Meet Our Team
+ MaryEllen Garcia, Chief Executive Officer
MaryEllen Garcia has worked in New Mexico’s network of survivor services for over 20 years. Most recently she spent the past ten years as the Grants Bureau Chief for the New Mexico Crime Victims Reparation Commission, administering state funds to support survivor services, as well as federal funds from VOCA Victim Assistance, STOP VAWA, SASP, and other federal discretionary awards.
Prior to her work with the Commission, Ms. Garcia administered discretionary grants from the Office on Violence Against Women for the State of New Mexico including projects that developed best practices for access, issuance, and enforcement of orders of protection and a statewide domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, strangulation, and child victimization project.
She started her career in victim services as a volunteer with a non-profit law enforcement-based victim advocate program. She worked as a crisis negotiator for law enforcement and developed a law enforcement Crisis Outreach and Support Team, focused on providing access to families whose loved ones are experiencing mental illness.
Ms. Garcia has worked on several projects at the state, local and national levels to improve the provision of services for survivors of crime. She has worked and collaborated with the VERA Institute, the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, Casa de Esperanza, the Women of Color Network, the Office on Violence Against Women, the Office for Victims of Crime, and numerous other state and national programs
She sat on the national board of Violence Against Women Administrators as the President and often mentors other states in the administration of their federal funding. She has worked with governmental and non-governmental victim service agencies around the state either in training, providing services, development of best practices in serving victims, program development, and leadership within New Mexico.
Listen to her podcast here.
+ Natasha Espana, Chief Financial Officer
Natasha is a dedicated professional with over 12 years of experience in the non-profit sector, specializing in accounting and financial management. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a deep commitment to supporting the missions of various non-profit organizations through her expertise and compassionate approach.
As a seasoned non-profit accountant specialist, Natasha possesses a comprehensive understanding of the unique financial challenges and regulatory requirements faced by non-profit entities. She has successfully managed complex non-profit financial books, ensuring transparency, accountability, and compliance with industry standards.
Beyond her technical proficiency, Natasha is deeply passionate about making a difference in the community. She has actively contributed her skills and knowledge to advance the missions of numerous non-profit organizations, fostering positive change and impact.
Natasha is known for her empathetic leadership style and collaborative approach, which have been instrumental in building strong relationships with stakeholders and driving organizational success. She believes in the power of financial stewardship to drive social change and is dedicated to empowering non-profit organizations to fulfill their missions effectively.
+ David Garvin, Director of Abuse Intervention Services & Systems Response
David serves as the Director of Abuse Intervention and Systems Response for the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence. David has been directly involved in the anti-domestic violence movement since 1986 when he founded the Alternatives to Domestic Aggression (ADA) battering intervention program. David was named the 2009 National Association of Social Workers-Michigan (NASW-MI) Social Worker of the Year. David’s work in the movement to end domestic violence was featured in the book Gender-Based Perspectives on Batterer Programs: Program Leaders on History, Approach, Research and Development, by Edward W. Gondolf, 2015. In 2017 David was awarded the Glenn R. Winters Award (renamed the Nachtigal Award in 2018) from the American Judges Association. David is a co-founder and current Chair of the Battering Intervention Services Coalition of Michigan (BISC-MI).
Listen to his podcast here.
+ Melissa Silver, Director of Training, Technical Assistance & Capacity
Melissa Silver is a leader, advocate, organizer, and trainer. Her passion lies in engaging with systems partners and advocates to create sustained institutionalized change to reflect the needs of survivors and the communities they serve. This drive has led Melissa to work on college campuses, in domestic violence and sexual assault community organizations, in state-wide coalitions, and in other community organizations as a peer advocate, crisis and support line specialist, first response/court advocate, coordinated community response team founder and co-chair, advocacy program director, board member, and trainer and coach on how to meaningful address intimate partner violence and how to best utilize coordinated community response models.
Melissa strives to create spaces for authentic collaboration and communication in communities where partners can be honest about their challenges and experiences with intimate partner violence cases to develop sustainable survivor-centered solutions.
Regardless of role or title, Melissa is a tenacious advocate who believes that collectively we can create communities where survivors and their children can feel safety, support, and belonging.
Listen to her podcast here.
+ Iris Wohrer, Office Manager
Iris Wohrer (she/her) graduated magna cum laude from the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies, as well as a Certificate in Peace and Social Justice. Iris became involved in the field of domestic violence many years ago as a volunteer for one of our member programs, Enlace Comunitario. Since then, Ms. Wohrer has combined her passions for public policy and social justice, taking on various roles including positions in the Office of Senator Martin Heinrich in Washington, D.C. and the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center here in Albuquerque.
Listen to her podcast here.
+ Shana Aldahl, LMSW, Training, Technical Assistance, & Capacity Specialist (CCBP Manager)
Shana Aldahl is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and recently returned to the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence to serve as a Program Support Specialist. In her previous role at the Coalition, Shana managed various projects aimed at increasing accessibility and building capacity within domestic violence programs across New Mexico, including the Children’s Capacity Building Project and the Companion Animal Rescue Effort. Shana has worked in the field of domestic violence for over 15 years in various capacities to include managing a domestic violence shelter in Santa Fe, providing crisis intervention and counseling services to survivors of domestic violence, and providing trainings, supervision, and support to a variety of professionals. Shana has also served as an Adjunct Instructor for the Facundo Valdez School of Social Work at New Mexico Highlands University. Shana is dedicated to ending domestic violence and believes that all creatures, even the furry ones, deserve a life free from violence.
Listen to her podcast here.
+ Mica Reagan, Coordinated Community Response Team Manager
Mica Reagan's first opportunity to serve NM youth and families came as the program assistant for NMKids Matter Inc. There she learned from the incredible leadership just what kind of woman leader in community she wanted to be. Her next opportunity to serve came when she went on to serve Valencia County as the Multidisciplinary Team Coordinator for crimes against children with Valencia Shelter Services Children’s Advocacy Center. There she was also privileged to serve as a Victim Service Advocate for survivors of domestic violence as well as sexual assault. She was offered a position with All Faiths Children’s Advocacy center to facilitate and supervise High Fidelity Wraparound and working with a core service agency that takes a holistic approach to serving the most vulnerable populations in community was important to her. She is the proud parent of an incredible, intelligent, beautiful college student and a quirky covid puppy. She is also a proud veteran of the US Army.
Listen to her podcast here.
+ Flor Gonzalez, Coordinated Community Response Team Leader
Before coming to NMCADV, Flor Gonzalez was the Director of Support Services at La Casa in Las Cruces, New Mexico where she worked to serve victims of domestic violence and their families. As the Director of Support Services, she oversaw the case management, children and youth program, transitional housing, battering intervention program, legal advocacy department, and the crisis advocacy and intake department at the main office in Las Cruces and the satellite office located in Anthony.
Flor is certified as a National Community Crisis Response Team Member through the National Organization of Victim Assistance (NOVA) and is specifically trained to provide trauma mitigation, education, and emotional first aid in the aftermath of a critical incident, either small-scale or mass-casualty. She is a Crisis Prevention Institute Certified Instructor (CPI) in non-violent crisis intervention and has completed the Coaching Boys Into Men advocate Certification and is prepared to facilitate Coaches Clinics in her community. She was selected to participate in the 2022 Leadership Education and Advancement for Professionals (LEAP) Cohort 8 Academy through ValorUS and the U.S Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women. The LEAP Project is designed to provide intensive, interactive, training and practicum for leaders of color in the anti-violence field.
Prior to La Casa, she was the Prevention Education Coordinator at La Pinon Sexual Assault Recovery Services of Southern New Mexico for 11 years. During her time at La Pinon, Flor was a leading voice in sexual violence prevention efforts throughout the State of New Mexico. She was involved in the development of the It Starts With Us Communications campaign from start to finish which stresses the importance of understanding that we all play a role in ending sexual violence. In 2014, Flor was selected to participate in the development of the Statewide Strategic Plan for Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence and it was published in December of 2015.
Her life mission has been to end disparity against marginalized communities by working with communities of color, immigrant populations, poverty, older adults, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ and working with diverse women and youth. In the 28 years that Flor has worked with these marginalized communities, she has been able to develop and implement curriculum as a tool that focuses on the importance of consent, respect, and empathy, challenging rigid gender roles and promoting social norms that protect against violence. Along with her lifelong commitment to ending gender-based violence she has a passion for working with youth. She is in her 29th year as an assistant volleyball coach at Las Cruces High School. She uses the opportunity not only to teach the game but also to teach life skills that will forever be instilled in these youth.
+ Diana Arreola, Coordinated Community Response Community Organizer (Taos County)
Diana Arreola (she/her) was born in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, MX but immigrated to Taos, New Mexico when she was just a toddler and has been a resident of the community ever since. Diana began social justice and anti-oppression work five years ago, when she became a community educator for Community Against Violence, a dual domestic and sexual violence agency. During her community educator role, Diana coordinated and facilitated multiple programs including their violence-prevention program, sex-ed program for adolescents, and their program that centered in providing anti-oppression training and technical assistance to youth and minority serving organizations. In addition to prevention, Diana also has experience doing outreach, social media, and volunteer coordination.
In her role at NMCADV, Diana will be serving as the Coordinated Community Response Community Organizer in Taos. This consists of improving partnership, policies, and procedures within intimate partner violence collaborating with partners to ensure a unified response that leads to safety for survivors and accountability for offenders.
In her free time, Diana loves to spend time out in nature, connecting with her family and pets, and being artistic whenever possible. In addition, Diana loves reading especially about health, psychology, and her faith.
+ Matilda Hadzic, Training, Technical Assistance, & Capacity Specialist Apprentice and Administrative Assistant
Matilda Hadzic was born in Canada, to immigrant parents. Growing up, her family lived in a few different countries, before settling in Texas. Here, Matilda started her family, and obtained her degree in Nursing, primarily working in the sector of womens’ reproductive health. Several years ago, she shifted her focus to supporting survivors of IPV and offering peer support to those struggling with substance use. She lives in Santa Fe with her 4 children, 2 dogs, 1 cat and 8 goldfish.
+ Yasmin Akin, Training Assistant
Yasmin Akin has three beautiful and messy boys that keep her on my toes daily. She grew up in Los Angeles, CA and moved to Roswell when she was 15. She graduated from Roswell High School in 2007 and then went on to complete her Associates Degree from ENMU-R for Media Arts in 2011. She started working for the Courts in Roswell in 2016 where she was lucky enough to gain valuable experience within the Domestic Violence field and learned how to better serve the members of her community. She is super excited to join the team here at the NMCADV!
Listen to her podcast here.