Board of Directors - Executive Committee

A licensed clinical social worker who has been involved with both direction social work services and administrative responsibilities for well over 30 years. My current work includes my position as a Clinical Services Coordinator for the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court and also as a part-time therapist with Bosque Mental Health Associates. I am a member of NASW-NM and had served as President of the board from 2005-2008. I have also been a past member of the NM Board of Social Work Examiners from 2009-2015. I am very proud of our profession of social work for NM State University. I additionally continue to provide field social work practicum instruction for social work students and clinical services supervision for social workers who are working toward attaining the level of clinical social work licensure. I love providing training on a variety of topics, have previously presented at the annual NASW-NM social work conference and recently completed the training of trainers offered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on "How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses." Additionally, I remain very interested in research that investigates and improves the lives of New Mexicans. I have been the principal investigator on a few grants and I have been serving on the State Dementia Services Leadership Committee. I live and work in the City of Albuquerque and metropolitan area and hope to represent its diversity and growing challenges through public policy input, improving access to mental health and alcohol and drug use disorders treatment and through excellence in continuing education. On a personal level, I am the proud mother of two wonderful adult children, I am a voracious reader and I love movies/films of all kinds and being an active patron of the performing arts - both theatre and music. 

MUST BE A SOCIAL WORKER AND AN NASW MEMBER. 

To nominate yourself or another individual (permission established prior to nomination) please email info.nasnm@socialworkers.org, with Board Nomination in the subject line. Please include a letter of interest and current resume.

COME JOIN THIS AMAZING TEAM

 Tonya M. Louis, MSW, identifies as she, her, and hers. She is an enrolled member of the Acoma Pueblo Tribe located in New Mexico. She has more than 15 years of behavioral health and public health experience at the tribal, federal, and state levels.

Currently, Ms. Louis is a Licensed Master Level Social Worker. She specializes in the field of suicide prevention, substance use, and community-based behavioral health. She is also certified in Native American Inspired Equine Psychotherapy. Ms. Louis was recently appointed to serve a two-year term as the Chair for the American Indian/Alaska Native Task Force (2022-2024) and a one-year term as First Vice President for the Board of Directors-Executive Committee (2022-2023) with the National Association of Social Workers-New Mexico Chapter.

Ms. Louis has extensive experience working with program development, adolescent/adult intervention processes, child welfare, treatment interventions and crisis response. She has also worked for the New Mexico Department of Corrections in the capacity of Behavioral Health Director, the New Mexico Department of Health- Public Health, Pueblo of Acoma Health & Human Services Division as the Clinical Director, Executive Director, and Lead Health Commander. She has extensive experience working with culturally appropriate behavioral health treatment, prevention, and intervention models. Ms. Louis works with various tribal and non-tribal service agencies, and a wide range of clientele and served as the Principal Investigator and Program Director for various U.S. Department of Health and Human Services division awards including, SAMHSA, Indian Health Services, Center of Disease Control and Prevention, and U.S. Department of Interior-Indian Affairs awards. Her work also entails providing leadership in the provision of culturally inclusive community-based behavioral and public health services. Ms. Louis participated in numerous tribal, federal, and state behavioral/public health task forces.

Ms. Louis deeply appreciates the importance and mission of the social work profession which includes enhancing human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to unique needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty including promotion of social justice and social change.

Jose Luis Valdiviezo, LCSW was born and raised in Southern New Mexico. Jose is a first-generation Mexican American whom is bilingual and a proud father of three boys. Jose graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice in 2004 from New Mexico State University (NMSU). Jose continued his education and received a Master’s of Social Work from NMSU in 2011. 

Jose has been honored in serving southern New Mexico populations in the field of behavioral health for over 20 years. More recently Jose has been serving his communities in Southern New Mexico, employed at a local Federally Qualified Health Center as the Senior Clinical Director at La Clinica De Familia, inc. for the past seven years where he has been working in an interdisciplinary team approach towards quality improvement processes, clinical supervision, patient care and operations of the organization. 

Jose is looking forward to collaborating with the NASW Board towards the continued professional development of social workers in New Mexico communities

My name is M. Vanessa Ragsdale, LCSW, ACSW and I joined NASW in 1982. I received my MSW from the Ohio State University. I am currently employed as a Social Worker at the Raymond G. Murphy Veterans Administration Medical Center, Albuquerque and work with homeless veterans in the HUD VASH Department. Previously, I worked for 20 plus years as a School Social Worker in St. Louis Missouri where I also held several other part time positions in my “spare time.” 

I have been a member of the New Mexico National Association for Social Workers since moving here from St. Louis, Missouri. My career has allowed me to experience a wide variety of rich opportunities where I have worked as a Clinical Social Worker, Medical Social Worker, School Social Worker, Residential Recovery Specialist and Military Family Life Counselor to name a few. In addition to the various positions I have held, during my career, I have also worked in various states with the first being in my native East Coast, the mid-west and now in my new western home state of New Mexico. I feel that having lived in various places has helped me to continue to grow in my understanding and empathy to the differences that we as social workers see in others who we have the honor to serve. In addition to my professional work life, I have also been privileged to have been chosen to serve in numerous leadership roles in a variety of civic, community and professional organizations.