About Us
Board of Directors
Katherine Miller
Katherine Miller is currently serving as the Santa Fe County Manager and has extensive experience in public and business administration and financial management with over ten years significant successful leadership experience in senior management positions with complex local, state, and quasi-governmental entities. Katherine served as Cabinet Secretary for the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration where she was responsible for the development of the executive budget recommendation, legislative negotiations and statewide implementation of a $15 billion total funds annual operating and capital budget, including tax credits, tax reductions and revenue enhancements. In that position she managed the daily operations of a 190 person department with a $90 million annual agency budget that includes the state’s budget, capital outlay, the state controller, financial controls, community development, local government, education accountability, the state board of finance and administrative services division.
Ralph Cygan
Dr. Ralph Cygan is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine. Ralph, a life-long friend of Governor Richardson, is married to Dr. Katherine Cygan and together they have two daughters and three beautiful grandchildren.Ralph has had a distinguished career as a physician, educator, and administrator culminating in a 6 year tenure at Chief Executive Officer of The University of California Irvine Medical Center. Under his leadership the UC Irvine Medical Center was repeatedly recognized as one of the nation’s best and safest hospitals. In addition, he led the planning and secured funding for a new 500 million dollar state of the art hospital which today serves as a referral center for Orange County and the surrounding Southern California region of over 5 million people. As a board member Ralph brings strengths in the management of large complex organizations as well as and in non-profit philanthropy.
Stuart Ashman
Stuart Ashman, Executive Director, Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe, is a museum executive and cultural ambassador who has worked in the arts for over 30 years. He was raised in Matanzas and Havana, Cuba before his family relocated to New York where he attended the City University of New York receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Photography and Fine Art. His additional studies include graduate work at the Rochester Institute of Technology and private workshops in Photography as well as participation in the Getty’s Museum Leadership Institute. Mr. Ashman’s extensive career includes stints as President and CEO of the Museum of Latin American Art, Director of the New Mexico Museum of Art, the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, a posting as Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, a position as Expert Consultant for the United States Peace Corps, and an assignment as the Director of Latin American programs at the Richardson Institute for Global Engagement among others. He has published numerous articles and co-authored “Photography New Mexico” in 2009 and “Abstract Art” in 2003.
Jim Gollin
Board Member; Special Advisor on Wildlife Conservation
After graduating Magna Cum Laude in Politics from Princeton University, James received a Masters in International Economics and Japanese Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and another Masters in International Management from the International University of Japan. He worked at a number of think tanks in Japan and the U.S., at Nomura Securities and Morgan Stanley International in Tokyo and then in London, and co-founded the investment management company Pacific Partners in New York. He was a founding member of the seminal socially responsible business network Social Venture Network, and is an active current investor. He sits on the Executive Board of the Democracy Alliance, a network of progressive philanthropists, is a Director of the Angelica Foundation which funds human rights and environmental programs in Latin America, is President of the Board of the environmental group Rainforest Action Network, and sits on a variety of other non-profit and for-profit boards. He previously served as a Director of the State of New Mexico’s Environmental Improvement Board. He lives in Santa Fe, with his wife Suzanne and son, Noah.