{"id":17,"date":"2019-08-26T17:38:47","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T17:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cupachapt.dsbeta.com\/riogrande\/?page_id=17"},"modified":"2026-09-25T21:34:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T21:34:28","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chapters.cupahr.org\/riogrande\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pl-17\"  class=\"panel-layout\" ><div class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-17-0-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_cupa-content-block panel-first-child\" data-index=\"0\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-cupa-content-block so-widget-cupa-content-block-default-d75171398898-17\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><div class=\"chapt-content-block\">\n    <div class=\"chapt-cb-inner\">\n        <h2>About the Rio Grande Chapter<\/h2>\n<p>The CUPA-HR Rio Grande Chapter brings together HR professionals in higher education to exchange best practices, connect with others in our field, and provide meaningful educational opportunities on topics important and relevant to our field. We are always looking for higher ed HR professionals in our area who want to get involved and help out. If this sounds like you, please <a href=\"https:\/\/chapters.cupahr.org\/riogrande\/contact-us\/\">contact us<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about CUPA-HR's mission, values and priorities <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cupahr.org\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center\">2025-2026 Rio Grande Chapter Board<\/h3>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"panel-17-0-0-1\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_cupa-board-grid panel-last-child\" data-index=\"1\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-cupa-board-grid so-widget-cupa-board-grid-default-d75171398898-17\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><style>\n    .chap-bg-member h4 + h3 {\n        max-width: 225px;\n    }\n<\/style>\n<section class=\"cup-main_content chap-board-grid\">\n    <div class=\"chap-bg-inner\">\n        <h3 class=\"title\"><\/h3>\n        <div class=\"chap-bg-grid\">\n                            <div class=\"chap-bg-member\">\n                                            <div class=\"chap-bg-photo\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/chapters.cupahr.org\/riogrande\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2025\/07\/Franci-Phelan-2.jpg');\">\n\n                        <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"chap-bg-m-inner\">\n                        <h4>Franci Phelan<\/h4>\n                                                    <h3>President<\/h3>\n                        \n                        <p><strong>Chief Human Resources Officer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n                        <p>Central New Mexico Community College<br>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                            <div class=\"chap-bg-member\">\n                                            <div class=\"chap-bg-photo\" style=\"background-image: url('');\">\n\n                        <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"chap-bg-m-inner\">\n                        <h4>Emily Luhman<\/h4>\n                                                    <h3>President Elect<\/h3>\n                        \n                        <p><strong>Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n                        <p>University of New Mexico, Department of Human Resources<br>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                            <div class=\"chap-bg-member\">\n                                            <div class=\"chap-bg-photo\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/chapters.cupahr.org\/riogrande\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2024\/05\/Gillaspie_LaRee-9639-3580-x-5011-scaled.jpg');\">\n\n                        <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"chap-bg-m-inner\">\n                        <h4>LaRee Boyle<\/h4>\n                                                    <h3>Secretary<\/h3>\n                        \n                        <p><strong>Operations Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n                        <p>University of New Mexico, School of Medicine- Department of Surgery<br>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                            <div class=\"chap-bg-member\">\n                                            <div class=\"chap-bg-photo\" style=\"background-image: url('');\">\n\n                        <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"chap-bg-m-inner\">\n                        <h4>Betsy Banks<\/h4>\n                                                    <h3>Treasurer<\/h3>\n                        \n                        <p><strong>ASC Financial Operations Manager, Administration &amp; Finance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n                        <p>New Mexico State University<br>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                            <div class=\"chap-bg-member\">\n                                            <div class=\"chap-bg-photo\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/chapters.cupahr.org\/riogrande\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2025\/07\/Vanetta-Busch.jpg');\">\n\n                        <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"chap-bg-m-inner\">\n                        <h4>Vanetta Busch<\/h4>\n                                                    <h3>Past President<\/h3>\n                        \n                        <p><strong>Director, Hazing Prevention and Organizational Development Adjunct Professor for HR Management\/Development, School of Business, Management Department <\/strong><\/p>\n\n                        <p>New Mexico State University<br>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                            <div class=\"chap-bg-member\">\n                                            <div class=\"chap-bg-photo\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/chapters.cupahr.org\/riogrande\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2024\/02\/Cherisse-Smith-Headshot.jpg');\">\n\n                        <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"chap-bg-m-inner\">\n                        <h4>Cherisse Smith<\/h4>\n                                                    <h3>Member at Large<\/h3>\n                        \n                        <p><strong>Unit Manager - Auxiliary Services Personnel University Student Housing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n                        <p>Texas Tech University<br>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                            <div class=\"chap-bg-member\">\n                                            <div class=\"chap-bg-photo\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/chapters.cupahr.org\/riogrande\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2025\/07\/Arizve-Ochoa-Retana.jpg');\">\n\n                        <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"chap-bg-m-inner\">\n                        <h4>Arizve Ochoa-Retana<\/h4>\n                                                    <h3>Member at Large<\/h3>\n                        \n                        <p><strong>Human Resources Director, Workforce Engagement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n                        <p>University of Texas El Paso<br>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                            <div class=\"chap-bg-member\">\n                                            <div class=\"chap-bg-photo\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/chapters.cupahr.org\/riogrande\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/09\/Headshot-1-Steven-Gonzales.jpg');\">\n\n                        <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"chap-bg-m-inner\">\n                        <h4>Steven Gonzales<\/h4>\n                                                    <h3>Member at Large<\/h3>\n                        \n                        <p><strong>Director of Human Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n                        <p>Southeast New Mexico College<br>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                            <div class=\"chap-bg-member\">\n                                            <div class=\"chap-bg-photo\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/chapters.cupahr.org\/riogrande\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/09\/self-pic_yp.jpg');\">\n\n                        <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"chap-bg-m-inner\">\n                        <h4>Yesenia Palma<\/h4>\n                                                    <h3>Member at Large<\/h3>\n                        \n                        <p><strong>Assistant Dean<\/strong><\/p>\n\n                        <p>New Mexico State University, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences<br>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                            <div class=\"chap-bg-member\">\n                                            <div class=\"chap-bg-photo\" style=\"background-image: url('');\">\n\n                        <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"chap-bg-m-inner\">\n                        <h4>Brenna Leising<\/h4>\n                                                    <h3>Member at Large<\/h3>\n                        \n                        <p><strong>Vice President &amp; Chief Human Resources Officer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n                        <p>Texas Tech University, Health Sciences Center<br>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About the Rio Grande Chapter The CUPA-HR Rio Grande Chapter brings together HR professionals in higher education to exchange best practices, connect with others in our field, and provide meaningful educational opportunities on topics important and relevant to our field. We are always looking for higher ed HR professionals in our area who want to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-17","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>About - CUPA-HR Rio Grande Chapter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chapters.cupahr.org\/riogrande\/about\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"About - CUPA-HR Rio Grande Chapter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"About the Rio Grande Chapter The CUPA-HR Rio Grande Chapter brings together HR professionals in higher education to exchange best practices, connect with others in our field, and provide meaningful educational opportunities on topics important and relevant to our field. 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