Found below are the statements for the candidates for the current Board of Directors election. Board members elected here will serve on the board for the years 2027-2028. Online voting will open on November 10th and will remain open through 11:59pm on November 30th.
The following statements are in order of application:
Eli (Elizabeth) Perea
I have a longstanding love of folk and especially contra dance, and am keenly interested in learning about the management and administration that keeps these dances running. Any vision I have at this moment in time focuses mainly on learning how to keep these dances running smoothly and regularly.
Ben Werner
I’m running for the FolkMADS board because I want to help revitalize our community and build a vibrant, sustainable dance scene for the future. I’d like to see FolkMADS make greater use of its resources to sponsor free dances, expand advertising and outreach, and partner with other organizations to help our community grow. I’m also a big fan of our family dance and would love to help create a pipeline from family dance into contra, giving families more opportunities to grow with the community. I’m passionate about making FolkMADS a more inclusive and welcoming space for everyone and will continue to champion ways that we can be a safe space for all.
We have a rich history in old time music and I’d like us to continue to support that aspect of FolkMADS as well through regular jams and special gatherings.
As a former board member from the mid-2010s, I bring a deep understanding of our community and familiarity with the organization’s inner workings. I’ve also remained actively involved by continuing to manage the FolkMADS website and help with the Callers Collective. I want to build on that experience and ongoing commitment to help FolkMADS grow, reach new audiences, and strengthen the connections that keep our dance community thriving. Most of all, I care about FolkMADS’s long-term success because I want my children to grow up with a lively, welcoming dance community of their own. I hope to help reinvigorate an organization that not only sustains what we love today, but makes it possible for future generations to enjoy it, too.
Jennifer Crawford
I would like to continue serving on the NM FolkMADS Board of Directors, having just completed my first 2 year term, to continue supporting improvements in publicity and community engagement. I learned how to contra dance over twelve years ago in this community and have served in formal volunteer roles for almost five years. In addition to my current board role, I have now been the FolkMADS social media manager for four years, the organizer of the Family Dance for three years, and have created and chair our publicity committee which has improved coordination across dance series and supported volunteer development. The Family Dance has helped dancers with young children, including my family, return to dancing, while also building a community of regulars who were not previously familiar with our organization or folk dancing and music. We continue to see new dancers at each family dance and have had crowds of over 60. I hope FolkMADS will focus in the next few years on strengthening and nurturing our volunteer network, continued coordination of publicity and special events, development of opportunities for nurturing our sense of community, and strategic planning for the sustainability of FolkMADS over the next 5-10 years. I bring to these efforts professional experience in grant writing, budget development and management, evaluation and quality improvement, project coordination, and helping others solve complex problems. On a personal level, I bring a deep appreciation for the mission of FolkMADS and a hope that it will continue to thrive.
Steven Hunyady
As a sound tech, I appreciate being included in board deliberations and decision-making for all events since they all need sound support.
I would like FolkMADS to continue to emerge from the COVID era; probably by making efforts to grow. I would like our events to be fun for everyone. That would evoke evangelism; the obvious mechanism for growth.
I’m looking for ways to reach out to young adults and college students in Albuquerque since we have recent attendance by St John students in Santa Fe. Food, birthday celebrating, and special dances are good, too.