Scott Seldin — Creator, director, co-producer of Combatting Poverty in New Mexico
Educator, Author, Photographer
Resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico

After a B.A. in English from American University in Washington D.C., and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the Instituto Allende, University of Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Scott taught literature and composition at Baruch College for fifteen years in New York City, while freelancing as a photographer (scottseldinphotography.com).

After moving to Santa Fe, he worked as director of Mountain View School, on the Adolescent Psychiatric Unit of St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe, followed by eleven years as academic coordinator, student adviser, and personal development coach at The College of Santa Fe. At the College he created and supervised a successful student peer mentor program and worked with students to co-produce fourteen events and projects.

After the College closed, Scott received training as a mediator; wrote Mentoring Human Potential, published in 2011 by iUniverse, Inc.; and created Explorations of Spirit and Creativity, which offered a series of six workshops in Santa Fe with co-presenter La'ne' Sa'n Moonwalker. He volunteered for three years at The Food Depot in Santa Fe, which inspired him to create Combatting Poverty in New Mexico.

Reese Fullerton — Co-producer of Combatting Poverty in New Mexico
Facilitator, Mediator, Humanist
Resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Reese is a facilitator, trainer and mediator. He assists entities and people with different perspectives in local, national and international settings to develop strategic plans and reach common goals regarding the environment, water, education, health, workplace and community issues. He was Deputy Director of NM State Personnel, Deputy Secretary for NM Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources, and Director of the NM Office of Workforce Training /Development.

Reese helps develop public participation processes for community, state and federal entities to effectively communicate with the public. He has trained state employees working with Native Americans in Cultural Humility, and trains not for profits, state and federal staff in Leadership, Collaboration and Communication skills and Strategic Planning.

Reese helped develop curriculum/training in “Constructive Engagement of Conflict” for United World College, New Mexico

Sarah Byrd — Business manager, co-director of development, host for Combatting Poverty in New Mexico
Coach, Speaker, Producer
Based in Denver, Colorado & Austin, Texas

Sarah Byrd brings an extensive background in non-profits, small business management, and radio/podcasting production to the "Combatting Poverty in New Mexico" team. She is personally dedicated to social justice, equality, and inclusivity, and has a mission of battling the crime of poverty nationwide, and especially in New Mexico as a former resident of Santa Fe.

Sarah’s educational background is steeped in personal development - both spiritually and psychologically. She holds degrees in both Religious Studies and Contemplative Psychology (Concentration in Transpersonal & Humanistic Psychology) from Naropa University, a Buddhist-based institution.

Sarah is currently pursuing a Master’s in Forensic Psychology and Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and intends to open a private counseling practice when she obtains her Master’s degree and LPC license.

Sarah Byrd is the founder of Sarah Byrd Coaching, LLC, a company based in Boulder, Colorado, that focuses on mindfulness and spirituality, as well as Sarah Byrd Solutions, LLC, a business focusing on consulting small-business owners with implementing healthy organizational systems. Sarah also has extensive experience in producing and hosting a podcast, Charming Dharma, which focuses on living mindfully in your everyday life.

Jill Dixon — Adviser for Combatting Poverty in New Mexico
Educator, Activist, Director of Development, The Food Depot, Santa Fe, NM
Resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Excerpt from interview on Radio Café, Santa Fe, NM, May 2018
“What Hunger Looks Like in Northern New Mexico”

Jill Dixon – “Honestly, it’s all around us. We like to say that hunger is closer than you think, because if you’re looking for a hungry person standing on the street, something like that looks obvious to you, you’re not going to find it. The truth is that one in four children in New Mexico are experiencing hunger and that means one out of every four kids you look at may not have had breakfast this morning or they may not have dinner tonight and that might not mean that they are in active starvation but just that they are missing meals regularly and that’s what hunger in New Mexico looks like.

Andrew Lovato — Host, adviser for Combatting Poverty on New Mexico
Educator, Author, Public Speaker
Resides in Santa Fe, NM

A native Santa Fean, Andrew Lovato retired in June, 2020 from Santa Fe Community College after 38 years of teaching. He was the most recent Santa Fe Historian.

He received his Ph.D. in Communication with an emphasis in intercultural communication from the University of New Mexico in 2000.

Lovato was selected as a Fulbright Scholar in 2008. He was selected as Santa Fe City Historian in 2018.

Lovato’s books include, The Big Book of Blues Guitar: The History, The Greats – and How to Play, published by Terra Nova Press 2019, Elvis Romero, and Fiesta de Santa Fe: Featuring, Zozobra’s Great Escape, published by the Museum of New Mexico Press, 2011 and Santa Fe Historic Culture: Preserving Identity in a Tourist Town, published in 2004 by the University of New Mexico Press.

La’ne’ Sa’an Moonwalker — Host, adviser for Combatting Poverty in New Mexico
Teacher. Oracle, Spiritual Guide
Resides in Moriarty, New Mexico.

La’ne’ Sa’an’s responses to the following questions asked in interviews for Evolving A Guide for Conscious Living offer a glimpse of La’ne’s enlivening Spirit:

Questions: “What is Spirit?” “How do your spiritual practices embrace Spirit, and how does Spirit embrace your daily life?”

La’ne: “Upon awakening, I begin by greeting the day. I give thanks to our Beloved Mother Earth below my feet. I give thanks to our sacred Father rising in the East. I exchange thru my breath and receive their nurturance. I exchange thru my breath and receive their nurturance.I invite them in, so our hearts may be as one. This is how I experience the flow from That which Moves and Touches ALL: Spirit. I do this throughout my day. I do this throughout my day. Before bed I greet the Night.”

She adds: “There was a time when we were all indigenous and connected with Mother Earth, Father Sun and Grandmother Moon. We do better when we are in alignment with Their rhythms. Some of us are already working in this way. We are of many colors, faiths, and spiritual journeys. The healing has begun. There is a lot more to do.”