New Mexico Voices For Children Welcomes New Executive Director

Organization Press Release – From New Mexico Voices For Children

ALBUQUERQUE, NM — New Mexico Voices for Children is pleased to welcome Gabrielle Uballez as its new executive director. Uballez is a seasoned social sector leader with over a decade of experience in organizational leadership, partnership development, program design, and racial equity. She most recently served as a program officer at Asset Funders Network, where she played a key role in advancing national and regional initiatives focused on racial and economic justice in philanthropy. She joins NM Voices on April 8, 2024.

“We are so pleased to welcome Gabrielle,” said Rev. Dr. Robert Woodruff, Chair of the NM Voices’ Board of Directors. “She possesses the knowledge, experience, and leadership intangibles we sought. We were especially impressed with her extensive racial equity work, which has become an increasingly important element of our policy work. We already have an amazing team and a great track record and Gabrielle will be an excellent addition.”

“I am thrilled to join the dynamic team at NM Voices,” Uballez said, “to champion a legacy of using data and advocacy to stretch our collective imaginations to achieve lasting systems-level change so that New Mexico is a safe and thriving place for kids and the people who love them.

“While New Mexico faces many challenges, we are a beacon of possibility for who we can become. We lead the way in putting children and families at the front of an equitable policy agenda – from a constitutional amendment securing the right to early childhood education, to making college tuition-free, to paid sick leave. I am eager to continue this work with policymakers and coalition partners to achieve a long-term vision for improving the lives of our children in New Mexico.”

Prior to her work at Asset Funders, Uballez served as the co-director of the U.S. Department of Arts & Culture, executive director of Working Classroom, co-facilitator of the New Mexico Women of Color Nonprofit Leadership Initiative at the Santa Fe Community Foundation, and chairperson of the city of Albuquerque Urban Enhancement Trust Fund. She has also provided advisory services to national and local foundations in areas including racial equity, youth development, economic justice, and arts and activism.

Uballez also serves on the boards of the national ACLU and the ACLU of NM. She holds a BA from Pomona College in Claremont, California, and has completed a certificate program in Nonprofit Executive Leadership from the Stanford School of Business. 

Uballez replaces Amber Wallin, who left NM Voices in late 2023 to work on state public policy at the State Revenue Alliance, a national group. She is now their executive director.

NM Voices was founded in 1987 by three pediatricians who wanted to improve child health and well-being through public policy. Often working in coalition with other groups, NM Voices and its partners have successfully advocated for the creation and increase of several tax credits for families earning low incomes, the expansion of health insurance coverage, wage increases, paid sick leave, and the 2022 voter-approved move to use funding from the Permanent School Fund for early childhood services, among many other issues.