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 Our Board
Michael Phlieger: President
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.
Ashley Rammelsberg: Vice 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.
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.
Augusta Meyers
Emmy Award winning broadcast journalist-turned Communications Manager who now works for a unique quasi-government agency that focuses on a range of topics from transportation planning to workforce services to economic development. Augusta is the Communications Manager at Mid-Region Council of Governments.