The University of New Mexico Foundation elected nine new members and re-elected four members to its Board of Directors recently. New members include: Sandra Begay-Campbell, Lou Ann Lujan Byrd, Michelle Coons, Gus Foster, Peter Johnstone, Mark Lesher, Jack Olive, Steven Petranovich and Elizabeth Wiggins. Re-elected members include: George Friberg and Yolanda Jones King, 3rd term, and John Lopez and Robert Taichert, Esq., 2nd term. All board terms are through April 30, 2011.
New Board officers include: Thelma Domenici, chair; Gary Gordon, vice chair/chair-elect; Judith Lavender, national vice-chair; and Anne Yegge, secretary. They join Michael Kingan, president of the UNM Foundation and vice president of Institutional Advancement, and David Harris, treasurer and acting UNM president, as officers on the Board of Directors.
New Board Member Bios…
Sandra Begay-Campbell
A former member of the UNM Board of Regents, Begay-Campbell received a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from UNM in 1987 and a master’s in Structural Engineering from Stanford Engineering. She is currently employed at Sandia National Laboratories as a principal member of the technical staff working with tribal renewable energy throughout the nation. In 2000, she was a recipient of the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Women from the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women, and also received the Stanford University Multicultural Alumni of the Year Award.
Lou Ann Lujan Byrd
Lujan Byrd received an Associate of Science in Radiological Technology from UNM in 1977. She is the daughter of Edward Lujan, former CEO of the Manuel Lujan Agencies. The Manual Lujan Agencies was bought by Lujan Byrd’s grandfather in 1926 and continues to be a family-run business. She volunteers on several boards and community groups.
Michelle Coons
Coons received her bachelor’s degree from the Anderson School of Management in 1983 and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2003. She is currently the head of commercial banking for Bank of the West in Albuquerque where she is responsible for expanding the bank’s commercial relationships in New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma. Coons’ banking career has spanned 23 years. She is the 2005 recipient of the Alumni Association’s Zia Award, past president of the Association and past chair of The Anderson Schools Foundation Board.
Gus Foster
Foster is a major donor to the UNM's Harwood Museum of Art in Taos. He was instrumental in securing a $1.2 million state appropriation for the Harwood's expansion and renovation, and he chairs the committee for that capital campaign in addition to serving on the Harwood's governing board. He has been associated with the Harwood for nearly 20 years, was president of the Harwood Advisory Board for 12 years, and chaired the capital campaign committee of its last major expansion between 1995 and 1997.
Peter Johnstone
Johnstone earned his undergraduate degree (1970) and Juris Doctorate (1974), both from UNM. He’s a former member of the Albuquerque Bar Association Board of Directors (1980-83) and was past president of the Albuquerque Bar Association (1981-82). In 1991, Johnstone received the Albuquerque Bar Association’s Outstanding Lawyer Award. He has been an AV rated lawyer in Martindale-Hubbell for more than 25 years. Johnstone served six years in the New Mexico Air National Guard. He has two children, both graduates of UNM.
Mark Lesher
Dr. Lesher is employed at Eye Associates of New Mexico, which is the largest ophthalmic and optometric group in the Southwest. He’s a member of the Board of Directors of Eye Associates of New Mexico. He earned both a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology (1983) and M.D. (1988) from UNM. Lesher is a member of the New Horizon Society and is on the Board of Directors for the UNM Lobo Club.
Jack Olive
Olive earned a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from UNM in 1968. He’s the current president of AlASCON Inc., a building and real estate development company located in Anchorage (Alaska). He’s the president of JAAX Inc., an Alaska corporation involved in Property Management and Operations, and president and director of Windsong Inc., a real estate company also incorporated in Alaska.
Steven Petranovich
Petranovich earned both his Bachelor’s in Business Administration (1976) and Master’s in Business Administration from the Anderson School of Management (1977). A Gallup (N.M.) native, Petranovich is s certified public accountant working and sole proprietor since 1985. He has served on a number of volunteer and community organizations.
Elizabeth Wiggins
Wiggins received her bachelor’s of science in accounting from the Anderson School of Management in 1969. She is one of 11 partners in the accounting firm of BKD, LLP in Houston, Texas. Prior to her partnership at BDK, she was president of White Petrov McHone where she was employed for 25 years. Wiggins served on its three-member board of directors for 15 years. She is a member of the Houston Chapter of the Texas Society of CPAs, the American Institute of CPAs, and the American Society of Appraisers. Wiggins is also involved with several volunteer and community organizations.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu