‘Pass the Sopapillas’ brings southern New Mexico solutions to the table in Las Cruces
At the first Las Cruces taping of “Pass the Sopapillas,” New Mexico leaders discussed jobs, family economic security and locally rooted solutions.
At the podcast’s first taping outside Albuquerque, community leaders discussed workforce pathways, economic security and the resources already present in New Mexico communities
Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News
LAS CRUCES - At a table draped in a bright New Mexico textile inside KRWG Studios on Sunday, community leaders discussed a central challenge facing families across southern New Mexico: providing people the support and opportunities they need while also creating the jobs, wages and local connections that make economic security possible.
The conversation was part of “Pass the Sopapillas,” a new podcast and video series hosted by New Mexico state poet laureate Manuel González and presented by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The recording, held in New Mexico State University’s Milton Hall, marked the series’ seventh live taping and its first outside Albuquerque.
González told Organ Mountain News the series is intended to highlight people across the state whose work is improving conditions for children, families and communities, while challenging narratives that portray New Mexico only through its struggles.
“We’re here in Las Cruces to spotlight the work that’s being done in southern New Mexico,” González said before the taping.
Micah McCoy, a W.K. Kellogg Foundation communications officer based in Albuquerque, said the podcast grew from a desire to create a larger platform for local organizers, leaders and innovators whose work often does not receive broad attention. He said the Las Cruces event centered on jobs and family economic security because children’s well-being depends on the stability families can build around them.
“We’re not just trying to give inspiration,” McCoy said. “We’re trying to give inspiration with connection.”
Training pathways need jobs at the other end
Mary Ulrich, executive director of the Workforce and Community Engagement Division at Doña Ana Community College, said the region needs both accessible workforce training and jobs that allow families to improve their circumstances.
Ulrich said her division serves as a gateway to adult education, English-language learning, high school equivalency programs and short-term workforce training. DACC’s truck-driving training program alone prepared 213 drivers during the past year, she said, but training opportunities cannot solve the region’s economic challenges without employers able to offer meaningful work and sustainable wages.
“We do have training programs and we have all these things that would help increase families’ economic mobility,” Ulrich said. “But the other thing is we need good jobs as well.”
Damien Willis
Ulrich described DACC’s Personal and Career Discovery course, which helps participants identify their strengths, explore work opportunities and build a community of support. One participant, Dawn, had been living in a tent at the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope when she enrolled, Ulrich said. She completed the course, encouraged her partner, Ruben, to take it as well and later went to work helping maintain a food pantry at the workforce center. Ruben also found employment, Ulrich said, and the couple recently secured an apartment.
González responded that the account reflected the importance of people having both encouragement and practical support.
“Sometimes all we need is somebody to believe in us and a support system,” he said.
Connecting local resources to local needs
Terra Winter, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, described her organization as a connector between donors, businesses, grants and community needs across 12 southern New Mexico counties.
Winter said the foundation has created emergency funds after fires and floods, directing money back to individuals, families, businesses and organizations affected by disasters. She also discussed its support for students who experienced housing instability during their school years through the McKinney-Vento program in Las Cruces Public Schools.
The Community Foundation recently helped recognize 25 graduating students connected with the McKinney-Vento program, Winter said. The students had experienced housing instability during their years in school, and many planned to continue into community college, vocational training or a university. CFSNM reached out to local organizations who collaborated to support students directly — providing essentials such as a laptop, a backpack and other supplies needed to continue building their futures through training and educational programs.
Winter said the region’s institutions should more often begin by looking at the capacity already present in southern New Mexico rather than turning first to imported approaches that may not reflect local families and communities.
“Sometimes we do a disservice to our own community by not looking into our community for our resources,” Winter said.
Looking beneath the immediate need
A second panel brought together Logan Howard, director of community impact and public policy at Families and Youth Innovations Plus, and Teresa Madrid, executive director of Partnership for Community Action in Albuquerque.
Madrid said families are confronting rising everyday costs while wages remain stagnant, making immediate expenses such as food and utilities difficult to manage and pushing longer-term goals, including savings and retirement, farther out of reach.
Howard said FYI+ has seen increased demand for therapy, food assistance and transportation help. But he said the need for those services often grows from deeper economic instability and poverty that cannot be addressed through short-term support alone.
“We water the stem and not the root,” Howard said.
Howard also cautioned against discussing New Mexico families only in terms of need or struggle, arguing that communities themselves hold knowledge and capacity that should shape the programs and policies meant to serve them.
“New Mexicans are powerful, strong, resilient — all of those things,” Howard said.
The taping also included representatives of Somos O No Somos, or SONS, a DACC-connected reentry group of formerly incarcerated men who help people returning from prison. The group says its weekly peer support meetings have grown from five participants to 30 or 40 people.
The scheduled appearance connected with themes raised earlier in the taping, when Ulrich identified people returning from incarceration as part of the region’s untapped workforce potential and said communities must create opportunities for people to rebuild their lives after serving their time.
Carrying the conversation beyond the studio
González said “Pass the Sopapillas” builds on his work as poet laureate, which includes gathering stories and expressions from communities throughout New Mexico. He said conversations with families and people working on solutions would also inform his writing.
McCoy said the podcast is intended to move discussions beyond the studio and into conversations among families, community leaders and decision-makers.
Episodes of “Pass the Sopapillas” will be released every two weeks through August on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and iHeart Podcasts, with captioned video episodes available on YouTube.
Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.
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