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2026 Board

Officers:

Chair: Zachary Ogaz 

Past Chair: Kari Olson

Directors:

Steven Landeros Hernandez | Maslyn Locke | Spenser Lotz | Anne Minard | Yarithza Peña | John Verheul | Julia Shaver

Additional Representatives:

UNM NREEL Student Liaision: Caitlyn Tullar (non-voting)

YLD Liaison: Samantha Catalano

Email the NREEL Section Board

Josh Hirsch

Josh Hirsch

Director

Where You Work: Modrall Sperling

Area of Practice: Civil Litigation, Natural Resources

Why you enjoy practicing NREEL in New Mexico? I enjoy practicing NREEL in New Mexico because of the opportunity it provides to collaborate on and find solutions to some of New Mexico’s most important challenges and issues.   

Anna Linn

Anna Linn

UNM Student Liaison

Where You Work: 2L at University of New Mexico School of Law; Extern at NM PRC

Area of Practice: Energy and Environmental Law

Why you enjoy practicing NREEL in New Mexico? I enjoy being a part of the NREEL community in New Mexico because I am a born and raised New Mexican that has always wanted to preserve the beauty of this state for generations of New Mexicans to come.

Julia Shaver

Julia Shaver

Director
Where You Work:
Office of the State Engineer

Area of Practice: Water Law

Why you enjoy practicing NREEL in New Mexico? I enjoy practicing water law in New Mexico because of the rich history, both legally and scientifically, of water in New Mexico. I have been incredibly fortunate at the Office of the State Engineer to help grow New Mexico water law and to make our state better for future generations! 

Cliff Villa

Cliff Villa

UNM Faculty Representative

Where You Work: Faculty at UNM School of Law

Area of Practice: Constitutional rights, environmental law, environmental justice, emergency response

Why you enjoy practicing NREEL in New Mexico? I was born and raised in Albuquerque, grew up camping and fishing in the mountains of northern New Mexico, and much later came to understand and appreciate his family tradition of stewardship tracing back to the Atrisco Land Grant of 1692.

Samantha Catalano

Samantha Catalano

YLD Liaison

Where You Work: Spencer Fane, Santa Fe

Area of Practice: Water law; environmental law; oil and gas law; civil litigation

Why you enjoy practicing NREEL in New Mexico? New Mexico is a great place to practice.  The attorneys that I have had the privilege of practicing with are excellent, and the clients whom I have worked with have a vested interest in protecting the environment and consistently seek to better their practices towards that end.

Zachary Ogaz

Zachary Ogaz

Director (2023-2025)

Where You Work: New Mexico Environment Department

Area of Practice: Water and Environmental Law

Kari Olson

Kari Olson

Past Chair

Where You Work: Spencer Fane, Santa Fe

Bidtah Becker

Bidtah Becker

Past Chair

Where You Work: Chief Legal Counsel to Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren and Vice-President Richelle Montoya

Area of Practice: Serving the Navajo Nation and its natural resources

Melinda Branin

Melinda Branin

Director

Where You Work: Hinkle Shanor LLP

Area of Practice: Oil and Gas, Mineral Title Examination

Kristen Burby

Kristen Burby

Director (2023-2025)

Where You Work: Sandia National Laboratories

Area of Practice: Intellectual Property (Environmental Technologies), Environmental Law

Steven Landeros Hernandez

Steven Landeros Hernandez

Director (2023-2025)

Where You Work: Solo Practitioner in Mesilla, NM

Maslyn Locke

Maslyn Locke

Director (2024-2025)

Where You Work: The New Mexico Environmental Law Center

Spenser Lotz

Spenser Lotz

Director (2025-2026)

Where You Work: New Mexico Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Bureau

Anne Minard

Anne Minard

Director (2025-2027)

Where You Work: Minard Law and University of New Mexico School of Law

Adrian Oglesby

Adrian Oglesby

Director (2023-2025)

Where You Work: UNM Utton Transboundary Resources Center

Thomas Paterson

Thomas Paterson

Director (2023-2024)

Where You Work: Partner, Susman Godfrey LLP (retired)

Yarithza Peña

Yarithza Peña

Director (2024-2026)

Where You Work: Hardy McLean LLC

John Verheul

John Verheul

Director (2024-2025)

Where You Work: TXNM Energy

Benjamin Rossi

Benjamin Rossi

YLD Liaison

Where You Work: Modrall Sperling