Since 2018, Rhea Serna has impacted nearly every affiliated community as New Mexico MainStreet’s (NMMS) Property Redevelopment Revitalization Specialist. As of March 20, 2024, she’ll be taking her love of research and policy analysis to a new role as Program Evaluator for the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) in the State Legislature. In her new role, Rhea will continue to work statewide to evaluate programs and provide fiscal analyses.
Rhea said, “Working with the MainStreet network has been an immense privilege that allowed me to grow tremendously, both personally and professionally. The experiences I’ve had and insights I’ve gained have given me an even deeper appreciation for the incredibly diversity and complexity that makes New Mexico so unique.”
Before joining NMMS, Rhea worked with the People Organized to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights (PODER) in San Francisco where she supported the organization with grassroots fund development, contract management, administrative oversight, pre-development planning for a newly constructed office, and as a Board member for several years prior.
As a member of NMMS’s Economic Vitality team, Rhea provided technical assistance to projects in Downtown ABQ, Santa Fe’s Airport Road, Alamogordo, Barelas, Clovis, Corrales, Deming, Española, Farmington, Gallup, Las Cruces, Las Vegas, Los Alamos, Lovington, Mora, Piedra Lumbre, Raton, Roswell, Silver City, South Valley, T or C, Taos, Tucumcari, and Zuni. She also helped coordinate NMMS’s 2019 Conference in Santa Fe and Institute in Tucumcari, 2021 Institute in Farmington, and 2024 Conference in Santa Fe.
Rhea said her work in Tucumcari (2019-2024) is the best example of the technical assistance she offered to communities. Her work in Tucumcari involved conducting building and property inventories, meeting with property owners, working with the city to regulate vacant buildings, educating the community on codes/ordinances/zoning and its approved Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan, and creating a small business toolkit.
Recently, Tucumcari MainStreet provided a consultant, who is updating the city’s comprehensive plan, with Rhea’s reports and assessments to serve as a starting point for recommendations on revising the city’s zoning codes. Rhea is grateful that her work with MainStreet districts on their property redevelopment projects has supported communities.
Rhea also presented at the National Main Street Conference in 2023 with Bianca Encinias on South Valley MainStreet’s aging in place program, that provides property improvements to elderly community members. She also created a property owner toolkit with Jessica Roybal in 2021.
Rhea said, “Working with the other Revitalization Specialists were some of my favorite memories at NMMS because those opportunities allowed me to expand my work and build connections/bridges with the other Specialists and Four Points.”
Rhea understood that building connections and maintaining open communication were crucial for effective revitalization work. She strongly advocated for MainStreet communities to proactively engage local businesses and property owners, despite the challenges of tracking down information and contacts. Rhea emphasized that putting in the extra effort to connect property owners with the district initiatives would ultimately enable successful redevelopment and revitalization projects.
“I’m going to miss working with NMMS’s state staff, Revitalization Specialists, and the New Mexico Economic Development Department,” said Rhea. “I’ll also miss the close relationships and connections I’ve developed around the state. Since the Property Redevelopment Specialist was a new position back in 2018, it’s been great to create a scope and vision for the role and have the flexibility to create work that benefits MainStreet communities.”
Rhea’s advice for any new Revitalization Specialists at NMMS is to create your own work plan, especially during the first year, and use that plan to communicate with NMMS leadership to ensure project success. She also advised MainStreet Executive Directors to work closely with your Board when bringing in Revitalization Specialists for projects so they can buy-in on the work and provide input on what they want accomplished with these services.
If any you have any questions about ongoing Economic Vitality projects, please reach out to NMMS’s other Revitalization Specialists or state staff. Property redevelopment work will continue to be a part of NMMS’s offered services in the next fiscal year.
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