Team

Melora Palmer

Executive Director

Melora Palmer has worked in communications and market development for over 20 years.

Always internationally inclined, Melora worked in the private sector in the US, Canada and France where she was lucky to travel extensively… losing count at 30 countries! She then made a 180° shift into the nonprofit sector, first starting her own company to launch fair trade and ethical products from her home in Paris, France. She then lived in Haiti and West Africa where she worked in communications, report and grant writing for prominent humanitarian organizations such as CARE and Aid for Artisans.

Melora relocated to Albuquerque in 2017, her Alma Mater state, to put her then teenage daughter in high school… and you think communicating in business is hard, try it with a 17-year-old! Here, she continued her work as a freelance content writer and editor within the nonprofit sector.

All along her commitment to serving her community and being part of the solution has held strong, she has volunteered for numerous charitable groups over the years and continues to be engaged in civic activities be-it political, social, or environmental. She is a daily yoga and meditation practitioner and is often seen at events arriving by bicycle. Melora is fully bilingual in French and English and conversationally adept in Spanish and Haitian Creole.

Christian Finke

Program Officer

"Christian Finke joined Global Ties ABQ as a Program Officer in March 2024, having previously worked in a similar role at Global Santa Fe. Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Christian graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Mexico with a double major in International Studies and Political Science. Christian lived abroad as an exchange student in Estonia and Spain and as a Fulbright Scholar in Malaysian Borneo. He worked in Washington, D.C. as an intern for U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich and for the State Department’s Bureau of Human Rights. In Washington, Christian also worked as a Program Associate for the global nonprofit the International Research and Exchange Board (IREX). Christian is an alumni of the State Department's Critical Language Scholarship for Indonesian, and enjoys learning new languages. In his free time, Christian also enjoys fly fishing, disc golf, and making new friends and connections from around the world!"

Kayla Johns

Community Engagement Officer

Kayla brings energy and newness to her role as the Community Engagement Officer. Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 19-year-old Kayla has grown up centered in a convention of community—the critical appreciation of the blending of traditions, arts, and heritage that make her hometown special. Being raised in such a setting understandably has formed her passion for community involvement, as she feels the only way to unite people is by having them share one experience or another. Currently, Kayla is a sophomore at UNM studying International Studies, focusing on Asia. She is academically interested in the arts and culture of Asian countries, especially in how those aspects shape society’s interaction and globalization. Kayla identifies with Asia because she just wants to understand other ways of living and how these artistic expressions serve as a universal language across borders. She believes art and culture are crucial in understanding the human experience and wishes to enhance various interactions in communities through research across the world.

At UNM, Kayla is not only dedicated to academics but is also involved in campus activities. She enjoys meeting new people of diverse backgrounds and exploring new ideas, always looking to learn from other experiences. She looks at this position as an avenue to create community involvement and to continue creating innovative ways of engaging people in events. She desires to make particular spaces inclusive; at such places, everybody should experience feelings of being welcome and appreciated—whether through the facilitation of cultural festivals, volunteer activities, or bringing people together for picnics.

Besides academics and professional engagements, Kayla enjoys traveling and exploring foreign cultures. In the future, she dreams of residing abroad—at least in Asia—and experiencing local culture inculcation while giving her contributions to international relations through cultural diplomacy. She finally hopes to work in an international organization or NGO that works toward cross-cultural understanding and global cooperation. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music and dancing with those she loves. Whatever keeps her near them, be it attending a concert in the neighborhood, dancing to the rhythm of her favorite songs, or simply having a relaxing evening with family and friends, it is Kayla’s time for contact and joy. These act as activities that recharge her but also remind her of community and personal relationships. She takes this into her professional life.

Kayla is excited for the future and the opportunities lying before her, continuing to grow both academically and professionally while holding tight to her mission of making a difference in her community or across the world stage. She looks forward to creating links, encouraging participation, and leaving a mark through the role of a Community Engagement Officer.

Board

Dana Koller

President

Dana Koller, born and raised in New Mexico, Dana has a proven track record of creating, operating and sustaining successful business ventures and community events around our state.

While Agile and Social Enterprise coaching are specialties and passions for Dana, he also balances life with many hobbies such as yoga, mediation, outdoor sports, and wine tasting just to name a few. Dana has a loving relationship with Cassandra Kent and her two beautiful children Isaiah and Jordyn all of whom are important motivators that cannot be replaced.

Dana founded the UN-17 initiative in 2018 in hopes to change the world of business for the better. The idea is based on the United Nations 17 Sustainability Goals which his organization promotes within the New Mexican business and governmental sectors.

He is currently President and CEO or Kaktus Brewing Co., PrAG, and UN-17 Social Club.

Philip Hultquist

Vice President

Philip Hultquist is the Director of the Global and National Security Policy Institute and a Professor Practice for the Department of Political Science at the University of New Mexico. He is a research fellow for the Modern War Institute at West Point and a non-resident fellow for the National Institute for Deterrence Studies. He also advises study abroad projects for Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Previously, Philip taught politics, policy, and strategy for the US Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) and served as the interim director of the Goodpaster Scholars, the US Army’s practitioner PhD program. As SAMS, he led or co-led student-practitioners on field studies to Washington, DC, Indonesia, Europe, and nearly every US Combatant Command. Dr. Hultquist also taught for several years at Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago, where he served as the Director of the International Studies program.
Dr. Hultquist researches international relations, deterrence, and strategy with a regional sub-specialty on India. His prior research has covered irregular warfare, state targeting and repression in counterinsurgencies, peace settlements in civil wars, state and social politics of hydroelectric dams in India, and countering violent extremists in the Khalistan insurgency in India. His research has appeared in World Development, Journal of Peace Research, PS: Political Science and Politics, Conflict Management and Peace Science, the Journal of Punjab Studies, Special Operations Journal, and Military Review. His current research evaluates India’s foreign relations to draw policy implications for US strategy in the Indo-Pacific.
Philip holds an MA and PhD in Political Science from the University of New Mexico.

Barbara Campbell

Treasurer

Barbara is a native New Mexican born in Las Cruces and raised just outside of Albuquerque. She graduated from NMSU with a degree in Accounting, and English.

She then lived in Pennsylvania for 9 years, right after college, developing international accounting software in the early 2000’s before returning to NM to be closer to her family.

“I am currently treasurer of one additional organization, and I sit on the board of one of the local charter schools. It is with great pleasure and excitement that I begin my work on the GTA board. I look forward to meeting everyone and working to continue the important work that we are privileged to be a part of”.

Stephen L. Bishop

Secretary

Stephen L. Bishop (Ph.D. University of Michigan, 1999; J.D. University of Michigan, 1993; B.S. University of Illinois, 1990) is the Director of the International Studies Institute and an Associate Professor of French and Africana Studies at the University of New Mexico. Professor Bishop’s interests encompass literature and culture of sub-Saharan Africa, law and literature, shame and guilt, feminism, FGM, cultural studies, and child soldier narratives.

Professor Bishop has published a number of articles on African literature and law, as well as his book Legal Oppositional Narrative: A Case Study in Cameroon (Lexington Books, 2008), which examines opposition to government-supported, dominant social orders through legal writing, including fiction that deals with legal themes, settings, and language, as well as nontraditional narratives such as legal decisions and textbooks. He has a forthcoming book, Scripting Humiliation: Shame in the African Novel, with Liverpool University Press.

He teaches courses on African literature and culture, theories of law and literature, and European and African legal and moral traditions in literature and film.

Antonio Flores

Member-at-Large

Antonio is a certified trainer of Sage Intacct, MIP Fund Accounting and Microix software with more than a decade of experience in database management and the implementation of accounting software. He trains individuals from businesses, tribal governments and non-for-profit organizations on the effective use of their business software systems, including how to improve their accounting processing, payroll, human resources, tax reporting, and other processes. Antonio holds a bachelor’s degree in International Business from the University of Guanajuato, Mexico, and also both an MBA in Finance and a Master of Accountancy (MACC) from the University of New Mexico.

Deborah Blank

Member-at-Large

Deborah’s involvement with Global Ties ABQ helps her feel that she has a role to play in creating international goodwill. As a huge added benefit, she has learned so much about other cultures from these very bright and energetic future world leaders – what a privilege to engage with them. They clearly enjoy coming to Albuquerque and she finds it fun to show off the city and share their reaction to the many attributes – especially the food, skies and sunsets!

Jon Ghahate

Member-at-Large

Jon Ghahate is of the Pueblos of Laguna and Zuni and of the Turkey and Badger Clans. Jon is the Museum Cultural Educator at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As the Museum Cultural Educator, his responsibilities are to develop and present a historically accurate and respectful narrative of the cultures, heritage, and legacies of New Mexico’s Pueblo communities. He has a diverse professional background as; a primary care and orthopedic-surgical Physician Assistant, a high school math and science teacher and athletic coach for the Albuquerque Public Schools, was an Associate Producer for Native America Calling, a live national daily radio talk program, and has volunteered for a number of civil and community organizations. He is a Vietnam Era veteran, in enlisted and commissioned medical ranks, having serviced in several military branches. He was a Kellogg National Leadership Program Fellow.

Through the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Jon has given presentations on New Mexico’s Pueblo communities, providing a credible and historically accurate paradigm of the Indigenous civilizations of the US Southwest, the impact of encroachment and colonization by Eastern Hemisphere entities upon of these civilizations, the acknowledgement of the diverse Indigenous civilizations of the Western Hemisphere that incorporated STEM constructs in establishing and sustaining their civilizations pre-Contact, the continued evolution and resilience of Indigenous peoples, the efforts of Indigenous people taking ownership of a more accurate and science-centered narrative of their history, and topics centered on Cultural Humility and Sensitivity. As a lecturer, he has presented to organizations such as; the Albuquerque Public Schools School Board, the University of New Mexico, the Crow Canyon Archeological Center, the Coronado State Historic Site/Park, The Nature Conservancy of Santa Fe, the National Park Service, the Sierra Club, the America Farmland Trust, the World Council of Churches, SITE Santa Fe, the US Air Force, the Pittsburg National Corporation, the Center for Indigenous Ministries, and META/Facebook. He has assisted some of these organizations with creating their ‘land acknowledgement statement’. Jon is a parent of two children and resides on the homelands of the Pueblo people of the Southwest United States.

David Campbell

Member-at-Large

David S. Campbell is the part-time Development Hearing
Officer for the City of Albuquerque and currently serves as
Chief Counsel of Mesa Del Sol, LLC, a master planned
commercial, industrial, and residential community in
Albuquerque, NM. Mesa del Sol is in the process of
constructing hundreds of residential units, along with Netflix’s
largest film production site in North America. Campbell is a 35-
year member of the NM State Bar, practicing municipal and real
estate law, in the private and public sectors. Government roles
have included serving as Albuquerque City Attorney, Planning
Director, and CAO/City Manager. Campbell retired from the
U.S. Department of State as a diplomat, having served in Africa
and South America, in addition to service as a U.S. Peace Corps
volunteer in Africa. He speaks fluent French and Spanish.
Graduate of Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign
Service, with graduate and law degrees from the University of
New Mexico.

Emilie De Angelis

Member-at-Large

Emilie is Principal and Owner, Serafina Company. For more than 25 years, Emilie has managed ambitious fundraising initiatives at several of the nation’s leading art museums, cultural organizations, and educational institutions. An expert at generating private philanthropic support for truly transformative projects, she’s managed multi-million-dollar campaigns for the Art Institute of Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre, and many others.

Emilie is a fourth-generation New Mexican, born in Albuquerque. She studied art history at Saint Mary’s College of Notre Dame and spent 18 years working at top organizations in Chicago. In 2016, she moved home with her husband and son to reunite with family and rediscover sunshine. Her consulting practice has served nonprofit clients locally and nationally ever since.

Emilie’s a current member and immediate past chair of the City of Albuquerque’s Arts Board that oversees its public art program, appointed by Mayor Keller. She's Vice Chair of the Board at Escuela del Sol Montessori and Harwood Art Center, and a board member of the Albuquerque Film and Music Experience Foundation.

From the early days of her career, Emilie has loved serving as a cultural ambassador and partner for government relations. She served as a cultural delegate on an Illinois trade mission to Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. At the Art Institute, she was honored to host foreign dignitaries from around the world for special visits to the collection, as well as serving on the Cultural Advisory Committee of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura.

Emilie’s personal travels have taken her from her family villages in northern Italy to UNESCO sites in 10 countries, including her favorite Caves of Dambulla in Sri Lanka. She is a go-to resource for a cultural trip idea and feels most at home lost in an art museum.

Michael Garlid

Member-at-Large

Micheal is Operations Manager on the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition where his responsibilities include ensuring that the Coalition staff function with maximum effectiveness and efficiency. He also oversees and manages the administrative, financial, programmatic, and organizational activities to ensure consistency with and adherence to the mission and vision of Tribal Leadership and the Coalition’s Co-Directors. Before joining the Coalition, Michael supported citizen to citizen diplomacy as the Programs Officer at Global Ties ABQ, working on Department of State exchange programs. Michael is a commissioner on the City of Albuquerque’s Citizens’ Independent Salary Commission and supports data-driven positive change as a member of the Global Shapers Hub ABQ. Michael is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and grew up in Tempe, Arizona. He received a Masters of Science in International Management from Franklin University Switzerland where he focused on project management and community driven change. He studied at Arizona State University where earned a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies

Kelley Tredwin

Member-at-Large

I am co-owner of Altalune Wealth Advisors, and I work alongside my husband of 20 years. Being a couple in business takes a special kind of something to do well. Luckily we have it! I’ve worked in financial services since 2013. Previous to that, I provided New Mexico non-profits with fundraising and development services for 20 years, especially in areas of family health. During that chapter of my life, I served as Executive Director of the Taos Sports Alliance and Director of Development and Marketing for Taos Health Systems. I am a long-distance hiker, which has given me beautiful experiences around the world and constantly provides me perspective on health and wealth. Originally, I am from Kansas City, but have called New Mexico my home for 25 years. I raised my son on the slopes at Taos Ski Valley and have been in Albuquerque since 2015.

Chris Ferrara

Member-at-Large

Christopher Ferrara is an education professional who is thrilled to take on a board role with GlobalTiesABQ. Chris is currently the Assistant Head of School at Menaul School, a 128 year-old New Mexican institution with a strong international program component.

Christopher’s current portfolio of duties includes managing Menaul School’s international operations as International Program Director. During his tenure, he established Menaul’s international accreditation and franchising model through Cognia, as well as its implementation in Menaul’s first overseas campus - Menaul School Qingdao in Qingdao, China. Menaul School Qingdao is currently preparing to send multiple students to study in Albuquerque on a yearly basis through programs developed by Chris.

In addition, Chris oversees Menaul School’s academic programs and teaching faculty. He developed and planned the implementation of Advanced Placement courses at Menaul School, building the program to the point that Menaul School now offers 14 AP courses, allowing talented local and international students to both benefit from college credit as well as to gain closer looks from top universities. In addition, Chris brought international mathematics curricula to Menaul through the implementation of Integrated Mathematics – focusing on the strength demonstrated through PISA testing that other nations bring to their mathematics programs.

Prior to his time at Menaul School, Chris worked as an international faculty member at Luoyang Normal University in Luoyang, China. He was recognized multiple times as teacher of the year for his innovative style of teaching as he prepared a new generation of young men and women to teach English throughout China’s most populous province. He holds a degree in History from the University of North Florida.