New Mexico State University

The e3 Initiative Advisory Board meets bi-annually to review e3 Team progress against program goals. Members also offer leadership advice on project management, student and mentor engagement, program sustainability and growth. Board service is not compensated. We thank the following individuals for their time, ideas, enthusiasm, and support of higher education.

Advisory Board Members

Joe Butler, Dean of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics, Dona Ana Community College

Joe Butler has served as the Dean of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics at Doña Ana Community College for the past four years. Currently, he is also serving as the Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs. He has worked in higher education for 31 years as a math teacher and administrator specializing in distance learning, concurrent enrollment, and transfer programs. Mr. Butler earned a BS and MS in Mathematics at the University of North Texas.

 Antonio (Tony) Garcia, Former Professor and Associate Dean of Engineering, New Mexico State University

Dr. Tony Garcia is a former professor and associate dean of engineering as New Mexico State Univeristy. After earning a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Rutgers University, he worked for Exxon Research and Engineering Company and developed a passion for research. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at University of California-Berkeley and, in 1989, launched his academic career as an assistant professor in chemical and bioengineering at Arizona State University. His technological expertise includes surface and colloid chemistry for diagnostics, drug delivery, and biomolecule identification and purification. His work has been published in a wide variety of chemistry, engineering, and biology journals including J. of Physical Chemistry, I&EC Research, Advanced Materials, Bioengineering, and J. of Microbiological Methods.

 Jennifer Grimes, Project Manager, Intel

Jennifer Grimes is a project manager at Intel who recently transitioned from helping supply chain supply planners be rock stars to helping co-workers change. She's spent the last 18 years at the intersection of business, operations, and technical teams within the supply chain and is currently focused on deploying the latest transformational corporate program. Jennifer earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from NMSU.

 Kathryn Hansen, Director, Arrowhead Center, New Mexico State University

Kathryn Hansen serves as Director of Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University (NMSU) and CEO of Arrowhead Center, Inc., a non-profit corporation created to support the mission of NMSU. She leads Arrowhead's efforts in entrepreneurship and innovation, focused on technology commercialization, student entrepreneurship, starting and growing businesses and creating public-private partnerships. She provides direction for Arrowhead Center programs, initiatives, strategies, goals, and performance in support of the organizations mission; leads development of public-private partnerships for economic development; champions new business development opportunities; provides management oversight of programs, products, and services; and develops and monitors operational and programmatic budgets. She has been with NMSU for over 25 years in several positions, including Chief Operating Officer of Arrowhead Center; Deputy Director of the Aerospace and Autonomous Systems Laboratory at the Physical Science Laboratory, and Business Development Director at the Physical Science Laboratory. She earned a B.A. and M.A. in Sociology at University of Texas at El Paso.

 Yu-Feng (Winnie) Lee, Ph.D., Professor of Economics and Director, Doctor of Economic Development Program, College of Business, New Mexico State University

Dr. Winnie Lee joined the College of Business at NMSU as an international economist in 2004. She is a proud Aggies faculty member and an award-winning instructor in both graduate and undergraduate classes and, most recently received recognitions as the Stan Fulton Endowed Chair in Business (2017-2021) and the Bank of America Distinguished Professor (2021- 2023). Currently, along with various academic and professional services and enjoying her business- and economic-related research agenda and publishing, Dr. Lee also takes part in the leadership role as the Director of Doctor of Economic Development (DED) Program and will conclude her associate directorship in mid-2022 and resume her senior fellowship in the group of NMSU Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative (DFEI) of the Bill Daniels Foundation. 

Jay Lofstead, Ph.D., Principal Member of the Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories

Dr. Jay Lofstead is a Principal Member of Technical Staff in the Scalable System Software department of the Center for Computing Research at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM. His work focuses on infrastructure to support all varieties of simulation, scientific, and engineering workflows with a strong emphasis on IO, middleware, storage, transactions, operating system features to support workflows, containers, software engineering and reproducibility. He is co-founder of the IO500 storage list. Dr. Lofstead also works extensively to support various student mentoring and diversity programs at several venues each year including outreach to both high school and college students. He graduated with a BS, MS, and PhD in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology and was a recipient of a 2013 R&D 100 award for his work on the ADIOS IO library.

Karla Melendez, Work-based Learning Coordinator, New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions

 Photo and bio coming soon.

Alonso Navarrete, Lab Operations Leader, Cummins Inc

Alonso Navarrete joined Cummins in 2011 after earning a BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology from NMSU. Most of his career has been in various field testing roles. He has participated in 20+ engine programs including industrial, construction, agriculture, on highway pickup and heavy duty truck. The past few years he has been working with New Power Business on testing hybrid powertrains (battery + diesel), battery electric powertrains, and learning about fuel cell technologies. Mr. Navarrete also co-leads two campus recruiting teams, NMSU and UTEP, and has been an active participant in recruiting activities for seven years. Recently, he has become more involved in recruiting at conferences and acting as a talent scout for Cummins to further recruit top talent. Mr. Navarrete grew up in southern New Mexico farming pecans with his father and spending a lot of time outdoors fishing, camping, and hunting.

Sam Pedrotty, Aerospace Engineer and Deputy Project Manager, NASA

Sam Pedrotty graduated from New Mexico State University in 2014 with a BS in Aerospace Engineering. He has since worked at the NASA Johnson Space Center in the Guidance, Navigation, and Control Autonomous Flight Systems Branch. Sam has contributed to various projects and programs including Morpheus, Orion, Commercial Crew, and Seeker. Sam is currently the Deputy Project Manager for the Safe and Precise Landing-- Integrated Capabilities Evolution Project and is focused on accelerating innovation and reducing the cost of human spaceflight.

Rebecca Sisneros, Youth Engagement Coordinator, New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions

 Photo and bio coming soon.