Southwest Women's
Law Center

1410 Coal Avenue SW, Albuquerque, NM 87104
phone (505) 244-0502
fax (505) 244-0506

Board & Staff

The mission of the Southwest Women’s Law Center is to create the opportunity for women to realize their full economic and personal potential by:

eliminating gender bias, discrimination and harassment;  

lifting women and their families out of poverty;

and  ensuring that all women have full control over their reproductive lives through access to comprehensive reproductive health services and information.
Staff:

Board of Directors:

Executive Director: Jane Wishner is the founder and Executive Director of the Southwest Women’s Law Center. An attorney with over 20 years of litigation experience and significant public policy experience, Jane left the private practice of law in 2005 to start the Center. Throughout her legal career, Jane has been actively engaged in women’s rights, church-state, poverty, immigration, and civil rights issues. She has also been a leader and active in numerous community and national organizations.
For a more complete bio, please click here.

Claire Dickson joined the Southwest Women’s Law Center in April 2008 as a staff attorney assigned to work on the Center’s Title IX Compliance Campaign. Prior to joining the Center, Claire worked for New Mexico Protection & Advocacy System, Inc. protecting and advocating for the rights of individuals with disabilities through individual representation and systemic advocacy, including advocating on behalf of students under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act . She also worked for six years at DNA People’s Legal Services, Inc. providing a full range of civil legal services to individuals living on the Navajo Nation and in San Juan County, New Mexico, who met federal poverty guidelines. Claire graduated from the University of Denver College of Law in 1993.

Theresa Jackson joined the staff of the Southwest Women’s Law Center in January 2008 as the Administrative/Development Associate. Theresa graduated from the University of New Mexico with a BA in Speech and Hearing Sciences and a minor in Psychology. She brings extensive administrative, financial and computer skills to the Center. In addition to her office skills, Theresa has worked with seniors as a Speech Language Pathology Apprentice, which included providing direct therapy to stroke victims, people diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and people who had severe head trauma.

President: Cristy Carbon-Gaul, Attorney and Shareholder, Sutin, Thayer and Browne with special expertise in non-profit law; has participated in numerous community boards and activities, including past President of the New Mexico Women’s Bar Association and Board Member of Emerge New Mexico, an organization that helps train Democratic women to run for public office.

Treasurer: Ann Brooks Instructor in Accounting at UNM Anderson School of Management and Community College of Central New Mexico (CNM); experience with nonprofit and government contract accounting and financial planning.

Secretary: Erica Bearman, former educator for the Albuquerque Public Schools with a focus on math and science; currently the State of New Mexico Account Manager for Wright Group/McGraw-Hill, a PreK-8th grade educational materials company; member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Chair, Legislative Committee and Member of Executive Committee: Julianna Koob former Director, Sheila Wellstone Institute, where she organized and mobilized constituencies to end violence against women and children by engaging in systems change; implemented first ever VotePower project in Arizona through the National Network to End Domestic Violence, a unique nonpartisan project that engaged survivors of domestic and sexual violence and their advocates in the voting process; currently a law student at the University of New Mexico School of Law.

Chair, Legal Committee: Shannon Bacon, Attorney, Sutin, Thayer and Browne civil litigation practice; past President and current board member of the New Mexico Women’s Bar Association, a board member of Emerge New Mexcio, and an Albuqeurque Community Foundation Future Fund member.

Marina Arbetman-Rabinowitz received a Masters in Economics from Universidad de Buenos Aires and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University. She taught at the Facultad de Economía in Argentina, University of Missouri-Columbia, Tulane University, Brooklyn College and University of New Mexico. She has had a career as an economic and political consultant both overseas and in the United States, working for Technologica, BHF, Tasmanian Institute, Sentia Group, the World Bank, the U.S. State Department, Defense Department and a number of private businesses. Her research focus is on political and economic development as well as forecasting and strategic planning using statistical modeling. Her expertise is in empirical modeling, data analysis, and measurement. Her publications include Political Capacity and Economic Behavior as well several articles on economic costs of war, vital rates, hegemony, and black market exchange rates fluctuations.

Bonnie Bell Cundiff, Strategic Planning, Business Consultant; extensive experience in advising large corporations and nonprofits

Alexandra Freedman Smith, Attorney, Freedman, Boyd, Daniels, Hollander & Goldberg criminal defense and civil litigation practice; volunteer attorney with the Homeless Legal Clinic, an ACLU cooperating attorney, a member of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and a member of the Women’s Bar Association.

Danice Picraux, Member, New Mexico House of Representatives: former Democratic Majority Leader of the NM House of Representatives; currently, Vice Chair of House Appropriations and Finance Committee; Vice-Chair, Interim Committee on Health and Human Services. Representative Picraux was recognized as an emerging state leader by the Council of State Governments and awarded its Henry J. Toll Fellowship in 1997. In 2002, she completed the John F Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.

Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at the University of New Mexico School of Law teaches courses ranging from election law to family law and the access to justice clinic; Associate, UNM Feminist Research Institute; Associate, Southwest Hispanic Research Institute.