STAFF & BOARD

STAFF

Ángel Peña

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • Ángel Peña was born and raised in the Río Bravo valley, he is a first generation Mexican, American and father of three. Àngel has had the opportunity to support and lead strong effective teams that ultimately secured protections totaling millions of acres across the American Southwest. A founding member of the Next 100 Coalition, and Now the Executive Director of the Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project he is in the business of people empowerment. Working to empower the people that have true, authentic and deep-rooted ties to the land.

Adrian Angulo

CAMPAIGNS & PROGRAMS DIRECTOR

  • Angulo grew up fishing for cochito, pargo, and roncachito in Sonora, Mexico. A first-generation American citizen, he has a strong sense of civic duty and encourages his community to engage in the political process.

    Angulo earned his bachelor’s degree from St. John’s College in Santa Fe. He got his start at the New Mexico State Legislature, where he worked with elected officials to protect our air, land, water, and wildlife in his various roles with the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Senate Finance Committee.

    Interested in deepening his involvement in community leadership, Angulo began working in political campaigns, where he was tasked with fundraising, event management, Hispanic and Latino outreach, public relations, volunteer mobilization, and engaging diverse local and tribal communities and leaders to support progressive candidates and ballot measures.

    In his spare time, Angulo enjoys woodworking, biking, and hiking with his dog.

Olivia Bettinger

OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

  • Olivia Bettinger is dedicated to developing systems and foundations that make Nuestra Tierra a great place to work. As Operations Director, she manages the organization’s finances, supports employees, and plans for growth. She has seven years of experience in nonprofit administration, conservation, and public lands. Olivia holds a B.A. in sociology and dance from Reed College, which gives her the tools to look at issues systemically, without losing sight of creative approaches.

    Her passion for public lands and waters was ignited in childhood by canoeing with her family on muddy, post-Dust Bowl, WPA-created lakes in Northeast Oklahoma. These experiences solidified the perspective that landscapes do not have to be beautiful from an outside view in order to be vital to the local community members that value them. As a young adult, Olivia witnessed the importance of outdoor education as a longtime Girl Scout camp counselor and lifeguard. She saw her campers’ confidence bloom as they learned to kayak, hike their first trails, and light their first campfires. This showed her the power of meaningful outdoor experiences and instilled a drive to ensure that all youth are able to access these opportunities.

    Olivia currently lives in Las Cruces with her wife, cats, and dog. When she’s not working, she enjoys dancing, building community, and being outside as much as possible.

Emily Gomez

COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

  • Emily Gomez, a first-generation American, was born in California and raised in the border city of El Paso, Texas, which she considers her hometown. She fell in love with the mountains and gained a deep love for the outdoors.

    She is a student at the University of Texas at El Paso, and is working on her Bachelor’s degree in Organizational and Corporate Communication with a minor in Mathematics. Emily began her journey in 2021 by being part of the marketing committee for The Frontera Land Alliance and later became the first Field Operation Manager for the Castner Range Coalition. Ever since, she has been continuously working on accessibility to the outdoors for everyone, and she is excited to continue giving back to her community and being close to home and her family.

    In her free time, you can find her hiking, spending time with her friends, or jammin out to her favorite songs!

  • Ray Trejo is a lifelong educator, sportsman, and conservationist from Deming, NM. As the former assistant superintendent at Deming Public Schools, Ray has dedicated a big portion of his life to serving K-12 youth and has mentored countless Hispanic youth in the outdoors. Aside from his dedicated work with Nuestra Tierra, Ray also serves as an outreach coordinator for New Mexico Wildlife Federation and as the Deming Refugee Shelter Director. Ray attended Western New Mexico University in Silver City where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in education, a master’s degree in teaching and a second master’s in educational leadership.

  • Charlene Juanico was born in Albuquerque, raised in Rio Rancho and is from Zia, Jemez, and Acoma Pueblo. She graduated from NMSU with degrees in Fish and Wildlife Conservation Ecology and Administration and Public Policy. Her passion for land advocacy was ignited when the North Dakota Pipeline was built and she made a commitment to doing her part to prevent more natural resource destruction on Indigenous lands. She is the Assistant Tribal Relations Liaison for US Forest Service at Cibola & Sante Fe National Forests. She is also member of the Pueblo Action Alliance in Albuquerque. In her free time Charlene enjoys hiking and camping.

  • Krystyna Gonzalez grew up in San Miguel, NM and now live in Las Cruces. She is a professional mental health therapist and passionately believes that connecting to nature is a form of therapy. Alongside her work as Nuestra Tierra board member, she is also an ambassador for Women Who Explores, where she helps other women connect to the the outdoors. Her commitment to community and helping others get outdoors is what draws her to Nuestra Tierra’s work. She loves backpacking, photography, and coffee.

BOARD

  • José G. González is the Founder of Latino Outdoors. He is an experienced K-12 educator, environmental education advisor, outdoor education instructor and coordinator, and university adjunct faculty. He is also an illustrator and science communicator. He has engaged in collaborations with the White House Council on Environmental Quality, U.S. Department of Interior, and the National Park Service during the Obama Administration. He also represented Latino Outdoors in several coalitions including the Latino Conservation Alliance, the Next 100 Coalition, and California Parks Now.