Appleseed's Team

Jennifer Ramo, Executive Director jramo@nmappleseed.org

Jennifer Ramo is the founder and Executive Director of New Mexico Appleseed. An experienced attorney, she designed New Mexico Appleseed’s effective system of change and created Appleseed’s first-in-the-nation programs such as the Hunger-Free Students’ Bill of Rights (prohibited lunch shaming children whose parents owe school meal debt), the Breakfast After the Bell law (requires all high poverty elementary schools to serve breakfast during the school day that has been replicated by over a dozen states and districts) and the Food Access Navigator project on the Navajo Nation (awarded a USDA innovation demonstration grant). Her anti-hunger and homelessness work has received international attention and been highlighted in the New York Times, CNN, USA Today, Le Monde, BBC and Al Jazeera, among others.

Ms. Ramo’s professional focus is on multi-generational systems involvement and using community voice/ qualitative data and quantitative data to improve poverty outcomes. The lens of racial equity in the poverty arena is a natural extension of this work. Ms. Ramo is a graduate of Albuquerque Academy, the University of Southern California and Tulane Law School. She was a recipient of the Coro Fellowship.

Meghan Mead, Director of Law and Policy mmead@nmappleseed.org

Meghan Mead provides policy and legal expertise across all of Appleseed’s issue areas. She helps identify effective solutions to problems affecting child poverty, and advocates with local, state and federal partners for their implementation. Her work includes successful legislative advocacy to eliminate the reduced-price copays for school meals, securing funding for the Family Success Lab at the Department of Health, and providing technical support to state and local partners on issues around child homelessness, including improving identification.

Prior to her work at New Mexico Appleseed, Ms. Mead was a practicing attorney for ten years, primarily focusing on health care and nonprofit tax and governance. She is a graduate of Stanford Law School and received her undergraduate degree magna cum laude in history and economics from Mount Holyoke College.

Daniel Valverde, Director of Strategy dvalverde@nmappleseed.org

Daniel Valverde is responsible for bringing awareness about child hunger issues across the state and helps support federal programs, such as school breakfast, school lunch, and after school meals. He helps assist after school programs in receiving free reimbursable meals and snacks using federal funds. He also works on Appleseed’s McKinney-Vento program. His work includes supporting school districts around the state with their McKinney-Vento programs, offering technical assistance, and identifying issues on the ground that require policy changes. Mr. Valverde received his bachelor's degree in anthropology at Eastern New Mexico University, and his master's degree in cultural anthropology and food studies at New Mexico State University.

Rosalie Nava, Director of Research, Equity and Community Empowerment rnava@nmappleseed.org

With a background in public health and social work, Rosalie Nava brings expertise in equity issues and program management. She helped develop trainings and educational material for school districts prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Nava received master’s degrees in social work and public health from New Mexico State University. She served in the United States Peace Corps as a community educator and micro-business developer in the South Pacific, Kingdom of Tonga from 2006-2008.

Rebecca Anderson, Director of Advancement randerson@nmappleseed.org

Rebecca Anderson has extensive experience in multichannel fundraising campaigns, communication management, and public information campaigns. She has directed fundraising and communications campaigns for non-profits and social enterprises focused on college-readiness, poverty-alleviation, and advocacy for students with learning differences. Ms. Anderson received her undergraduate degree in English from Colorado College and pursued postgraduate studies in graphic design and visual communication at the Rhode Island School of Design and Colorado State University.

Karen Burbank, Director of Administration kburbank@nmappleseed.org

Karen Burbank has comprehensive administrative, bookkeeping, and office management experience. She also has extensive experience with event coordination, inventory and controls, fundraising, and publications. Ms. Burbank has worked for both for-profit and nonprofits, is known for her attention to every detail, and brings outstanding operations assurance and accurate and timely accounting and reporting administration. She holds multiple degrees from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, graduating cum laude with both a Bachelor’s in Japanese language and, through Amherst College, a Bachelor’s in Art History.