LANL Foundation Board of Directors

LANL Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors composed of some of the best community and business leadership in Northern New Mexico. The Board represents regional, educational, and community interests, as well as the interests of Foundation donors and contributors. This active, dedicated group of professionals oversees all functions of the organization including an investment portfolio, an annual giving budget of $5 million, and an operating budget of approximately $1.4 million. The full Board meets quarterly, working closely with Foundation staff to ensure that ongoing goals and programs are in alignment with the overall strategic plan.

2009–2010 Board of Directors

Executive Committee

Liddie Martinez, President
Liddie Martinez has spent her career developing businesses and programs that support Northern New Mexico communities. A native of Española, Liddie has focused her efforts to create new jobs and educational opportunities to positively impact the lives of the citizens residing in the extended Española Valley. She implemented the Day & Zimmermann Telecommunication Training initiative, which has trained and certified 100 local citizens with Builder 1 status in the telecommunications field. Liddie spearheaded a comprehensive scholarship program providing $100,000 for local high school students. As Director of the Community & Economic Development Division of SOC Los Alamos (a Day & Zimmerman company previously known as PTLA), she is also responsible for supporting the LANL Foundation and oversight of the $190,000 total contribution to Foundation funding and scholarship programs. Ms. Martinez serves on several boards including the Plaza Foundation, Camino Real International Executive Committee, and the LANL Subcontractor Consortium. She is also Past-President of Leadership New Mexico. Liddie has served on the LANL Foundation Board since 2006.

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Catherine Martinez Berryhill, Treasurer
Cathy Berryhill is currently the Dean of the College of Education at NNMC where she manages all department faculty and staff, and oversees several education degree programs She also works to create collaborative projects within the college and with the regional education community, as well as develop curriculum and evaluate data to initiate programmatic change. Prior to her position at NNMC, Ms. Berryhill served as Science Education Specialist at the Northern New Mexico Math and Science Academy where she worked to provide comprehensive professional development for Northern New Mexico teachers in areas of math, science, and technology. In this capacity, she also worked with the New Mexico Public Education Department to develop the Three Tier Teacher Licensure Program and helped develop, implement, and teach in the Masters of Arts in Teaching Math and Science program, a partnership with New Mexico State University (NMSU). Cathy has 20 years of K–12 teaching experience and continues to serve as an adjunct faculty member at New Mexico Highlands University, NNMC, and NMSU where she has developed curriculum and courses for education departments. She currently serves on the board of the Family Learning Center in Española, and was a past board member of the John Hyson Educational Center in Chimayó. Cathy began serving on the LANL Foundation Board in 2009.

Charles McMillan, Ex officio
Charlie McMillan is the current Director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Paula Cressy Baron
Paula Cressy Baron is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New Mexico. She has worked extensively with nonprofits across a myriad of missions, including micro-credit lending, affordable housing, health care, conservation, the arts, and education. She has provided workshops for nonprofits on topics such as management accounting, internal controls, budgeting, business planning, and the audit process. Paula works as a sole practitioner, providing consulting and controllership services to businesses, with a particular focus on the real estate industry. She acted as the contractual controller for the LANL Foundation from 2000 to 2005. Paula is a member of the American Institute for Certified Public Accountants and the New Mexico Society of CPAs. She has served on the LANL Foundation Board since 2007.

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Don Cobb
Since 1976, Don Cobb has held several management positions at LANL including Division Leader for Space Science and Technology, Division Leader of Nonproliferation and International Security, and Associate Director for Threat Reduction. In 2004, he was named Deputy Director responsible for oversight of operations pending the transition of the University of California’s Laboratory management contract. During his 30 years of experience in nuclear safeguards and weapon phenomenology, Dr. Cobb conducted research on the detection of atmospheric nuclear detonations and created safeguards systems for nuclear power facilities. As project leader for the Beam Experiments Aboard Rocket (BEAR) experiment, Dr. Cobb received a Laboratory Distinguished Performance Award and certificate of merit from the Department of Defense Strategic Defense Initiative Office. He spent a year at the Department of Energy’s Office of Space in Washington, D.C. and also served as a member of the New Mexico Governor’s Space Commission and a member of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Science Board task force on nuclear threats. In 2006, Dr. Cobb was awarded the US Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration’s Gold Medallion, its highest award for exceptional service. Dr. Cobb is a current member of the University of New Mexico Space Technology and Applications International Forum steering committee, the American Physical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also a senior advisor to the Department of Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Dr. Cobb retired in 2006 and remains as a guest scientist and consultant to LANL. He has served on the LAESF Advisory Committee has been a member of the LANL Foundation Board since 2007.

Jerry Ethridge
Jerry Ethridge has worked for LANS, LLC since 2006, currently serving as Executive Staff Director where he provides support to the LANL Director and LANS Board of Governors in execution of the Laboratory Governance model required by the LANS contract with DOE/NNSA. In this capacity, Jerry also guides the assessment of Laboratory operations to ensure excellence and efficiency. Prior to his work at LANS in New Mexico, Jerry served as a project manager for BNI, E &E Project Management in Jackson, MS and Idaho Falls, ID where he led maintenance tasks for the FEMA-TAC Project for hurricane Katrina recovery and played a key role in developing Bechtel’s proposal to manage LANL. Jerry also worked for Bechtel as Vice President of Facilities & Operation Services, Vice President of Technical Services, and Associate Laboratory Director of Nuclear and Energy Systems Engineering. Jerry has been published in several technical journals generally associated with nuclear fuels and materials. He has served on the LANL Foundation Board since 2010.

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Jeffrey Howell
Jeffrey Howell Jeffrey Howell’s professional background is in business and management. Her earlier experience includes Assistant Dean for Financial Operations in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, with responsibility for all aspects of financial management of a $200 million annual budget; Associate Director for Administration at the Harvard College Observatory; Executive Manager in Stop and Shop Supermarkets, Inc.; and consultant in the Emerging Business Systems Group of Coopers and Lybrand. Jeffrey has a B.A. degree from Antioch College (1975) and M.P.P.M and M.B.A. degrees from the Yale University School of Management (1981). She serves on the Board of Los Alamos National Bank and is Chair of its audit committee. She is also a member of the Advisory Council of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center of the University of Texas at Austin. Other recent community service activities include board memberships in the League of Women Voters of Los Alamos County and the J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee, in addition to serving on the LANL Foundation Board since 2001, having acted as President.

Wayne Kennedy
Wayne Kennedy is the former Senior Vice President of the University of California. He is a nationally recognized expert in issues relating to the financing of research universities and medical education, and served in university administration for 36 years. Wayne has served on numerous boards and committees dealing with technology transfer, governmental relations, grant and contract policies, private fundraising, and medical education administration. Wayne has served on the LANL Foundation Board since 2003.

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Richard A. Marquez
Rich Marquez serves as LANL Executive Director reporting to the Laboratory Director as part of the senior executive management team. Mr. Marquez also served as LANL Associate Director for Administration, leading a staff of 1,500 and directing the Laboratory's Communications and External Relations, Chief Financial Officer, Human Resources, Information Management, and Supply Chain Management divisions, as well as the Chief Information Officer, Enterprise Project, Organizational Development, Ombuds, and Prime Contract offices. In addition, Marquez served as the Laboratory Transition Manager of the LANL contract from UC to Los Alamos National Security, LLC. Mr. Marquez was the Deputy Director for Operations for Burns and Roe Enterprises, Inc., serving as the senior manager in Los Alamos for the national engineering firm. He worked extensively with defense and nuclear energy programs and managed contracts that included the Accelerator Production of Tritium project. Marquez spent 18 years with the U.S. Department of Energy's Albuquerque Operations Office (ALO). He began working for ALO as an attorney and finished his government career as a Senior Executive Service manager and winner of the Presidential Meritorious Performance Award in 1996. He began serving on the LANL Foundation Board in 2009.

Mary Louise Williams
For over 45 years, Mary Louise Williams has served as an educator in many capacities, including work as a secondary teacher of history and constitutional history, as well as a curriculum writer and teacher trainer for such institutions as the American Bar Association, Center for Civic Education, American Historical Association. She has also been a curriculum consultant and teacher trainer in Turkey and Russia and for the University of Chicago Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the University of Michigan Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies. Since 1994, Mary Louise has been an education consultant through her company ED QUEST, specializing in history/social studies, law related, and environmental education and evaluation. She sits on the J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee in Los Alamos and served as chair form 1993–1995. She has served on the LANL Foundation Board since 2007.

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Honorary Board Members

Florence Jaramillo
Florence Jaramillo is the owner of Rancho de Chimayo employing 85 people in rural northern New Mexico. Florence serves as an honorary national board member of the National Restaurant Association, is the Treasurer of the NNMCC Foundation, and serves on the boards of Southwest Bank, New Mexico State Restaurant Association, Española Chamber of Commerce and the Chimayo Crime Prevention Association. She was also the founding director of New Mexico First and Woman Leadership in the Food Industry. Florence has been on the LANL Foundation Board since 1999.