Who We ARe
Alianza envisions a future in which Taos County is home to a resilient local food, farming and ranching community; where food and agriculture play a holistic role in the vitality of our land and water, culture, community and economy. Here are some of the folks helping to move that vision forward.
tobias ‘toby’ martinez, founder
Tobias was born and raised in Ranchos de Taos as a sheep rancher. He graduated from NMSU with a degree in Range Management and his professional career included 26 years with the U.S. Forest Service, and nearly 8 years as the State Forester for New Mexico. Currently he is on the board of AA-CT, is an acequia commissioner, a neighborhood association board member, a commissioner on the New Mexico Rio Grande Trail Commission, and has served on the board of Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, and for the San Francisco de Asis Church’s 200 year anniversary.
darlene vigil, president
Darlene Vigil is a Taos County Commissioner and a life long resident of Taos New Mexico. She began her career in public service at the Taos County Assessor’s office in 1983, and retired after 31 years after being an assessor for 8 years. She is committed to maintaining traditional and cultural practices that benefit present and future generations in an ever changing world. She believes in the wisdom of the community and continually draws from it!
Darlene serves on the following boards of directors for entities that aspire to keep community in the forefront. These include New Mexico Association of Counties, National Association of Counties Agricultural and Rural Community Affairs, Taos County Cooperative Weed Management, Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, Taos Valley Acequia Association, and Taos County Economic Development Corporation (TCEDC). She also is currently involved with the 100% Community Initiative working towards providing essential services for the entire county.
sam desgeorges, Vice-president
Sam’s background is in Wildlife Management, receiving his B.S. degree from New Mexico State University. He retired in 2015 as the Field Manager with the Taos Office of the Bureau of Land Management. His final project as Field Manager was the designation of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. Along with serving on AA-CT’s board, he is presently engaged as President of the Taos Valley Acequia Association, Project Manager for the Acequia Madre del Rio Grande del Rancho and as a board member of New Mexico Wild. He also manages two farm properties that have been passed down through the generations in his family.
peggy nelson, Secretary and Treasurer
Peggy came to Taos in 1973, sight unseen, to work for Legal Services. After a career in the law and public service, she retired as a District Judge, and happily returned to community activism. In addition to being on various boards and working on these efforts to preserve agricultural land and heritage, she has been an active parciante on the San Cristobal ditch for since 1983.
Tobias Duncan, Board Member
Born and raised in San Cristobal , Tobias is a lifelong parciante on the San Cristobal Ditch. He spent a tour in the United States Air Force working on advanced guidance systems, and then went on to study theater at NMSU when he clearly should have been focusing on agriculture (I mean who does that? It's a famous Ag school!). A furniture maker by trade, Tobias has a wide blue collar skill set. Since the pandemic, his focus has been on regenerative grazing and he has been using New Mexico Department of Agriculture’s Healthy Soils Program to restore fallow fields in the San Cristobal valley through cover cropping and rotational grazing. The eventual goal of this is to have a communal herd that is rotated through over 30 private properties.
Tobias is an active member of the San Cristobal Ditch Association and a volunteer firefighter with the San Cristobal Fire Department.
Mark Flores, Board Member
Mark Flores is owner and operator of Cordillera Cattle Company, a small-scale operation dedicated to regenerative stewardship. Mark works as the facilities manager for the Town of Taos, and serves as the Town representative to the Rio Fernando Collaborative. He also serves as the president of the Taos Municipal Schools School Board.
Mark is a lifelong resident of Taos and has proudly raised his two daughters here, alongside is wonderful wife Rosa.
GILLIAN JOYCE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Gillian was born and raised in Taos and returned home full-time in 2014. She holds an M.A. in Sociology with a graduate minor in Community and Regional Planning from the University of New Mexico. Before deciding to focus on agriculture, she worked throughout New Mexico in applied economic research and economic and community development consulting. She has been involved in food production, whether commercially or for personal consumption for over twenty years. She is certified in permaculture planning, is a former Fellow with Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, and is dedicated to supporting the health of the lands and waters of Taos County through traditional and regenerative practices. Gillian also serves as one of two New Mexico Government Relations Representatives for Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, and on the Taos County Agricultural Advisory Board.
