Board of Directors 2012
(2013 board will be posted soon)
The Reverend Linda Mervine, Interim Board President
The Rev. Linda Mervine is the pastor of First Christian Church in Las Cruces, NM. First Christian is affiliated with both the Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ. Rev. Mervine moved to Las Cruces to be close to her mother, Nina Mervine, and to serve as chaplain of Mesilla Valley Hospice. She became pastor of First Christian in August of 2007. She is the mother of one son, Jacob, who lives in Hermosa Beach, CA. She has a long history of social justice and peace engagement, which drew her to the work of CAFe. Rev. Mervine is excited by the interfaith collaboration to empower the voices of the marginalized, disenfranchised, economically oppressed persons of our community to improve the quality of life for all.
The Reverend Nancy J. Anderson, Immediate Past President
The Reverend Nancy J. Anderson is Minister Emerita of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Las Cruces where she served from 2002 – 2010. She currently serves as Consultant to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Otero county and supply preacher for other Unitarian Universalist congregations.
Rev. Anderson was the first Board President for CAFé, serving from January 2010 – May 2012. Her primary goal for her presidency was to develop infrastructure and governance systems for CAFé.
Mark Johnson, Board Secretary
Mark was raised in Michigan and Tennessee before moving to the Rio Grande valley, living first in El Paso and then settling in Las Cruces. Since both his parents were deaf, Mark learned sign language as a child and spent time as an interpreter and advocate for the deaf community. He was an active member of the Texas Parent Teacher Association supporting parent involvement in education. Mark is pursuing a Computer Science Degree at NMSU and has been a volunteer with CAFe for the past year. His goal as a board member is to raise awareness about the value of faith based organizing in our diverse community and how CAFe creates opportunities to empower our families.
Gabriel Lopez, Board Member
Gabriel joined CAFe as a community leader last year and has worked on organizing his communities in Mesquite and San Miguel. He mobilized community members to meet with county officials to bring lighting to the parking lot of San Miguel Catholic Church. Gabriel is currently employed with the Dona Ana County Assessor's office. As a board member he is passionate about creating broad base support for CAFe and continues to advocate for quality of life development across the county.
Not pictured is Loren Schoonover, Board Treasurer.
