Aug. 9—PROMOTIONS

Cheryl Mele has been promoted to vice president of customer care and corporate communications at El Paso Electric, which provides electricity to customers in west Texas and southern New Mexico. Mele, a Texas-registered professional engineer, completed the utility executive program at the University of Idaho, and received her bachelor's of science in mechanical engineering from Union College in Schenectady, New York. Previously she worked with Austin Energy, a municipally owned electric utility serving the City of Austin, Texas, starting as an engineer, moving up to director of system operations, then on to deputy general manager and chief operating officer and later returning as the interim vice president of regulatory affairs. Mele was also senior vice president and chief operating officer of The Electric Reliability Council of Texas. She joined EPE in February as the regional vice president of government affairs for the company's Texas service territory. Mele is also an executive board member for the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute, Boy Scouts of America, and the Association of Women in Energy.

Dr. Gurdeep Sing has been promoted to executive diversity and well-being officer at the University of New Mexico Sandoval Regional Medical Center in Rio Rancho. Singh, a hospitalist at SRMC, received his doctorate of osteopathic medicine from Andrew Taylor Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Mesa, Arizona, in 2012, and completed his internal medicine training at Samaritan Health Services in Corvallis, Oregon, in 2015. Singh became a diplomate of the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine in 2015. He has been with SRMC since 2016 and is also an assistant professor at UNM's department of Internal Medicine. In his new role at SRMC, Singh will be responsible for leading a comprehensive diversity, equity, inclusion and well-being strategy for SRMC that aligns with the UNM Health System's mission and goals. He will also work with hospital leadership to implement proactive diversity, equity, inclusion and well-being initiatives, both internally and externally.

HIRES

Tim Morgan has been named vice president of economic development at New Mexico Partnership. Morgan has more than 15 years of experience in economic and business development as well as strategic planning. His experience includes roles in tourism, film, education, arts and government industries. Most recently, Morgan worked as the City of Maple Valley's economic development manager. He has also served as chief of tourism and special events for the Charles County Tourism Office in Maryland, as the state tourism director for the Delaware Economic Development Office and as director of sales for the Washington County Visitors Association in Oregon. In his new role, Morgan will help recruit employers in the state. The New Mexico Partnership is an organization designated by the state to serve as the single point of contact to help businesses locate to New Mexico.

APPLAUSE

Menard Martinez and Brian Ammerman of Adelante Development Center received awards from SourceAmerica. Martinez, an employee at Adelante Bulk Printing and Mailing, won The Tom Miller Advocacy Award, which recognizes an employee with a disability who has demonstrated outstanding self-advocacy. He went to Washington in 2019 to tell his story to lawmakers, sharing the importance of government contracts providing jobs for people with disabilities. Ammerman, vice president of business operations at Adelante, received the Management Excellence Award from the National Council of SourceAmerica Employers for his years of leadership in the disability field. He helped develop Adelante's Bulk Printing and Mailing division, which provides quality jobs for people with disabilities and pays more than $11 an hour.

Barbara Lopez has been named Nusenda Foundation's newest financial education innovator. Lopez is a small business and financial literacy teacher with Encuentro New Mexico, a Latino immigrant community center in the heart of Albuquerque. She works with immigrant entrepreneurs to provide Spanish-language financial literacy and comprehensive business coaching, such as how to register their business, how to file a Limited Liability Corporation, filing taxes and how to follow codes and regulations.

Dreamstyle Remodeling Inc. and Eastern New Mexico Medical Center have received the Gold Level Committed Leader Award for the month of July from Family Friendly New Mexico. This award is given to New Mexico employers that adopt and implement family friendly workplace policies, such as paid leave and flexible work schedules, for their employees. The award levels are platinum, gold, silver and bronze.