Staff and Board

Felicity Broennan, Executive Director

Having grown up along the Santa Fe River, Felicity returned to her home town in 2010 after spending 14 years in Southwestern Colorado. Over the past 18 years she has worked for a variety of non-profit organizations in areas ranging from child development to American Indian higher education, environmental advocacy, and tribal housing.

While in Colorado, she initiated a Watershed Protection process in conjunction with the Mancos Conservation District. This led to her working with over 80 stakeholders to complete a collaboratively designed management and protection plan for the Mancos River Watershed. During that time she also established a monthly water quality monitoring program and the first Mancos River Day event. As the vice president of the Mancos Water Conservancy District Board of Supervisors she was instrumental in securing a landmark piece of federal legislation authorizing federal funds for much needed maintenance on a three mile canal that carries water to an off-river reservoir. An experienced fundraiser, public speaking trainer and beginning ballroom dancer, Felicity received her B.A. in English from the University of Colorado in Boulder and her M.S. degree in Environmental Science and Education from Antioch University in New Hampshire.

Robin Hilliard, Adopt-the-River Coordinator

Robin Hilliard, a native of New York City, moved to Santa Fe twelve years ago. In New York, she had a successful interior design business for over eighteen years. Robin also worked as a special project coordinator for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium where she designed and oversaw the building of 31 cultural learning centers on the grounds of 31 tribal colleges. Additionally, she has done design work for the Santa Fe Indian Hospital and The Indigenous Language Institute. She also served on the board of The Santa Fe Raptor Center for the past five years. She is excited to put her skills to work for Santa Fe’s own Rio by engaging the business community.

Raquel Baca-Tompson, Membership Coordinator

After working in corporate Human Resources for over nine years, Raquel put her career on hold to stay at home with her two young children before coming to work for the Santa Fe Watershed Association. In addition to a Human Resources background, Raquel worked as an assistant to the Director of Shidoni Foundry, Inc.; she holds a certification in fitness training; and has volunteered for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Northern New Mexico. As a native Santa Fean, Raquel remembers growing up with water in the Santa Fe River and holds fond memories of taking off her shoes to play in the river with friends.

Eileen Everett, Education Program Coordinator

Board Members

Francois-Marie Patorni, President

Francois-Marie Patorni retired from the World Bank 2001, where he was managing the Water Policy Reform Program, helping countries build capacity and make policy choices for sustainable water resources management. His recent volunteer activities include: member of the Board of the Piedmont Environmental Council, dedicated to protecting the natural resources in nine counties of Virginia; co-founder of RappFLOW (Rappahannock Friends and Lovers of our Watershed), a non-profit to protect the Rappahannock river watershed in Virginia; member of the advisory Board of the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education; Past-President of the International Network for Participatory Irrigation Management; member of the American Water Resources Association and of other professional networks promoting better environmental policies. He moved to the Santa Fe area in 2004.

Giacomo Zafarano, Treasurer

Giacomo Zafarano is a native of Santa Fe with a long-time interest and desire for the health and return of the Santa Fe River. He received his B.A. from the University of New Mexico, Magna Cum Laude, in Linguistics; he then left the state for a while to pursue his professional career as a performing artist, another long-time pursuit for which he had also been born and trained to do from a young age. He has an extensive resume as a dancer, singer, and actor around the country in regional theater and theatrical revue in venues such as Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as around the world performing on cruise ships. Upon returning to New Mexico he also became more involved in the management of family owned businesses including real estate asset management. He is now the managing partner for Truzaf Limited Partnership, is a Realtor, and continues to keep his foot in the world of theatre arts as a performer and teacher. With strong ties to nature as well as the community, he has worked in many volunteer capacities in various organizations, including currently serving as the president of his homeowner’s association, serving on his former condominium’s board of directors, as well as on the board of directors for other arts organizations.

Kristina Fisher

Kristina is a lifelong Santa Fean who has been passionate about advocating for the Santa Fe Watershed since she participated in water quality monitoring along the Santa Fe River as a high school student. Since 2002, Kristina has worked at Think New Mexico, a results-oriented think tank dedicated to improving the quality of life for all New Mexicans, where she currently serves as Associate Director. In 2008, Kristina graduated first in her class from the University of New Mexico School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Natural Resources Journal. She is now an adjunct professor at the law school. Kristina is a recipient of the national Harry S. Truman Fellowship for Leadership and Public Service and the Morris K. and Stewart L. Udall Award for Excellence in Environmental Studies. She is active in land, water, and environmental justice issues throughout New Mexico, and participates in ecological restoration service projects with organizations including the Albuquerque Wildlife Federation and the Quivira Coalition.

Gerald Jacobi

Jerry is Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science and Management at New Mexico Highlands University. He has worked for state and federal resource agenencies and is currently engaged in research projects with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, New Mexico Environment Department, U.S. Forest Service, and Trout Unlimited. His primary area of interest is in the use of aquatic macroinvertebrates as indicators of environmental quality, i.e., effects of prescribed burns, effects of fire and flooding, and effects of fish toxicants. Collaboration with his wife Donna and colleagues produced an index of biotic integrity for evaluating the conditions of surface waters of the state by NMED. His secondary research interest is on the distribution of Plecoptera (stoneflies) in the southwest. He is a member of the City of Santa Fe's River Commission.

Tom Noble

Tom Noble is a realtor and home rennovator. A 36 year resident of Santa Fe, he worked on the original Earth Day here and helped organize The Central Clearing House, one of Santa Fe's first environmental organizations. When not out getting up close and personal with the landscapes of the high desert, he has worked on a number of issues, including coal fired power plants in the Four Corners, grazing on our public lands, archaeological site monitoring, and wilderness protection. He is a past member of the board of WildEarth Guardians.

John Utton

John Utton, a partner in the Albuquerque law firm of Sheehan, Sheehan & Stelzner, P.A., focuses his practice on water rights administrative law and water planning; water rights litigation and adjudications; and land use planning and development law. Utton has taught seminars on advanced water law and natural resources writing at UNM’s Law School. John lives in Santa Fe along the river and has been long time river advocate.