Mission
The Downtown Albuquerque Arts & Cultural District is both a place and a program in action: it is a designated area of 30 blocks in Downtown Albuquerque, and as an initiative of DowntownABQ Mainstreet, the District supports the creative economy of Downtown Albuquerque. We accomplish this through promotional support, funding, and partnerships.
For examples of our work, please visit our Creative Projects page.
There are 8 Arts & Cultural districts in New Mexico: http://www.nmartsandculturaldistricts.org
Meet the Director
Danielle Schlobohm
Danielle Schlobohm has been with DowntownABQ MainStreet and Arts & Cultural District since 2019 when she started as the Assistant Manager for the Downtown Growers’ Market. She has an undergraduate degree from Concordia University in St. Paul, MN in General Design with minors in Photography and Art History. After college, Danielle got involved with local food through jobs with food coops and eventually as a farm intern at Calypso Farm & Ecology Center in Ester, Alaska. After four years in Alaska, Danielle moved to Albuquerque in 2017. Downtown Albuquerque is now her home for the foreseeable future and she loves working on anything to make the Albuquerque community thrive. Art, food, culture, community connections, resource access and organizing her top priorities.
Meet Our Board
Ashley Rammelsberg: President
Ashley Rammelsberg is a longtime Albuquerque resident, artist, and digital marketing professional. She graduated from UNM with a B.F.A in Fine Art. She has a background working for non-profit organizations to upgrade and streamline their digital communications. For the past 8 years she has worked for New Mexico PBS and she feels passionately about their mission to serve the community through educational content. She also has a background in web development and runs her own web design business. In 2021 she founded her own non-profit, Abq Free Fridge, with the mission to help her community obtain access to fresh, healthy food with as few barriers as possible.
Bethany Tabor: Secretary
Bethany Tabor is a writer and public engagement specialist. She works as a creative producer and has organized programs at cultural institutions including Pioneer Works and The Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY. She now lives in Albuquerque, NM and is a Program Officer for the New Mexico Humanities Council. As a writer she contributes to publications including Hyperallergic, The Coastal Post, and BLUE.
Jesús Muñoz: Treasurer
Jesús Muñoz has worked as a Flamenco touring artist and choreographer for 16 years in 2,000+ performances across the U.S., Canada, Spain and Mexico. Muñoz has taught over 60,000 children nationally through school residencies and private classes. Muñoz founded two Flamenco centers in Albuquerque; Flamenco Works in 2018 and Casa Flamenca in 2010, as well as co-founding Albuquerque Latin Dance Festival in 2010. His career began as the youngest choreographer for the legendary artist, María Benítez in 2007. The same year, he founded his own company, Jesús Muñoz Flamenco, and has since created a series of eight signature works in collaboration with the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Notable recognitions include: NM Folk Arts Master award, Texas Folklife Master Artist, NYC’s 100 years of Flamenco at Lincoln Center, Choreographer for Rudolfo Anaya’s “Rosalinda,” Director of Ford Theatre Forever Flamenco and the Spanish Master’s series at Detroit Institute of the Arts. With funding by National Endowment for the Arts, Muñoz continues serving as a touring artist and is currently the Executive Director of Flamenco Works, located in Downtown Albuquerque, where he is dedicated to training and empowering the next generation of Flamenco artists.
Michael Phlieger
Downtown business owner for over twenty years. Micheal is the owner of Java Joes, a full service cafe and coffee roastery. Java Joes has been a supporter of the Downtown Growers’ Market since its inception and prioritizes community focused initiatives. Michael opened a second coffee location in Albuquerque in 2021.
Laurie Roach
Laurie Roach is the Executive Director of the PNM Resources Foundation and Manager of Public Affairs for PNM. She began her career with Apple, and then served in various positions at New Mexico Gas and PNM including Senior Program Developer and Marketing Manager for DNV, a clean energy company. She is currently responsible for a total of $20 million in community support over the past five years through the PNMR Foundation and Corporate Social Responsibility programs. She was the owner of a small business for 15 years, Turn of Events, a corporate meeting and event planning business for clients such as international solar associations and several non-profits such as Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless. Ms. Roach is a co-founder of Cancer Services of New Mexico (CSNM) which is best known for their free three-day family cancer retreats. She continues to serve on the board of the CSNM Foundation. After growing up in Austin, TX and working in the City Planning Department, she studied business management at Texas A&M University and graduated from UNM’s Anderson School of Management. Recently, she received the Woman of Influence Award by Albuquerque Business First and the Community Leader Award from Domestic Violence Resource Center. She is passionate about energizing and strengthening downtown Albuquerque and communities through strategic action. You can find her downtown volunteering or running in an event to benefit a nonprofit at least monthly. Some of Laurie’s favorite things are being outdoors or enjoying murals with her husband and kids. She will find something positive in any situation and in all people. Inspiration: “When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you.” – Rumi
Moníca Bencomo
Moníca is the Community Development Coordinator for Homewise where she helps manage the arts and community programming for the Orpheum Community Hub, Homewise’s office at 2nd and Coal. In addition to working downtown, she has firmly planted her roots in downtown Albuquerque and has been a resident of the area for the last 16 years. Her background is in business and has a BBA in Marketing from UNM, but her passion is history and will be continuing her studies at UNM in the fall to receive a graduate certificate in Historic Preservation + Regionalism. Moníca is a supporter of the arts and an avid supporter of local businesses. She believes in the potential of downtown Albuquerque and is honored to help contribute to its growth and success.
Julia Youngs
Julia (She/her) is born and raised in Albuquerque and defines her life’s work at the intersection of people and place, with a vision for thriving, equitable, creative communities for all. She currently serves as a Program Manager for Microsoft’s Entrepreneurship for Positive Impact Program (via Simplicity Consulting). In this role she supports the Entrepreneurship for Positive Impact team to connect impact-driven entrepreneurs with the resources they need to succeed in tackling pressing global problems. In all of her work she is committed to supporting equitable and responsive programming that grows alongside communities. Outside of her professional work, Julia is Doctoral candidate at Oxford University in their Sustainable Urban Development program where her research focuses on the tension between ecofascist and border abolition movements in New Mexico. She has worked for over a decade as a stage manager and community arts organizer. Julia has worked and lived in over two dozen countries and speaks advanced Spanish and Portuguese.
Robert Sachs, J.D.
Robby Sachs chose to get involved with MainStreet to assist in moving the needle to create an even more vibrant urban environment in downtown Albuquerque. Robby grew up in Albuquerque but has spent much of the last 10 years living outside of Albuquerque. He went to the University of Southern California for undergrad where he studied business administration with a focus in social entrepreneurship. He then spent a few years living in Washington D.C. and New York City working at a non-profit called the Latino Economic Development Center where he provided technical assistance to clients who were starting or formalizing their businesses. He returned to LA to attend UCLA school of law. Since graduation Robby has been working for the State of New Mexico's Cannabis Control Division, where he helped set up the division, specifically by drafting, implementing, and enforcing cannabis regulations. Robby lived in EDo for about a year and now has a home in West Old Town. While he resides a little west of Downtown, he very much sees a need for in-filling development throughout the central corridor, from west of the Rio Grande to east of Nob Hill. However, a centralized, vibrant downtown is something he views as an anchor to attract further development in the surrounding areas and Albuquerque as a whole. While Robby has spent much of his adult-life elsewhere, he has always viewed Albuquerque as home and is very glad to be back. He hopes to be able to provide experience and perspective in any way to further advance the work that is already underway to make our city even more vibrant.
Nicholas Cordova
An Albuquerque native, Nic went to UNM for undergrad and CU-Boulder for law school. While living in Colorado and as he traveled to other cities in the US and abroad, he spent a lot of time envying the vibrant social and economic corridors these cities cultivated in their downtown areas. After returning home in 2018, Nic clerked at the NM Court of Appeals and is now practicing as an attorney at the NM Center on Law & Poverty, where he focuses on litigating consumer protection cases and advocating for healthcare reform. He’s lived in the EDo area for four years, and is currently in the process of buying a home in the West Downtown area. “I love our city, but I know it needs strong leadership from organizations such as Downtown ABQ MainStreet to drive its progress forward.”
Mario Semiglia
Mario has lived in the Raynolds Addition area of Downtown since the summer of 2017. He works as an Executive Budget and Policy Analyst for the State of New Mexico, advising the state’s judicial agencies on best fiscal practices and advocating for the Judiciary before the New Mexico Legislature. He has also worked for US Senator Martín Heinrich, Mayor Tim Keller's campaign and the New Mexico House of Representatives. He is an active volunteer in his community through the Downtown Growers Market and also serves as Precinct Chair for his neighborhood within the Democratic Party of New Mexico. Mario is a first-generation son of Ecuadorian immigrants, a proud member of the LGBTQ + community, and a committed public servant. A fierce advocate for Downtown Albuquerque, Mario is dedicated to making Downtown an attractive place to live, work, and recreate.