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 has revamped the Student Aid program with one-on-one communication for students and parents as well as promotion of scholarships at local high schools. In her current role at the Foundation, she brings her expertise in social media and internet marketing to the Foundation and has increased the organization’s social media presence and engagement with the local community. Underneath the umbrella of Philanthropic Services, Denise also assists in major Foundation events and community outreach with her teammates.

Currently, Denise serves as a member of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Central New Mexico and Rio Grande Community Development Corporation Board of Directors. 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 running in her neighborhood with her dogs, Kaiser and 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.