Learn More
The Atrisco Heritage Foundation was created and is operated exclusively for the purposes of promoting and preserving the ancestral and cultural heritage of the general community of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the history of the Atrisco Land Grant. As a community partner we seek out opportunities to provide support to community members that serve to enhance their lives. We recognize that improving the conditions of a community may take many forms so we focus in areas such as economic development, education and cultural forms of betterment. The Atrisco Heritage Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) private operating foundation.
Learn More
El Campo Santo, Inc. owns and operates Atrisco’s three cemeteries: San Jose de Armijo, Santa Clara and Evangelico. The purpose of El Campo Santo is to assist families during a time of loss and a time of need. We aid our customers by providing a high level of service and support at an affordable price. Our commitment to service does not end with the funeral service. It is our objective to continue our service and commitment to the community by maintaining and improving the cemetery grounds so that future visits with loved ones can be enjoyed and experienced in the best possible manner. El Campo Santo, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c) (13) corporation.
Learn More
Ascend Business Services was created to improve the back office operations of New Mexico Charter Schools. Ascend achieves this goal by providing CFO level competencies to our community’s charter schools thus increasing their ability to mitigate risk and scale student growth. Moreover, in a targeted fashion, Ascend attempts to disrupt the business service market for charter schools by supplying higher quality services and simultaneously reducing price points for services thus upending the current market norm. Ascend Business Services contributes to the operational efficiency of New Mexico Charter Schools and educational outcomes for its young students because it helps charter schools improve their operations, maximize the use of their lean budgets and grow their school populations. Ascend Business Services in currently pursuing status as a non-profit 501(c) (3) corporation.
Learn More
Atrisco Oil & Gas, LLC exists to explore and monetize the mineral rights of the Atrisco Land Grant. Energy resource development is not new to the land grant. The first commercial oil and gas development began on March 1920 when David J. Metzgar, then president of the Atrisco board of Trustees, signed the first lease to an outside interest to explore and develop oil and natural gas resources. In 2006, SunCal Companies, of Irvine, Calif., acquired Westland and while the surface lands were sold, mineral rights were retained by land grant shareholders. The Westland board decided to create a for-profit corporation for future oil and gas ventures with income and profits to be disbursed to the new unit holders of this company. Subsequently, from the land grant sale in 2006 a newly formed company spun out; Atrisco Oil & Gas, LLC.
Learn More
Rio Grande Educational Collaborative offers academic based before and after school programming to children statewide. RGEC’s vision is to dedicate our organization to preparing children, family and community for life-long success. We provide pathways to success through the development, application and management of services to children from all walks of life. We utilize two education models to ensure a high quality and unique environment for our children. The E-Cubed Model enrichment model exclusive to our program, and the four corners teaching strategy. Our highly qualified program staff consistently receives professional development to ensure strong skill levels. We take all of these measures to ensure a creative and exciting way for children to learn while enjoying this supplemental part of their school day. The Rio Grande Educational Collaborative is a non-profit 501(c) (3) corporation.
Learn More
Mariachi Spectacular de Albuquerque’s (MSA) mission is to promote culture, arts & excellence in art education demonstrating Albuquerque’s ethnic Heart & Soul. Through MSA a foundation for life-long participation in the arts is possible. MSA builds bridges for inter-cultural appreciation in the Mariachi musical genre by encouraging and allowing interested parties who want to learn and develop musical skills, allowing for an increase in understanding of this musical and cultural art form or by providing the opportunity to simply be entertained through concerts offered. All of this and much more can be achieved through programs and opportunities offered in MSA. MSA is continuously contributing to the cultural understanding and appreciation of folk and Mexican music. Mariachi Spectacular de Albuquerque is a non-profit 501(c) (3) corporation.
Learn More
Fathers Building Futures (FBF) is a social enterprise based in Albuquerque, NM, led by a team of formerly incarcerated parents who serve as mentors and supervisors to parents (mostly dads) that are returning home from prison. 1 in 10 NM children will have a parent in prison at some point in their lives, and these children are seven times more likely to be incarcerated at some point than children of non-incarcerated parents. Our main purpose is to break this generational cycle of incarceration by reuniting these children with parents who have stabilized and become role models.
Our mission is to fill the post-release vocational and financial gap “to ensure parents and families experiencing barriers from incarceration receive the best opportunities for stability — emotionally, socially, and financially.” We do this by providing vital employment, financial, and life/parenting skills for the parents on their path to becoming responsible parents and healthy New Mexico citizens. Fathers Building Futures is a non-profit 501(c) (3) corporation.
In 1598, nine years before the English settled Jamestown; the original settlers of Atrisco arrived with Don Juan de Oñate, a Spanish explorer and colonial governor of New Spain (present-day Mexico). The settlers, mostly Spaniards, farmed and raised livestock on the land located on the western bank of the Rio Grande and west of what would become “La Villa de Albuquerque.”
From the early 1600s, the colonists defended their land from raids by the Apache and Navajo tribes but were finally driven out by the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. In 1692 the people of Atrisco were able to return to central New Mexico when The Atrisco Land Grant, 67,000 acres extending west from the Rio Grande to the Rio Puerco Rivers, was formally petitioned and granted by Spain.
The Atrisco Land Grant did not end the colonists’ need to safeguard their land for centuries but now the challenges would come from invaders, land grabbers, and governments, as world conditions would evolve. However, despite the numerous obstacles, the Atrisco Land Grant managed to survive and become one of the few New Mexico land grants that succeeded into the 21st Century.
The decline of farming in the early 1900s due to depleted grasslands in the middle Rio Grande, homesteading, and government land management marked the beginning of the Atrisco Land Grantees’ confrontation with new goals and challenges associated with the commercial growth of the city of Albuquerque.
These pressures were constant in subsequent years and ultimately the land was sold to a commercial developer in 2006. The sale was a divisive moment among the heirs of Atrisco as the land had been a part of these families lives for over 400 years at this point. Some heirs felt the sale was correct while others viewed it as a loss of heritage. As a concessionary act during the sale, the Atrisco Heritage Foundation was created to promote and preserve the history of the Atrisco Land Grant for future generations.
Today, there are approximately 50,000 Atrisco Land Grant heirs linked to the earliest settlers of this region. Atrisqueños are committed to preserving their rich history and sense of pride that began with their forefathers centuries earlier. Moreover, the legacy of the Atrisco Land Grant today continues through the development and operation of (7) seven companies, referred to as the Atrisco Companies.
Each company has a tie to our land grant holdings or supports a mission consistent with our goals established after the land grant sale. Our companies strive to fulfill a mission defined by our newest generation of heirs. From our early pioneer days to our present-day companies, our people have prevailed over many hardships. We have succeeded mightily as a land grant and as early immigrants to this great country.
Today, our intentions are directed towards greater levels of success for future generations. Our companies support education, culture and economic development for the heirs and the community in general. The hard work and sacrifice of our forefathers has given us, today’s Atrisqueños, a great opportunity to represent an evolution of our people and a re-defining of our purpose within this community. This moment has also provided a 21st century opportunity, using non-profit organizations, born from the sale of our lands, to return our land grant to its original creed; Utilizing the land for the benefit of the community. A success story for the ages.
Explore the following links, and learn even more about the history of the Atrisco Land Grant.
Within the Atrisco Companies, we believe the interests of our customers including their families are of primary importance. They provide the reasons for our existence and the rationale for the resources with which we operate.
As a social enterprise, we believe we have an obligation to provide to others our unique brand of leadership; setting a precedent for other non-profits to emulate and providing a model of sustainable support for the community to benefit from. As a social enterprise, we shall operate in an intentional manner combining a unique application of free-market business skills with social philanthropy; we further believe in value-based management delivery in all of our dealings with our stakeholders and seek to follow such strategies as a means of becoming the best service provider possible as well as offering our customers high-quality services at prices below our market competitors.
We believe the long-term success of the Atrisco Companies is dependent upon the power of our own people. We believe our employees are our most valuable asset and that the continued investment, enhancement, and increased diversity of our workforce is to be valued and celebrated.
Lastly, we believe in establishing a strong set of relationships within our community as a way of strengthening the economic eco-system for all. In furtherance of this, we have developed a strong statewide presence by cultivating progressive relationships with local customers, partners, and their communities.
BOLD | OWNERSHIP | ONE TEAM | SERVICE EXCELLENCE | TRUST
Mr. Sanchez was born and raised in Albuquerque’s south valley, and attended Rio Grande High School.
He attended Columbia College in Columbia, Missouri, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business with an emphasis in shopping center management and marketing.
During the last nineteen years, Mr. Sanchez has been an active member in the International Council of Shopping Centers serving as the State Director for New Mexico and Government Relations Chairman. Mr. Sanchez is also Chairman of the Board for the New Mexico Retail Association; past Board member and chairman of the Hispano Chamber of Commerce; Central NM Workforce Connection Board member and past honorary Commander at Kirtland Air Force Base.
Mr. Sanchez has been a past President and active member of the Uptown Progress Team; past board member of the NM chapter of National Association of Office & Industrial Properties (NAIOP); City of Albuquerque Lodgers Tax Advisory Board; New Mexico Advertising Federation board; past chairman of the Albuquerque / Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board; past Board member of Westland Development; FBI Citizens Academy graduate; Salary Commissioner for Mayor / City Council and sits on the Small Business Advisory Committee for Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Winston Brooks.
Charles Peña retired from Safeway Stores after 19 years of employment. During part of that time, he was a member of the Retail Clerk’s Union where he sat on two negotiating committees and twice ran for the Presidency of the Union. Mr. Peña attended the University of New Mexico and the University of Albuquerque, majoring in business courses. Since 1993, he owned and operated CJ’s New Mexico Food Restaurant in Albuquerque until its sale in 2004
Thaddeus Lucero was born and raised in Albuquerque’s North Valley and graduated from Valley High School in 1976. In 1977 he moved to Seattle, Washington where he graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Urban Planning in 1981. He attended the JFK School of Government-Harvard University Program for Senior Executives in July 1996. He is currently a member of the American Planning Association, a non-profit public interest and research organization representing 39,000 practicing planners, officials, and citizens involved in urban and rural planning issues.
Mr. Lucero is currently the the Director of Planning and General Services for the Mid-Region Council of Governments where he oversees transportation and rural planning, workforce development, finance and purchasing. Prior to this position, Thaddeus was the Bernalillo County Manager for seven years where he oversees the day-to-day operations of Bernalillo County consisting of 25 departments and over 2,500 employees.
As the Chief Experience Officer for The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, Roberta Ricci leads three major departments within the Chamber: Convention and Tourism, providing a full-service department to promote globally, Albuquerque as a destination for tourism and conventions specifically to the Native American and Hispanic markets; its Membership Program with over 1000 members to support and provide unique resources to help grow and scale businesses; and its Marketing Department that promotes the various Chamber programs, services, and committees. Ricci also oversees seven Industry Programs that enhance the mission of the Chamber.
Ricci specializes in building relationships with business leaders and organizations, connecting them with Albuquerque’s diverse Hispanic and Native American cultures. She is a graduate of the University of New Mexico where she has earned a master’s degree in educational leadership with a concentration in Higher Education and a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management. Ricci previously held the role of executive director at the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation, development director of the CNM Foundation, and senior alumni relations manager at the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management.
Ricci serves or has served on several Boards of Directors including The Atrisco Companies, The UNM Alumni Association, The Rio Grande Community Development Corporation, Mark Armijo Charter High School, and Hispano Philanthropic Society of the United Way of Central New Mexico, along with volunteering for various committees within her community.
Roberta was born and raised in Albuquerque’s South Valley and is married to Keith Ricci. They have two daughters, Marissa and Elena.
Ray Mares is a graduate of the University of New Mexico where he received a B.S. degree in Business. For more than the past 15 years, he has been the owner/manager of Briteway Services in Albuquerque.
Born and raised in northern New Mexico, F. Leroy Pacheco has worked in community development and banking for more than thirty five years. His experience has earned him national recognition from the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 1990, Pacheco received the Advocate Award from the New Mexico Indian Business Association and in 1995, Pacheco was named by the New Mexico Business Journal as one of the Top 20 Most Influential People in Albuquerque.
From 1997 through 2003, Pacheco served as president and CEO of ACCION Chicago, a non-profit micro lending organization aimed at providing non-traditional financing to small businesses. In January 2004, Pacheco was appointed as executive director of ASSETS Chicago. ASSETS (A Service for Self-Employment, Training and Support) is a microenterprise development model that delivers practical, hands-on business training supported by mentoring, technical assistance, business financing and related support to participants and alumni. The program is developed and piloted by the MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Association).
In January 2007, Pacheco was appointed as President/CEO of The Loan Fund. The Loan Fund was established in 1989, as the first faith based, non-profit micro lending organization providing alternate financing to small businesses and other non-profits. Started by the New Mexico Council of Churches, The Loan Fund has lent over $46 million and helped to create or preserve over 6,500 jobs throughout New Mexico.
Pacheco earned a Bachelor of Business degree in finance from New Mexico State University and has completed coursework for a Masters with a concentration in entrepreneurship from DePaul.
Kim Herrera is a wife, mother, and business operator. Today she is an officer and operator in the family business Bob’s Burgers. Kim knew early in her educational career that she wanted to pursue a degree in business and marketing. She graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1994 with a BBA, concentrating in marketing. Upon graduation she worked for Norwest Bank in their marketing department. In 1997, she made a decision to take a position in the management of Bob’s Burgers. Bob’s Burgers was founded in 1964 by her father, Bob Salas. This local restaurant has grown from the small hamburger stand, 51 years ago, to a family franchise of 10 locations throughout Albuquerque and nearby cities. Kim wears many hats in the management of the business including overseeing operations, accounting, marketing and HR issues. Her favorite aspect of being in a leadership role is having an impact on her employees. She spends hours developing her team and enjoys watching them succeed.
Outside of the family business, Kim has many interests. She has devoted 9 years training in karate at Japan Karate Association, earning a “Ni Dan” (second-degree black belt) in Shotokan Karate, and is a certified judge for national tournaments. She retired from karate in 2013. Currently, the activities she loves most in her life are spending time with her husband (Eric) and teenage kids (Diego and Mia), running, and participating in Bible Study.
Matthew Montanes is a native New Mexican, born and raised in Albuquerque. Matthew is currently the Lab Wide Manager of HR Business Partners & Strategic Services for Sandia National Laboratories. Matthew focuses on raising pursuit of human capital management under the secret clearance from the Department Of Energy. Matthew also leads and maintains a team of highly experienced HRBP professionals through leadership, influence, and strong relationship building to ensure the missions and programs of multiple government departments spanning to 12K employees. Prior to this role, he worked as the Manager/Human Resource for Sandia Pueblo Enterprise and the Director of Human Resources at Eclipse Aviation Corporation. Matthew also worked in his earlier professional career for Intel Corporation helping to build the business processes of the organization in its developmental earlier years of operation. Matthew has a long history of experience in providing Management, Human Resources, Project Management, and Workforce Training and Development going back 20+ years. Matthew is a trusted advisor that can positively influence and impact an organization by building strong relationships and innovative solutions.
Matthew is a graduate of the University of New Mexico, Robert O. Anderson of Management where he has earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, and received (SPHR) Society of Human Resource Management and (HRCI) Human Resource Certification Institution. Matthew received the Lockheed Martin/Sandia National Laboratories Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSS) and the Managing Through People, Intel Leadership Certification, and Intel Legal labor and Business Law Certification. Matthew did also attend other universities to ensure he had the proper skills and knowledge of his field. He received the Certification in Theory Constraints from Goldratt Institute, the HCI Strategic Workforce Planning Certification from Dallas, TX, and Darden School of Management Executive Certification from the University of Virginia.
Matthew is excited and honored to have the opportunity to serve his community by sitting on the board for the Atrisco Companies, were he will be able to assist with innovation, solutions, and leadership.
As the Chief Executive Officer for The Atrisco Companies, Peter Sanchez has been able to lead a dynamic group of employees in seven (7) different entities and a workforce of over 220 people. The Atrisco Companies is made up of Rio Grande Educational Collaborative, a non-profit business providing supplemental education services, primarily academic based before and after school programs, in schools throughout New Mexico; Ascend Business Services, is an organization providing CFO level financial/back office services to Charter Schools in New Mexico; Fathers Building Futures is a non-profit company supporting the re-education and re-integration of former felons addressing recidivism; The Atrisco Heritage Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to supporting heirs of the centuries old Atrisco Land Grant and the Albuquerque community; El Campo Santo, a non-profit operator of three cemeteries in Albuquerque devoted to providing burial services to the community at affordable prices; Mariachi Spectacular, a non-profit organization that provides educational training workshops and concert opportunities for people of all ages interested in the music of mariachi; and Atrisco Oil and Gas, a company that manages energy exploration on land that was part of the original Atrisco Land Grant. With this position comes great fiscal and personal responsibility, as Mr. Sanchez’s and the Companies’ goal has always been to promote education, culture, homegrown businesses and communities. These are the aspects of life that are truly important to all New Mexicans and have been an aspect of ancestral heritage of those whose families associated with the Atrisco Land Grant.
Mr. Sanchez’s entrepreneurial spirit was cultivated while growing up in Albuquerque’s South Valley. As a land grant heir self-reliance has always been a trait embedded in his ancestral DNA. His family on both sides had small businesses that provided a modest living while Mr. Sanchez was a young boy. Experiencing and observing these manners of living had a great impact on his outlook towards business. It is something carried forward into, college, business school, early careers, law school and then again in elevated roles within the companies that he would eventually help develop and build into successful organizations. While the early and formative years of Mr. Sanchez’s career were spent with large corporations, starting out as a tax consultant for Deloitte and Touche, LLP, and as a Financial Analyst at ARCO Oil and Gas Company, it would be the next phase of Mr. Sanchez’s career that his entrepreneurial interests would surface. Over the years, following 1993 to 2007, Mr. Sanchez held senior financial and executive positions while working in (4) separate technology companies in New York and Texas. A voice recognition hardware and software provider, a business to business energy trading technology company, an open source software and service operator and finally working as Chief Financial Officer of Bradmark Technologies, Inc. a utility software company. Helping to build these companies, along the way learning the trials of technology businesses, Mr. Sanchez gained tremendous insight and experience managing companies through various company life cycles, including experiences in IPO, turnaround, as well as build and sell exit events. Entrepreneurial companies have been the type of companies that have defined his career. Companies with distinct growth situations and different exit strategies. In 2007, Mr. Sanchez returned to New Mexico to head up a company that too was now in a start-up phase or a phase of redefining itself as a company. The Atrisco Companies are the evolution of the Atrisco Land Grant or formerly known as Westland Development Corporation. Mr. Sanchez, an heir to the Atrisco Land Grant, returned home to build and develop these companies after the historic sale of the Land Grant in 2006. All his prior experiences and knowledge are utilized in his new challenge in the entrepreneurial arena. “My prior experiences would be stepping stones to my current position as CEO of The Atrisco Companies”. To say I’ve worn a good number of hats in my career is not an understatement. However, each one has made a great impact on my life and continues to drive me to make The Atrisco Companies a unique business that serves the people of New Mexico well, now and in the future.
Mr. Sanchez has earned a Bachelors in Business Administration in Accounting from the University of New Mexico, a Doctorate in Jurisprudence from the University of Houston Law Center and holds license as a Certified Public Accountant. Within the community, Mr. Sanchez serves or has served on several Boards of Directors including Bosque School, Hispano Philanthropic Society of the United Way, National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation, Golden Apple Foundation, Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Central New Mexico. Mr. Sanchez was a nine year member of Vistage, an organization that supports CEOs and business owners as they grow their business through executive coaching and peer advisory groups. Mr. Sanchez is the recipient of the 2013 University of New Mexico Alumni Zia Award, was honored in 2014 as an Albuquerque Business First Top CEO and was a 2014 inductee into the UNM Anderson School of Management Hall of Fame.
Brian O’Connell is a lifelong New Mexican who became COO/CFO of The Atrisco Companies in May of 2020.
Brian brings extensive experience in the nonprofit and legislative education sectors in New Mexico. From 2012 to 2020 he was Executive Director of Golden Apple Foundation of New Mexico, the premiere teacher recognition and professional development organization in the state. From 2000 to 2012 he was Executive Director of New Mexico Child Advocacy Networks, a statewide organization specializing in volunteer advocacy for children that have been abused or neglected. Prior to those experiences, Brian was a Senior Fiscal Analyst for the bipartisan, bicameral Legislative Finance Committee. Brian holds a Bachelors in History and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of New Mexico.
Brian’s extensive leadership experience has provided him with knowledge of financial and operational matters which are readily transferable to non-profit operations and finance. Having run two non-profit organizations provides Brian with insights to support all matters of business, regulatory compliance and operations.
As a young girl, Rosa always had a passion for numbers. She would help her father with keeping track of his sales at his Carpentry shop or she would help her mother keep the family’s finance on track. When she wasn’t busy helping her parents, her nose would always be buried in a textbook, trying to learn as much as she possibly could. She excelled in school and graduated at the top of her class with dreams of becoming an accountant. She moved thousands of miles to make her dream a reality and became an Accountant for a work agency in Chicago. After 10 years, she moved to the Land of Enchantment and began to work as an Educational Assistant in the Rio Rancho School District. Rosa worked during the day to help young students to find their passion; in her free time she was pushing herself and continued to take Accounting and Business courses. In 2013, she was given the opportunity of a lifetime to work for Atrisco Companies. She currently serves as the Finance Director for Atrisco Companies. And is always pushing for excellence and community at the office.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and pushing for her daughter to achieve her dreams as she did. Rosa is an active member in various outreach programs in the community and volunteers at different homeless shelters to help people get back on their feet such as Joy Junction and Wings. She enjoys exploring the beautiful New Mexico scenery and the rich cultural history that the Land of Enchantment has to offer.
For over 15 years, Alexandria Shultz has worked as a Human Resource Specialist. She has many years of experience both in the public and private sectors. She has represented highly esteemed companies and is skilled in team building, strategic planning, and collaboration. She likes getting people excited about the things she is excited about. Right now, that’s Atrisco Companies, where she serves as Office Coordinator and Human Resources Specialist.
Alexandria has a magnetic presence in the workplace and uses her positive attitude and energy to encourage others to work tirelessly toward success. Alexandria is inspired daily by her daughters and grandchildren, she likes to read, workout, cook, and spend time with her family.
