Comprehensive Community Support Services (CCSS) provides services to individuals and families with the goal of promoting recovery, rehabilitation and resiliency. CCSS program offers skills development in the following areas; independent living, learning, working, socialization and recreation. CCSS providers can serve clients in their homes, schools and communities.
Racheal Pyne, Director of Penasco Program
Racheal Pyne was born and raised in Northern New Mexico, she is from Picuris Pueblo. She graduated from Penasco High School and received her Community Health Worker Certification from UNM-Taos. Racheal has a desire to further her education when the time is right. Racheal joined Taos Behavioral Health in August of 2019 and was a part of expanding its services and developing a program in the Penasco Independent School District bringing services to her community. After work, Racheal does what she loves most; dedicating her time to her four kids and helping her husband coach their two younger children’s baseball and basketball teams. Racheal and her family love to travel, especially to warm beach locations and sporting events.
Dominic Garcia, Penasco Program
Dominic is a Taos Behavioral Health CCSS provider in the Penasco Independent Schools Program. Originally from Colorado, he has lived in Northern New Mexico for 11 years. He has coached various youth teams, including for the Penasco Schools for a number of years. If he’s not coaching one of his four kids he is working on the honey-do-list. He is glad to have the opportunity to support youth in his community.
James Mondragon, SUCCESS Taos
James Mondragon joined Taos Behavioral Health in 2017 as the coordinator for GRIP (Gang Resistance is Powerful) and a support staff member in the Familia y Mundo-our therapeutic after-school program. These roles seem especially designed for him, since much of his life experience mirrors that of the at-risk boys of Taos. He is the oldest of five boys in a family that experienced parental drug addiction, violence and abuse. His parents became clean when he was a teenager, but his mother left, and his father moved the boys to Taos. James sank into the world of drugs and gangs and, in his words, “any street adventure” he could find. It was in Taos where he met his future wife Amy at a basketball game, whom he credits, along with his father, for turning his life around. Over the next years, he held a series of jobs – in construction, as a cook, a dishwasher, and volunteer fire fighter. He also owned several businesses, including a moving company and a cigar business. Of those experiences, his most rewarding was as a fire fighter because, he says, “I was able to give back to the community.” That sense of giving back brought him to Taos Behavioral Health where he sees his own experience reflected in the behaviors of the Taos youth. James and Amy have three boys and two girls, and he wants to give them a very different life model than that of the one he grew up with. At TBH, he is doing just that!
Diana Cardenas, Supervisor of Family Center
Diana is a CCSS supervisor for The Family Center. Diana was born in Mexico and raised in Taos. Diana is a proud graduate of Taos High School. Her strong work ethic and desire to support the community has inspired her to serve children and families. One of Diana’s strengths is her cultural sensitivity and ability to effectively communicate with clients in both English and Spanish. During her spare time, Diana enjoys skiing, shopping, dining out and spending time with her husband and family.
Madalena Miera, SUCCESS Questa
Madalena was born and raised in Taos, and is a graduate of Taos High School. Madalena has four beautiful children, two boys and two girls. Madalena received a B.A. in Child Psychology from the College of Santa Fe, and is working on a Masters in Public Health. Madalena worked at UNM Children’s Psychiatric Center as a mental health tech, as the Director of the Taos Children’s Safe-room, as an investigator with the Children, Youth and Families Department, a program coordinator for Dream Tree’s youth homeless shelter, in program development with Girl Scouts of NM Trails, and Co-Director and developmental specialist for Los Angelitos. She currently owns Mini Manes and Tails a mobile equine therapy program for children and adults. Madalena has worked with at risk youth for the last 20 years and quotes that, “The best part about the work that we do is knowing that you made a difference in the life of a child even if it’s just for the small amount of time that you are with them”.
Rafelita Trujillo, Supervisor of Familia y Mundo
Rafelita was born and raised in Taos, New Mexico. She is bilingual and helps with Spanish translation as needed. Rafelita finished her internship with Taos Behavioral Health working with the Familia y Mundo Program at Ranchos Elementary. Although her internship has ended, Rafelita will continue as an employee with Familia y Mundo. Rafelita provides homework help as well as emotional support for whatever these kids may be going through on a daily basis. Rafelita just finished her last semester at UNM Taos, graduating and receiving her AA in Liberal Arts as well as a Certificate in Human Services. She plans to continue her education in Social Work at Highlands next fall. Rafelita feels if she can make a small difference in a child’s life all her long hours of studying and school work are worth the time she has put in. Rafelita has worked as an office manager at Randall Lumber for the last 17 years doing accounting. CCSS work is a whole different ballgame but she is enjoying it very much. “Work is not work when you enjoy and love what you do.” says Rafelita. She is also a mother of a 12 yr. old son who attends Taos Middle School and is part of the after school program Familia y Mundo.
Karen Rivera, Supervisor of Christine Duncan-ABQ
Karen is a CCSS supervisor for our Albuquerque division at Christine Duncan Heritage Academy. She has previously held positions as a CCSS provider at Taos Middle School and Taos High School before moving to Albuquerque. Karen graduated from Taos High School in 2014. She was born in Mexico and brought to Taos at a young age, and is a proud DACA recipient. Karen is passionate about giving back to her community, especially the youth. Karen has a young son who looks forward to being a future Taos Tiger. Outside of work – Karen enjoys traveling, watching movies, food and spending time with her son and family.
Travis Ely, SUCCESS Taos
Travis was born and raised in Taos, New Mexico. He has coached youth for about 7 years. Travis currently coaches basketball at Taos High School. He has always had an interest in helping the youth in our community which led him to Taos Behavioral Health.
Daisy Bustillos, SUCCESS Taos
Daisy Bustillos was born in El Paso, TX but was raised in Taos, NM. She graduated from Taos High School in May 2020 and she is currently enrolled at CNM and majoring in Office Technology. She joined Taos Behavioral Health November 2020 with the SUCCESS Program working with Middle school and High school clients as a Floater/Administrative Assistant. She enjoys working aside the CCSS’s with the clients and families.
Oralia Gonzalez, Empower-CCSS Program Director
A native of New Mexico, Oralia has worked with families and communities throughout New Mexico for over 10 years. She is a graduate from New Mexico State University, where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish. Oralia continued on to graduate school at NMSU where she received her Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice. After finishing graduate school, Oralia began her work with nonprofits working for the Weatherization Assistance Program; where she provided outreach and eligibility for low-income families. She then worked for Big Brothers Big Sisters for over 7 years, where she recruited, enrolled, and supported families, youth, and mentors. Oralia has a passion for working with youth and families in her community, and she is looking forward to continuing this work with Taos Behavioral Health.
Che Mondragon, SUCCESS Taos
Che was raised in Taos and graduated in 2007. He is currently pursuing a degree in business. Che has a great interest for working with at risk teens, and their families in our community. Che enjoys engaging in outdoor activities with his wife and two young daughters ages 7 and 2.
Elizabeth Martinez, Supervisor-Empower
Elizabeth was born and raised in Taos, NM, and is now raising her beautiful family here. Elizabeth has two boys ages 7 & 1. She has a completion of Education in Emergency Medical Services and has had the experience of working with kids for the last 6 years. Elizabeth looks forward to furthering her education and career at Taos Behavioral Health.
Alexandra “Lexy” Trujillo, Penasco Program
Lexy Trujillo was born and raised in Cordova, NM. She moved all around Northern NM and made her way back to Vadito with her Fiancée. Lexy graduated in Penasco, where she is currently a CCSS provider for TBH. She has experience in Early Education and is continuing to pursue her degree. Lexy is currently a volleyball coach at CVMS. She is happy to be back in her rural community with hopes of making a difference in a child’s life.
Natalia Valdez, Family Center
Natalia was raised in Taos, New Mexico and is a mother of two. Her dedication to making a difference in the world has lead her to join the Taos Behavioral Health team as a CCSS provider in the Family Center program. Natalia looks forward to supporting families in the community and enriching lives. During her spare time, Natalia enjoys spending quality time with her family in our beautiful mountains and surroundings.
Genevieve Montoya, Familia y Mundo
Genevieve was born and raised in New Mexico. She graduated from Penasco High School and is currently a CCSS worker with Familia y Mundo. Genevieve has always loved working with children and enjoys supporting the families she works with. In her spare time you can find Genevieve spending time with her two amazing children outdoors!
Jazmine Medrano, Familia y Mundo
Jazmine was born and raised in Taos, NM. She graduated in 2020 during Covid and began to work for Taos Behavioral Health shortly after. Although Jazmine continues to learn within her work, she takes great pride in knowing she is impacting her client’s lives positively. Jazmine would like to continue her career helping children to better themselves. Jazmine knows how important it is for children to have advocates in their life and hopes to be that for our youth in our community. Jazmine looks forward to continue working for Taos Behavioral Health as a CCSS worker. Outside of work, Jazmine loves to spend time outdoors with her family and friends.
Sonny Abeyta, Family Center
Sonny Abeyta is a native of Taos, New Mexico. He is a Taos High School graduate of the class of 1999. Soon after Sonny went off to Arizona to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering; however Sonny was also becoming a parent around this time and returned to New Mexico to raise his child. When Sonny returned to New Mexico, he worked in plumbing and construction for several years until he opened his own business in 2019 to help the community with professional work. Sonny enjoys helping and supporting our community and making a positive impact in our youth’s life.
Brenda Zamora, Supervisor- SUCCESS Taos
Brenda Zamora was born and raised in Taos, NM. She is a graduate of Taos High School. Brenda joined Taos Behavioral Health as a CCSS provider for The Success Program for Middle School and High School Students in February 2020, and is currently our supervisor on site. She dedicated eight years of service in the capacity as a Lieutenant in a supervisory position working with adults at the Taos Adult Detention Center, which has enhanced her knowledge to better support and guide her clients in the right direction. Her ambition on making a difference in a child or family’s life has been very rewarding. In her spare time, she enjoys being outdoors and spending quality time with family and her pets.
Amanda Munoz, SUCCESS Taos
Amanda was born and raised in Taos, New Mexico. She graduated in 2016 from Taos High School. After graduating, Amanda attended UNM-Taos where she earned an Associate Degree as well as an EMT-Basic license. She joined Taos Behavioral Health in October 2020 after completing an internship with Taos County Sheriff’s Office. In her free time Amanda enjoys spending time with her family and loves to go fishing.
Amanda Frayer, Empower Program
Amanda is a CCSS provider for The Small Schools program. Amanda was born in Long Beach California and raised in Germany. Amanda is a proud graduate of the CNA and Medical Assistant program at Luna College. Her strong work ethic and desire to support the community has inspired her to serve children and families. One of Amanda’s strengths is her past; she was adopted at a young age which gives her the sensitivity and ability to effectively communicate with clients and family members in transition times. During her spare time, Amanda enjoys playing with her two younger daughters’, shopping, dining out and spending time with her puppy and family.
Jade Garcia, Penasco Program
Jade Garcia was born and raised in Penasco, New Mexico. After graduating from Penasco High School, Jade attended The University of New Mexico and graduated with a bachelors degree in Speech Language Pathology and a minor in Special Education. Jade is currently a CCSS provider for Taos Behavioral Health and an executive assistant for Fast Wolf Educational Consulting Services LLC. Jade enjoys working with young children and their families and hopes to further her education in the field of mental health and well being. She is happy to have returned to Penasco and hopes to make a positive difference in her community.
Jenifer Chavira, Cien Aguas-ABQ Jenifer is a Community Support Worker for Complete Behavioral Health in Albuquerque, NM. Though she is new to this field of work, she has spent the last 32 years of her life being a preschool teacher who’s focus and calling was to teach children how to have self regulation. She has facilitated and used several different curriculum practices to this end. Each year her goal and heart’s desire is to positively affect future generations to bring about kind and loving communities of people who take care of one another. In her private life as well as in her vocational choices, children are a priority. Being unable to have children of her own at one time caused sadness, she came to understand, you don’t have to give birth to a child to be an important part of a child’s life. Jenifer has many talents that help children of all ages learn to self regulate their emotions as well as their behavior. She is proud to be in a vocation where her talents are useful as well as necessary. It is important to use all of the skills we are blessed with naturally as well as those trained into us for the betterment of mankind. To that end, she is also able to celebrate the fact that she is able to do so in English or Spanish as needed. This ability helps her spread the wealth of assistance and support to more than one culture. It is her honor to be a part of this business.
Robert Valencia, Christine Duncan- ABQ Robert is from Los Lunas, NM. He graduated in 2009 from Los Lunas High School. After graduating high school, he went to the United States Marine Corps and pursued a career in Mechanics. He successfully obtained the rank of Sergeant. He unfortunately sustained a life changing injury which lead to early retirement. After returning back to the civilian sector he obtained a career in a Sleep Medicine. He successfully obtained a medical license and worked in the field of sleep for 5 years, he ended his career working at the University of New Mexico Sandoval Regional Medical Center as Covid closed the department. Robert currently still carries an active medicine license. He has been working at Complete Behavioral Health now for 7 months as a Community Service Worker. He currently works at Christine Duncan Heritage Academy and likes working with the clients and staff as a tight community to help the youth.
Miguel Quintana, SUCCESS Taos Miguel was born and raised in Taos, NM. He graduated from Taos High School in 1991. He attended New Mexico Highlands University from 1991 – 1996. Miguel has been coaching for the Taos Municipal Schools for the past 12 years. He coaches baseball and volleyball. Miguel is currently the Head Baseball Coach for the Taos High School and has been for the past 7 years. Miguel worked for North West Regional Education Cooperative as a Vocational Transition Specialist. Contracted by the New Mexico Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR). Serving students with disability’s at Taos High School, Penasco High School, Espanola High School, and Los Alamos High School. Delivering pre-employment transition services to the youth of his coverage schools, assisting youth in their transition toward gainful employment. Miguel most recently worked for New Mexico CYFD, Foster Connections Bureau. He served the Department as their Education – Vocation Specialist. Miguel worked in assisting youth with their transition into independent living. Connecting and transitioning youth with the resources needed to peruse their education, vocational training, and start up funds. Miguel is committed to his community, specifically the youth of his community.
Pamela Romero, Supervisor- Cien Aguas Pamela is a CCSS Supervisor for the Rio de los Sueños program at Cien Aguas International School. Pamela was born and raised in Taos, NM. Pamela is a proud graduate of Taos High School and studied at the University of New Mexico – Taos. Pamela was the first in her family to attend college. She is looking to further expand her education in behavioral health and pursue a degree as an LCSW. Her passion and life experiences drive her to support the younger generation in her community. Pamela enjoys sports, dancing, and spending time with friends and family.
Brian Moraga, Cien Aquas- ABQ Brian was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico but was raised in Taos, New Mexico. Brian played several sports at Taos High School such as track, wrestling and football. Brian is a proud graduate of Taos High School and is currently going to CNM Community College. Brian really enjoys working with the youth and giving back to the community. Brian currently working for the Rio de los Sueños program at Cien Aguas International School.
Rachel Rael, Familia y Mundo Rachel was born and raised in Taos, NM. Rachel is a graduate of Taos High School. After high school Rachel attended NMHU where she studied Human Performance and Sport. During summers Rachel worked many youth programs including, Summer Bridge, K3 plus, and The Boys and Girls Club. During the last 12 years Rachel has worked at Rio Grande Ace Hardware and Randall Lumber in the paint department. Recently Rachel began coaching middle school volleyball and middle school girls basketball, which led her to Taos Behavioral Health. Rachel has always wanted to pursue an opportunity that would allow her to work with youth in her community. During her free time Rachel loves spending time with her nieces and nephews and playing different sports such as basketball and softball as well as CrossFit and Brazilian jiu-jitsu at Defendu Academy and JJBJJ in Santa Fe, NM.
James Belisle, Cien Aguas- ABQ James was born and raised in Southern Maryland. As a child growing up in severe poverty, raised by a single mom, he saw first hand how easy it is for children to fall through the cracks. Originally intending to serve adults with addiction he realized his perspective as a child surviving trauma and poverty prepared him to see the value in all people. His favorite quote sums up his ethos “Be the person who makes everybody feel like somebody”. He is committed to helping youth break the cycles that perpetuate generational trauma and is currently finishing his Associate’s in Human Services at Central New Mexico Community and plans on attending Western New Mexico University’s Bachelor’s of Social Work. He brings his knowledge from serving as a medic in the U.S. Army and the corporate world to Rio De Los Sueños at Cien Aguas International School and has a passion for staff training and organizational excellence. His interests include spending time outdoors with his wife, son and three dogs, trail running in the mountains around Albuquerque, and stand-up paddleboarding around the state.
Santiago Valerio-Valdez, Cien Aguas Santiago was born in Albuquerque, NM and was raised in Taos, NM. He graduated from Taos High School in May 2021 during the COVID Pandemic and is currently living in Albuquerque working as a Community Support Worker for Cien Aguas International School. He recently joined Complete Behavioral Health-ABQ in November 2021 and is currently working with Elementary and Middle School clients as a Floater/CCSS. Santiago understands the importance of social and emotional health and looks forward to making a positive impact on his clients lives and futures. Santiago enjoys his spare time by reading, painting, and spending time with his loved ones.
Karen Yanez-Mota, Cien Aguas-ABQ Karen is currently working for the Rio de los Sueños program at Cien Aguas International School. Karen was born in Denver, Colorado, and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where she was raised by her mother. Karen experienced divorce as a kid and is passionate about helping those who are going through similar experiences. Karen graduated from Health Leadership High School in 2019. While in high school, Karen worked to achieve dual credits to advance her college career. Karen is currently attending college at Central New Mexico Community College and looks forward to obtaining her master’s degree in social work at New Mexico Highlands University. Karen is passionate about supporting the younger generations in pursuing their dreams and giving back to the community.
Adrian Flory, Familia y Mundo Adrain was born and raised in the Bay Area. During his Junior year of high school Adrian and his family relocated to Taos New Mexico. Adrian finished high school here in Taos. He then moved to Albuquerque where he attended the University of New Mexico and received his BA in psychology. Today Adrian works with Taos Behavioral Health in the Familia Y Mundo division. Adrian works closely with his clients to provide assistance with academics, as well as assisting in the social development of his clients. “For me, this job not only provides me with employment, it also brings meaning to hours worked, this for me is crucial.” Adrian takes pride in developing relationships with his clients as well as the rest of the administration at Ranchos Elementary. Adrian is also a licensed Master Barber who practices his trade here in Taos. “Both my jobs allow me to be of service to those around me, this brings meaning to what I do, making even hard work enjoyable.”
