MEET OUR BOARDS
Get to know our board of directors and tax board
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The New Mexico Spaceport Authority Board of Directors consists of nine members; the chair, two ex offico and six are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate. By statute, no more than three of the appointed members shall belong to the same political party. Members serve staggered four-year terms.
Alicia J. Keyes
Chair of the Board
Prior to joining Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s cabinet, New Mexico Secretary of Economic Development Alicia J. Keyes was the Director of the Albuquerque Film, Television and Media Office under Mayor Tim Keller. During her time with Keller’s administration, Keyes was instrumental in initiating and closing the recent deal with Netflix in which the company purchased ABQ Studios and committed to spend $1 Billion in production. Before her time with the City of Albuquerque, Keyes was the Executive Director of Worldwide Acquisitions and Co-production for the Walt Disney Company. Keyes grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She graduated from the Albuquerque Academy in 1993 and then received her bachelor’s degree at Claremont McKenna College in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.
Howie Morales
Ex Officio
Howie Morales is the Lieutenant Governor of the State of New Mexico. Raised in Silver City, New Mexico, he has been an aggressive leader and has advocated state-wide policies in public education and welfare, health care, rural and tribal economic development, and veterans’ and senior citizens’ services. Lieutenant Governor Morales attended Western New Mexico University and later earned a PhD degree in education from New Mexico State University.
Dan Hicks
Ex Officio
Prior to joining Spaceport America in 2016, Dan Hicks had a successful 34-year career with the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range, where he held positions of increasing responsibility with various directorates. In 2013 he was appointed Deputy Executive Director of the range responsible for assisting the Commanding General and the Executive Director in the operations of the range. A graduate of Las Cruces High School, Mr. Hicks received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from New Mexico State University. He is also the recipient of an honorary selection to the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Academy at New Mexico State University.
Richard Holdridge
Board Member
Richard Holdridge is a retired Air Force officer from Deming whose military service focused on satellite program acquisition, including oversight of manufacturing, planning and operation U.S. Department of Defense satellite programs. He graduated from the U.S Air Force Academy with a BS degree Astronautical Engineering and later earned a MS degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Dayton, and a PhD in Astronautical Engineering from Stanford University.
Laura Conniff
Board Member
Laura Mathers Conniff of Las Cruces is the Qualifying Broker for Mathers Realty, Inc. and an owner of Leveldale Farms and Conniff Cattle Company. Ms. Conniff was a member of the NMSU Board of Regents for eleven years and its Chair for three. Currently she serves on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, El Paso Branch, and of First American Bank. A business graduate of NMSU she also served on the NMSU Business Advisory Council.
Michelle Coons
Board Member
Michelle Coons is the New Mexico Regional President of WaFd Bank. She previously served as President of First National Bank of Santa Fe and First National Rio Grande, both of which are part of Strategic Growth Bancorp, a regional bank holding company focused on ongoing growth throughout the Southwest. Currently, A graduate of UNM’s Robert O. Anderson School of Management, Ms. Coons is the Board Chair for the UNM Foundation, immediate past chair of Acción NM, Albuquerque Economic Development, and UNM Hospital.
Peggy S. Johnson
Board Member
Peggy S. Johnson is a native of Truth or Consequences, N.M. and has retired to the area. She served as mayor of that city and as city commissioner. In her professional life, Johnson worked in a variety of finance and administrative positions, including for the FBI in Washington, D.C.; the Arabian American Oil Company in Saudi Arabia; Miner’s Colfax Medical Center in Raton, and the N.M. Veterans Center.
Eric J. Schindwolf
Board Member
Eric J. Schindwolf served as the Deputy Director of Strike Systems & Aerospace Technologies in the Integrated Military Systems Development Program at Sandia National Laboratories from 2004 until his retirement in 2016. Since his retirement, he has been a consultant for Sandia National Laboratories and served as an independent advisor/reviewer for the Pentagon’s numerous hypersonic programs. He is currently advising the Navy in evaluating advanced technology insertion into the Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic spiral development efforts and is a consultant for the Universities Space Research Association.
Ethan Epstein
Board Member
Ethan Epstein is a founding principal with Epstein and Company and with New Mexico Tax Credit Alliance. He has served as a member of the U.S. Military Academy Board of Visitors at West Point along with various other local charitable boards. Epstein is also the former Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for New Mexico, where he worked closely on military issues concerning White Sands Missile Range involving critical air and space evaluation of various cutting-edge technological advancements much like the sophisticated innovations employed at its neighboring Spaceport America. Epstein received a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point, a J.D. from the George Mason School of Law, and an LLM (Taxation) from the New York University School of Law.
Read More about Spaceport Governance
Learn more about the governance of Spaceport America including board meeting minutes archives, access to the Sunshine Portal, and our business plan.
Richard Holdridge
Board Member
Laura Conniff
Board Member
Michelle Coons
Board Member
Howie Morales
Ex Officio
TAX DISTRICT BOARD
In 2005, the New Mexico legislature established a “Spaceport America Regional Spaceport District” (the District) via the Regional Spaceport District Act (§5-15-1 et seq., Laws of 2005) as the entity to receive and distribute additional revenue from the Sierra County and Dona Ana County ¼% Spaceport gross receipts tax. The tax passed in separate special referenda by the voters of Doña Ana and Sierra counties in 2007 and 2008, respectively, in order to fund a significant share of the spaceport’s development. In 2009, the District pledged 75% of the tax revenues toward the repayment of bond debt issued by the NMSA for construction, and the other 25% has flowed to local spaceport-related education.
The District’s Board of Directors consists of six members that includes four elected officials appointed by the respective county commissions of Doña Ana and Sierra counties. The board also includes two statewide delegates appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the State Senate.
The Tax District Board is required to meet at least annually.
SIERRA COUNTY TAX BOARD MEMBERS
Frances Luna
Mrs. Luna was elected County Commissioner for District 3 in 2012 and took office in 2013.
Travis Day
Mr. Day was elected Sierra County Commissioner for District 2 in 2018. He serves in the following committees: Jaguar & Wolf Reintroduction Oversight Committee, JLUS, Jornada RC&D, National Forest Counties and Schools Coalition, NM County Insurance Authority Multi-Line Pool, NM/AZ Coalition, Regional Planning organization, Sierra Vista Hospital Joint Powers Commission, South Western County Commission Alliance, Workers Investment Act Committee
DOÑA ANA COUNTY TAX BOARD MEMBERS
Shannon Reynolds
Mr. Reynolds was elected to the District 3 Commission seat in November of 2018 and took office the following January. His District encompasses a large sector of southeastern Doña Ana County including Las Alturas, Telshor, Foothills, the Talavera, University Hills and Bellamah neighborhoods, NMSU, White Sands Missile Range, and Tortugas.
Lynn Ellins
Mr. Ellins was elected to the District 1 Commission seat in November of 2018 and took office the following January. District 1 includes the South Valley communities between Vado and Mesilla Park, as well as downtown Las Cruces, Mesilla and Picacho Hills.
CONTACT US
4605 Research Park Circle, Ste A
Las Cruces, NM 88001
United States
Phone: (575) 267-8500
IMPORTANT LINKS
