Native New Mexican and home grown in the small town of Silver City, Denise Nava joined the Albuquerque Community Foundation in 2014. Before entering the nonprofit arena professionally, Denise earned her Bachelor of Arts at New Mexico State University. In 2014, she earned her Master of Public Administration in Human Resources and Nonprofit Administration at the University of New Mexico.

Denise is currently the Marketing & Development Director, and in her tenure at the Foundation, she revamped the Student Aid program with one-on-one communication for students and parents as well as promotion of scholarships at local high schools, increased the organization’s social media presence and engagement with the local community, and has enhanced the Foundation’s event calendar to provide more inclusive spaces for community.

In her current role at the Foundation, Denise leads strategic initiatives to enhance the Foundation's visibility and grow community support. With extensive experience in nonprofit management and a passion for community-driven philanthropy, Denise oversees marketing campaigns, donor relations and engagement, and collaborative community efforts. Denise is dedicated to building partnerships that foster meaningful impact and contribute to the Foundation's mission of improving the lives of everyone in the state of New Mexico.

Currently, Denise serves as a member on Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Central New Mexico, Rio Grande Community Development Corporation Board of Directors and Bold Futures. When not working or volunteering, Denise dances with the BreakingEven collective and freelances in writing for websites, blogs, and social media campaigns. She can also be found hanging out downtown in her neighborhood with her husband, Drew, daughter Bria, and dog, Harley.

• Red or green? Red for everything except for hamburgers. Always green for hamburgers.
• Mountain or River? Mountains, specifically in the Gila Forest.
• Comedy Club or Dance Club? Dance Club
• Hometown: Silver City
• High School Mascot: Colts
• If you could have lunch with anyone alive or dead, who would it be? Barrack Obama and my grandparents who are no longer with us.
• If you didn’t work for the Foundation, where would you work?   Writer for Vanity Fair or the New Yorker.
• Name three songs you would include on your soundtrack of life: Cosmic Love by Florence + the Machine, Tighten Up by the Black Keys, Suavecito by Malo.
• What’s your favorite time of the year in New Mexico? Fall. The cool and crispiness of the weather is everything.
• What is a skill you’d like to learn? Speaking Spanish fluently.
• If you could witness any event of the past, present or future, what would it be? Swan Lake performed by Misty Copeland.