Officer Election 2026 – Candidate Statements
.
President – Margie Gibson
I am the current president and a member of the NPSNM Finance Committee. I think my administrative and community outreach skills, gained as the executive director of a conservation nonprofit in Alaska, have been useful. We worked with a diverse range of like-minded interests, which is also an important goal for NPSNM. I served as president of the Gila Chapter and remain a member of the chapter board. I am part of the Garden Team for our Silva Creek Botanical Garden, which has successfully raised funds for improvements and serves as an educational showcase for native plants. I am a nature enthusiast and enjoy graphic design, which has been useful at both the state and local levels.
Vice President – Sylvan Kaufman
I have been a member of NPSNM since 2009 and have helped with organizing activities for the Santa Fe Chapter as the chapter’s Vice President and President. I am currently the Conservation Chair for the state NPSNM. I am a past co-president of a chapter of the Maryland Native Plant Society and served as a founding board member of the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council. My background as an Ecologist gives me a broad understanding of plants and their environments, and of human impacts on ecosystems. In working with people, I like to take a collaborative approach. I believe in involving the wonderful diversity of interests that the different NPSNM chapters foster to make a strong state organization.
Treasurer – Dawn Janney
I’m a member of the Financial Advisory Committee for NPSNM. I’m also active in the Santa Fe Chapter with responsibilities including helping find speakers for our monthly meetings and organizing our 50th Anniversary Celebration and State Conference in 2027. Although I’m relatively new to NPSNM, I’m not new to New Mexico or to volunteering. I grew up in Los Alamos and hiked extensively in northern New Mexico. Past volunteer activities include serving as Secretary and Trustee of the Idaho Academy of Science, Curator of Mineralogy and author of annual reports at the Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History in Caldwell, Idaho, collecting data for the Pacific Northwest Bumblebee Atlas, maintaining membership records for the Upper Snake River Chapter of the Idaho Native Plant Society, and numerous other activities as an Idaho Master Naturalist. I’m interested in serving as the Treasurer of NPSNM because I want to learn more about New Mexico’s native plants and work with people who love them as much as I do.
Recording Secretary – Betty Spence
Although not a botanist by profession, all my life I have loved going out into the woods and fields and studying plants. Naturally, then, one of the first things I did on moving to Silver City in 2010 was to join the Native Plant Society of New Mexico. After six years of enjoying the field trips and programs and conferences other people organized, I decided it was time to give back in whatever way I could. I became a Gila Chapter Board member and publicity coordinator in 2016, and went on to become Chapter Secretary in 2021, a position I have held since. I served as Chapter Representative to the NPSNM Board from 2022 to 2024, and am now in my first term as NPSNM Recording Secretary. As a career linguist, one of my responsibilities at the United Nations was to attend committee meetings, take notes and write summaries of the proceedings, a skill that has been very useful to me as NPSNM Recording Secretary. I look forward to continuing to contribute to the organization if I am re-elected.
Documentarian – Cheryl Zebrowski
I would like to continue on as the documentarian for the Native Plant Society of New Mexico. My background is that of a librarian, with some experience in document management and archives. I know the importance of keeping records for legal purposes, as well as historical purposes. I was involved with our local group when we lived in Texas, where I first started using native plants in my yard. I have been in New Mexico for almost 20 years. When we lived in Las Vegas, NM, we had an informal Native Plant group where we met occasionally to talk about plants, or tour each others yards.