Director
General Counsel & Secretary, National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC

Nick Estes, Director Emeritus
Retired UNM Legal Counsel

Jane Flax, Director Emerita
Community Volunteer

Jim Gill, Director Emeritus
CFO, Vista del Sol Foods

Pauline Gubbels, Director Emerita
Former State Representative

Rachel Gupton, Director
Scientist, Sandia National Labs

David Hsi, Director Emeritus
Professor & Adjunct Professor Emeritus, New Mexico State University; University of New Mexico

Ryan Kennedy, Director
Attorney, Los Alamos National Security, LLC

Dan Kingston, Director
Human Resources Manager, PNM

Judith Lavender, Director
Founder, Tic Tac Grow

Ed Lundeen, Director
President & CEO, Seeker Aircraft

Deborah Peacock, Director Emerita
Partner, Peacock Myers

Klarissa Peña, Director
City Councilor, City of Albuquerque

Shelle Sanchez, Director
Director of Cultural Services, City of Albuquerque

Tim Schroeder, Director
Project Director of STEM Gateway, UNM