Regional Representatives

Daniella Montoya, LMSW, raised in Sena, NM in Northern NM, is a proud mother to her daughter, and is eager to begin her career in the field of Social Work. She earned her AA from New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) in 2012, her BS in Psychology from Chaminade University of Honolulu in 2014, and her MSW with a Clinical Concentration from New Mexico Highlands University in 2020. She has graduate field experience in the correctional setting as well as in the school environment with elementary aged children. She currently works as a licensed school social worker, and looks forward to the continuation of obtaining knowledge and experience in the field of social work. Being from rural NM, she aims to learn from, empower, and support the social work professionals in the Northern Region. 

Sandra Geary is a licensed clinical social work professional in private practice in Gallup, NM. Sandra is experienced in medical social work, behavioral health planning, assessment, case management, clinical intervention, and skills training. She has over 10 years’ experience working within multi-disciplinary teams, setting up programs, providing consultation and direct clinical care. Sandra enjoys working with diverse clients with substance use and co-occurring disorders, serious and persistent mental illnesses, challenging social and medical conditions, and she especially enjoys working with elders. She is skilled in providing motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, in-vivo behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based interventions, and brief intervention treatment methods in individual and group settings. In addition to NASW membership, Sandra is a member of NAADAC and Motivational Interviewing (MI) Network of Trainers, and is highly motivated to train multi-disciplinary clinicians in MI, in both brief and extended coaching formats. As a representative of the Northwest Region of New Mexico, Sandra seeks to encourage the contributions of diverse voices from the NW area when it comes to enriching the conversation about the priorities of the NASW NM Board.

 I am a Licensed Clinical Social worker, currently employed by Cannon AFB, as a therapist embedded in the Security Forces Squadron. I received my Bachelor degree in Social Work from NMSU and my Masters from Highlands University. I worked at CYFD in the Placement unit for many years. While with CYFD I worked to finalized adoptions of special needs children, then led the Adoptions unit as a District Placement Supervisor. I gained much experience as a trainer, teacher and mentor. I then worked at Fort Hood as a Behavioral Health Clinician in the Family Advocacy clinic, until my move back to New Mexico to a job as a Military & Family Life Counselor. I began my current position in April 2021.   

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.