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We have created a secure ballot form you can access at the link:
https://action.aclu.org/webform/nm-board-election-2024
Candidate Statements of Interest
Szu-Han Ho
I have been pleased to serve on the board for the last three years. I am an artist, organizer, and Associate Professor in Art & Ecology in the Department of Art at the University of New Mexico. I have lived and worked in Albuquerque for over thirteen years, and I am very grateful to call New Mexico my home.
Much of my art and organizing work is centered on migrant justice and dismantling the carceral state. I have been addressing issues of borders and migration through both individual and collaborative art works for much of my career; my background as an immigrant from Taiwan who grew up in the US was what first led me to become involved these issues. I am a founding member of the art collective fronteristxs, which is working to end migrant detention and abolish the prison-industrial complex. We partner with artists and advocate organizations throughout the state, including OLÉ, NMILC, Santa Fe Dreamers Project, Millions for Prisoners NM, ABQ SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice), Teachers Against Child Detention, People’s Budget NM, and several other organizations.
If selected for a second term on the Board of Directors, I would continue to bring my knowledge and experience in community organizing, art, and education. I have served as co- chair or chair of the ACLU-NM finance committee for three years; I also served on the strategic planning committee, which lead the development of the current strategic plan. Through this, I have learned much about the goals and operations of the ACLU-NM, and I would be humbled to continue serving with the distinguished members of the board.
Glenabah Martinez, Ph.D.
I appreciate your invitation for consideration to serve on the ACLU-NM Advisory Board. I am interested in serving on the board because of ACLU’s strong history of activism on key issues of social justice and equity. I realize that there are positions taken by the ACLU at the national and state levels that may not be aligned with my philosophy or position on certain issues, but I recognize the significance of protecting and preserving the rights of people.
I have limited experience as a board member and that is largely due to my work as a professor and researcher at UNM balanced with my role in the family and my cultural obligations at Taos Pueblo. At times, I had to miss board meetings due to my duties, tasks, and cultural participation at Taos Pueblo. I say this because I believe that my board participation and presence is important for your consideration in this process. I have a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, I am a tenured faculty at UNM in the Department of LLSS, I am an enrolled member and active participant in our cultural life at Taos Pueblo, I have over 15 years of experience as a high school history and government teacher, and I am the director of the Institute for American Indian Education at UNM.
Amanda Lavin
I am interested in serving on the board of directors for the ACLU because I am committed to the ACLU’s mission to protect the civil liberties of the people of New Mexico.
I am interested in supporting the work of the staff of the ACLU New Mexico as a board member, as I believe that a resourceful and supportive board of directors enhances the work of the organization. I feel that I would be a good board member because I enjoy collaborating with diverse groups of people and working on systemic policy issues. My experience practicing law in New Mexico for the past 11 years would be an asset to the board and to the ACLU. I graduated from UNM Law School, have practiced exclusively in New Mexico, and am familiar with the local legal landscape.
Additionally, my legal experience aligns with the ACLU’s work. I have practiced as a civil litigator, a state and federal public defender, and recently was hired by the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government to serve as the organization’s legal director. My legal experience defending the constitutional rights of criminal defendants, disabled adults and children, immigrants, and other disenfranchised people in New Mexico will bring an informed perspective to the board. I have direct experience representing people who have experienced many of the harms from government abuse of power that the ACLU fights against. In my current position with NM FOG, I advocate for government transparency and the public’s right to access documents and proceedings of the state.
The work I do now is also relevant to the mission of the ACLU in its fight against abuses of power by the state, and I hope would be a resource to the board of directors and staff of the ACLU.
Jesse Lynn Morris
I have been a member of the ACLU since 2016, the same year I returned to the United States after studying and working overseas for many years. I have devoted my career and personal life to building a more equitable and just world and I believe my outlook as an Indigenous woman, my extensive domestic and international experience, and my expertise as an educator and researcher offer valuable perspectives to include in the ACLU-NM’s mission of protecting and advancing justice, liberty, and equity in the state of New Mexico.
I have spent many years working to improve the livelihoods and educational goals of vulnerable young people around the world. After nearly a decade overseas in South Korea, India, Cambodia, South Africa, and Italy, I returned to my hometown of Santa Fe to apply my skills and knowledge to help my own community thrive. I feel lucky to have found my vocation, supporting Native students in reaching their educational goals and fulfilling their potential. I am currently working for the Offices of Institutional Research & Effectiveness at The Institute of American Indian Arts and at Central Wyoming College to advance each institution’s goal of eliminating barriers to equitable student success. Through research and designing evidence-based, culturally relevant education and support programming I aim to empower Native and all students to become the leaders we will need in the future. In addition to my professional work, I actively engage and serve the Northern New Mexico community. I sit on the boards of the Wheelwright Museum and CloudTop Comedy Festival, and I am a committee member for the Native American Advised Fund, housed at the Santa Fe Community Foundation.
The mission of the ACLU-NM is personal for me, not only because this is my home and community and reforming unjust systems is vital for New Mexico to thrive, but also because I think we are at a crossroads, and I feel a personal responsibility to ensure justice and freedom for all. I would be honored to be of service and lend my experience and knowledge to advance the mission of the ACLU in my home state of New Mexico.
