New Mexico School Boards Association
Joe Guillen
Executive Director
New Mexico School Boards Association
Joe Guillen, the Executive Director of the New Mexico School Boards Association (NMSBA) is no stranger to school boards having been elected to three terms on the Española (New Mexico) Board of Education, where he served as president for seven of his ten years on the board. On the state level, Joe served on the NMSBA Board of Directors from 1998-2007, serving in all officer positions as was State President in 2002.
At the national level Joe served as an ex-officio voting member of the National School Boards Association (NSBA) Board of Directors and served as chair of the NSBA National Hispanic Caucus from 2004-2006. He served four years as delegate and/or alternate at the NSBA Delegate Assembly and served on the National Elections Committee in 2003, on the National Nominating Committee in 2004, and on the National Policies and Resolutions Committee in 2005 and 2006.
The New Mexico Legislature and several governors including Governor Bill Richardson have recognized Joe’s leadership abilities at the state level with appointments to numerous key education reform committees. He has received many awards for his dedicated service and was recognized as 2003 School Board Member of Year in New Mexico and was president of his local board when they were honored as New Mexico’s School Board of Year in 2001.
Joe retired from New Mexico State Government in 1999 with 27 years of service where served in several key positions including State Planning Director and Deputy Division Director of the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration where he worked closely with municipal and county elected and appointed officials. After his retirement he served as a professional consultant and during the 2004 State Legislative Session served on the personal staff of House Speaker Ben Lujan. In 2007 he served as the NMSBA Lobbyist representing New Mexico’s School Boards at the state legislature. In addition, Joe served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation, and the New Mexico Activities Association.
Joe and his wife Cathy have three children, Carlos, Christopher and Katrina. All attended public schools and all are pursuing degrees in higher education.