Meet the 2015 Presenters

Lt Gov John Sanchez

John Sanchez
New Mexico Lieutenant Governor
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Lieutenant Governor John Sanchez was elected on November 2, 2010, by the citizens of State of New Mexico.  He was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and can trace his public service roots to his great, great grandfather who was a territorial legislator from San Miguel County in 1860.  Lieutenant Governor Sanchez was previously elected to the office of Councilman for the Village of Los Ranchos and also served in the New Mexico House of Representatives.

As Lieutenant Governor, he presides over the New Mexico State Senate and serves as the State’s Ombudsman.  He also serves on several boards and commissions, including the State Board of Finance; the Military Base Planning Commission; the Mortgage Finance Authority; the New Mexico Border Authority; the Spaceport Authority; and the Community Development Council.


NM Senator Mary Kay Papen
Mary Kay Papen
New Mexico Senator
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Senator Mary Kay Papen (D-38-Dona Ana) has served in the New Mexico Legislature since 2001, representing parts of Dona Ana County.  According to Senator Papen, her drive to become a public official comes from her parents instilling in her the need to give back to her community.  Beyond her elected position, her community involvement includes volunteering as a board member of La Casa Domestic Violence Shelter, St. Luke’s Health Clinic, the First Step Clinic for Prenatal and Pediatric Care and the Border Book Festival.

In 2010, Senator Papen became the Senate President Pro Tempore for the State Senate.  During the legislative session, she chairs the Senate Committee’s Committee and serves as a member of the Corporations and Indian Affairs Committees.  During the interim she co-chairs the Legislative Jobs Council and the Legislative Council;  she is also a member of the 14 other interim committees.  As a state senator, she has championed many important pieces of legislation including mental health insurance benefits, Katie’s Law, affordable housing reform, as well as legislation dealing with water, economic development, horse racing regulation , public health and education.


Dale Dekker_headshot
Dale Dekker, AIA, AICP
Principal, Dekker/Perich/Sabatini
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As an original founder of D/P/S, Dale has over 35 years experience as a registered architect and planner. His extensive experience includes high tech, one-of-a-kind research facilities for Sandia National Laboratory, award winning school designs for Albuquerque Public Schools, and socially responsible designs of assisted living facilities for the elderly. Raised in Albuquerque, Dale has developed an extensive network of individuals and companies that are routinely brought together to assist our clients in creating successful projects. A recent example of Dale’s efforts is the nationally recognized renovation and adaptive reuse of the Old Albuquerque High School, near downtown Albuquerque. This project “saved” one of the more architecturally significant and loved structures in our community for future generations, through a complex private-public partnership. Dale also is very involved in enhancing the quality of life in our community by participating as a volunteer on a variety of boards and commissions. Dale is a member of the Economic Forum, the Albuquerque Economic Development (AED), NAIOP, is District Council Chair of the Urban land Institute (ULI) and was appointed by Governor Susana Martinez to the Construction Industries Commission and the Governor’s Education Progress Agenda Task Force. As an experienced architect and planner, Dale is committed to building a better state and community.

Education
Bachelor of Architecture, Design Option, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 1975

Professional Registration

Registered Architect
American Institute of Certified Planners
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB)


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Gary Oppedahl, Director
Economic Development Department, City of Albuquerque
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Gary comes from the private sector where he has spent much of his career fostering tech start-ups including EMCORE and most recently TriLumina, both of which are built from research conducted at Sandia National Labs. Mr. Oppedahl has been involved with business start-up activity in Silicon Valley and is a former Intel employee whose duties included new site start-ups. Mayor Berry has directed Gary to work with existing tech-transfer leaders and innovators in Albuquerque and around the world with the goal of building a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in Albuquerque and to identify opportunities for growth and job creation; more specifically – the commercialization of research from our National Labs and our Universities.


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Art K. Umble, PhD, PE, BCEE
Wastewater Practice Leader
MWH Global
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Dr. Umble, based in Denver, Colorado, serves as the Wastewater Practice Leader for MWH Global, with responsibility for municipal markets in North America. His areas of expertise include nutrient removal and recovery technology, solids processing and handling systems, energy balances, process modeling for biological treatment regimes, and consulting in public utility management and operations for wastewater treatment plants. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame (1997) and is a registered professional engineer.