Adelante Leadership

Adelante is a diverse nonprofit organization that is working hard to move New Mexico. We support people with disabilities, seniors, and disadvantaged populations through a variety of quality services. Our leadership team, representing decades of executive experience and award-winning talent, manages the overal nonprofit work, hundreds of staff members and locations across New Mexico.

Rebecca Sanford

President/CEO

Rebecca Sanford became President and CEO of Adelante in April of 2021, after serving on the executive team for nearly a decade.

Rebecca originally joined the team at Adelante as the VP of Human Resources in 2012. She later served as the organization’s Chief Administrative Officer, as part of a succession plan for the nonprofit. Steadily increasing her role at Adelante, Rebecca has supervised training, payroll, human resources, accounting/finance, information technology, marketing, and facilities for Adelante.

“Accepting a job with Adelante was the best decision I could have made,” said Rebecca. “At the time, I was just looking for a job. What I found was a mission I am passionate about, the opportunity to make a difference, and an amazing work family.”

Brian Ammerman

Vice President of Business Operations

Brian joined Adelante in 2009 after over two decades in the U.S. Air Force. He leads our Enterprises operations as well as governmental contracts.

Jill Beets

Vice President of Marketing & Communications

Over 30 years of marketing experience, over 20 of those years at Adelante. Her team handles media relations, websites, social media and more.

Reina Chavez

Vice President of Community Operations

Reina has over 35 years of experience working with people with disabilities. She joined Adelante in 1994 and leads residential, day program, employment services and more.

Terence Donaldson

Vice President of Human Resources

TD has over 30 years of HR experience in government and private sectors. He joined Adelante in 2019 and leads the human resources and training teams.

David Varela

CIO/VP of Information Systems

David has been an IT professional since 1997 and with over 26 years of experience, he has worked for small and large organizations in private industries and government agencies. David joined Adelante in 2023 and leads the Technologies Department.

Maria Otero

VP of Finance/CFO

Maria has been an accounting and finance professional in New Mexico for over 25 years. She joined Adelante in 2021 and supervises the finance, payroll, purchasing, insurance, billing and facilities efforts.

Amy Lavender

VP of Development

Amy has been part of Adelante’s team for over 12 years and has experience including grant management, program development, event coordination, and community engagement.

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Want to Learn More About Adelante?

Call us at 505.341.2000
Email to info@goadelante.org