Home2025 Candidates ICF New Mexico Board of Directors

Meet the 2025 Candidates for Board of Directors

President
Deborah Thompson, PCC

Deborah (Deb) is a leadership, health and well-being coach who specializes in helping leaders and their teams to thrive in work and in life. She established her private coaching and consulting practice in 2019 after spending more than 30 years as an organizational leader and strategist for non-profit and public-sector organizations. Deborah is an ICF Certified Professional Certified Coach and CTW Whole Person Certified Coach, with additional certifications in Gallup Strengths, Positive Psychology and Well-Being, Positive Intelligence, DiSC, Five Behaviors of a Team, WHY.os and Playing Big. She is an instructor at Arizona State University in nonprofit strategic planning and board governance and consults with nonprofit organizations on topics related to board governance, executive leadership and organizational strategy. Deborah previously served on the ICF Arizona Board prior to relocating to Albuquerque in 2022.

Past President
Shelley Lanier, PCC

Shelley Lanier is an organizational consultant and an International Coach Federation (ICF) professional certified coach (PCC). She has more than 25 years of experience as an organizational development consultant with an extensive background in developing leaders and executives in government, private sector, and non-profit organizations. She has helped leaders at all organizational levels, first-time supervisors to executives, increase their effectiveness, navigate organizational and personal change, better manage their teams, and integrate their personal learning to achieve professional and personal success. Shelley serves as Past President after having led the ICF New Mexico Chapter from 2022 - 2023.

Treasurer
Kim Kerr

Kim Kerr is a college assistant professor at New Mexico State University (NMSU), teaching finance, risk management, and insurance courses. Kim also has a consulting business and recently added coaching to her practice. Kim joined NMSU in 2019 after four years as a risk management director at an insurance brokerage. Kim retired from local government in California after 22 years, with experience as a city manager, assistant county manager, department head, and risk management director. As a board member, Kim has experience in professional organizations, such as Risk and Insurance Management, San Diego Chapter, Ione Business and Community Association, and California State Association of Counties – Excess Insurance Authority (now PRISM). She has held positions as President, Vice President, and Executive Committee member.

Membership
Scott Plate, PCC

Scott is the co-founder of Native Heartseed LLC, based in Silver City. He is a certified coach, expressive therapist, end-of-life Doula, and published writer who has also enjoyed a long and award-winning career in the performing arts as an actor, director, and educator. His students and clients work at the highest levels of the entertainment industry, and as counselors, clinicians, educators, and clergy.

Secretary
Sonja Harris, ACC

Sonja Harris is an accomplished grief and transitions coach, known for her compassionate approach and unwavering dedication to helping individuals rebuild their lives after loss. As an ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC), iPEC Certified Professional Coach, certified COR.E Transitions Dynamics Coach, and certified Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, Sonja brings a wealth of expertise to her coaching practice. With a deep understanding of the complexities of grief and life transitions, Sonja empowers her clients to navigate through challenging times with courage, creativity, and intention. Her unique coaching style fosters growth, resilience, and a renewed sense of purpose, allowing individuals to embrace life fully and find joy once again.

Professional Development Chair
Deborah Stephenson

Deborah Stephenson’s extensive background in healthcare operations provided her with numerous opportunities to coach employees in all areas of their careers. Early in her career, she recognized that employees are whole individuals, often bringing personal concerns into the workplace. This realization led her to develop a keen intuition for helping individuals unlock their true desires for a fulfilled life.

Throughout her corporate career, Deborah has helped countless individuals pivot to new paths, finding these moments to be the most rewarding highlights of her professional journey. Her ability to connect deeply with people and guide them toward their goals has made her an exceptional coach.

Deborah received her CPC through iPEC Coaching in 2024 and is currently working towards her ACC certification through ICF.

Deborah holds a Bachelor of Science in Management and Master of Healthcare Administration.

Deborah is serving her second term as President of Albuquerque Toastmasters Club 122 after having served in Board roles as Secretary, VP of Membership, and Sergeant at Arms. Deborah has two grown children and one grandson.

Member-At-Large, Business Development
Mary-Bernadette Garza, ACC

Mary-Bernadette’s life’s journey brought her to New Mexico back in 2001 after having lived in TX, AZ, CA, and most of her formative years in Germany. She had the privilege of working for 17 years at Sandia National Labs and has been with PNM Resources now for five years. Bernadette’s passion has always been that sweet spot where Process, People, and Technology meet which she had the great fortune to experience in different domains throughout her career such as IT, Quality Management, and L&D. All these wonderful experiences support her as she now pursues her true calling – Being a Coach. There is no greater joy than partnering with others as we all continue a journey of self-discovery and being our authentic selves.

Member-At-Large, Social Impact
Ashley Proud, ACC

Ashley Proud is an executive coach and the driving force behind Proud Coaching and Consulting. She’s passionate about helping leaders, teams, and organizations thrive through personalized coaching, engaging facilitation, and practical organizational strategies.

Ashley is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation and a proud member of the ICF New Mexico Chapter. She has gained over 300 hours of coaching experience since completing her Practitioner’s Diploma in Executive Coaching with the Association of Executive Coaching (AoEC) in the UK in 2018.

Ashley’s background as a qualified Occupational and Organisational Psychologist also supports her coaching practice, as does her 18 years of work in leadership roles in humanitarian and development non-profits in complex contexts across Africa, the Middle East, and South-East Asia. Ashley also holds a Masters degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Edinburgh School of Law.

With over 20 years of experience leading humanitarian teams in places like Darfur, Syria, Iraq, and Myanmar, Ashley brings deep expertise to her coaching work. These days, she’s enjoying life with her family at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM.

Member-At-Large
Elisa Begueria

Elisa Begueria is the Superintendent of Lake Arthur Municipal Schools, where she is dedicated to advocating for student equity and inclusion. In this role, she supports essential educational reforms that benefit teachers and actively lobbies for funding to enhance teaching and learning across the district. Before her superintendence, Elisa was the Director of Leadership and a mentor and coach for principals of schools implementing turnaround initiatives for the Roswell ISD. Elisa's experience also includes her role as an innovative principal of a top-performing elementary school after having taught at the elementary, middle, and high school levels for several years.

In addition to her extensive educational leadership experience, Elisa is a certified professional coach and an active member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Elisa uses her coaching expertise to empower educators, principals, and district leaders to unlock their full potential and foster growth mindsets, effective communication, and collaborative problem-solving, driving meaningful and sustainable change within schools and educational communities.

Member-At-Large
Trisha Nakano Bhagen, PCC

With roots in education and curriculum design, Trisha has moved into the wellness space as a Nutritionist and Health and Wellness Coach. She has worked with a wide-range of clients including veterans, healthcare workers, educators, and now works with people experiencing burnout to reclaim meaning and purpose in their life and work.

Trisha's sweet spot is at the intersection of coaching, education, and well-being. She serves as faculty and advisor for Georgetown University’s Health and Wellness Certification program. As an Instructional Designer and Coach, Trisha has built coaching programs at Walgreens and the VA and leadership development programs with start-up healthcare.

Member-At-Large
Bettina Brown

Bettina M. Brown is a 2006 UNM Physical Therapy Program Graduate. She has completed multiple pivots throughout her professional career by working in acute care, home health, skilled nursing facilities, and as a clinical liaison for an inpatient rehabilitation facility. She has had the opportunity to work in multiple areas of PT, including women’s health, wound care, lymphedema, and oncology, and she became board-certified in Wound Care and Lymphedema.

In November 2020, she was appointed by the governor to be a member of the New Mexico State Board of Physical Therapy. She served as the Vice Chair and was later elected to Chair by other board members in 2023. She volunteers for the Federation of State Physical Therapy Boards (FSBPT) on the Ethics and Legislation Committee. She has presented at local hospitals, Cancer Support Now, Powerful Women of the Gulf Coast and created national continuing education courses. Since 2019, she hosts "In the Rising: A Health and Wellness Podcast. Bettina’s contributions to patient care, educational opportunities, and health and wellness in the community she serves illustrate the extensive impact and potential of Physical Therapy.

She completed her coaching training through the Center of Christian Coaching. In 2024, she created Rising Within Life Coaching: Crossing Faith and Wellness, focusing on those who would benefit from coaching while experiencing or supporting a major health crisis.

Member-At-Large
LauraLynn Jansen, Ph.D., PCC

LauraLynn Jansen, Ph.D., PCC, is an author and innovator in humanizing leadership through embodied, contemplative, and relational awareness and practices. LauraLynn’s rich background as a Co-Active coach, leadership facilitator, and speaker spans nearly twenty-five years. She is a maven who encompasses both introspective and highly interactive delivery styles.

At the core of LauraLynn’s work is a commitment to the value of dignity and belonging, guiding her research exploring how humanization occurs between individuals. An advocate for personal sustainability and community building, LauraLynn integrates authentically embodied leadership models that address intra- and interpersonal dimensions of awareness. Her passion lies in exploring the profound connection between intentional action, self-awareness, and societal well-being. Her Eastern and Western-based approaches and studies bring a refreshing perspective to settings where she is engaged as a facilitator, leader, and speaker.

LauraLynn has developed comprehensive curriculums designed to nurture our inherent capacity for connection on both individual and collective levels. Her transformative offerings have found application in diverse settings from DC to Hawai’i. She has curated multi-year, immersive retreat-based experiences and seamlessly blends in-person and online hybrid formats. She has facilitated and provided leadership, well-being, and humanizing engagement programs within settings from the US military to hospitals to non-profits.

LauraLynn is not merely an innovator in theory; she lives what she champions, aspiring towards a future marked by self-consciousness and heightened vibrancy rooted in awareness. Her vision revolves around honoring the individual and collective spirit, ushering in a new era of interconnectedness and human flourishing.

President-Elect
Vacant