Nominees for Vacancies on the Board of Directors

 

 

Tim Gardner is the legal director at Disability Rights New Mexico, a private non-profit legal advocacy agency serving people with disabilities.  Tim has extensive history with pre- and post-adjudication efforts to prevent, amend, or terminate guardianships.  DRNM has brought its perspective through one of its attorneys to the NMGA Board for the past decade or so.

 

Greg W. MacKenzie, is an attorney with Hurley Toevs Styles Hamblin & Panter PA. Greg was admitted to practice before the New Mexico courts in 1993 and has been working as a litigation lawyer since that time. Since 1997, Greg has devoted virtually all of his practice to representing clients in estate and trust litigation including representing clients who are contesting or defending the validity of wills, trusts and other estate planning documents and those who are involved in litigation over the administration of estates and trusts. His cases frequently involve allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and the construction of controlling instruments such as wills and trusts. Greg also frequently handles litigation in contested complex guardianships and conservatorships. He has been appointed by judges in several of New Mexico's judicial districts to serve as guardian ad litem for incapacitated adults involved in those types of proceedings. Greg is a board member of the National Guardianship Association and the New Mexico Guardianship Association. 

 

Dean B. Cross is a Trust Officer and Vice-President with Enterprise Bank & Trust. Mr. Cross graduated in 1979 from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Accountancy, and from the University of Oklahoma Law School in 1988. Mr. Cross graduated with an LLM in Tax in 2010 and an LLM in Estate Planning in 2014 from the University of Miami. He is licensed to practice law in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Florida and is also a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Cross has held positions in private industry as a Controller and Manager of Accounting as well as public accounting. Mr. Cross has taught accounting as an adjunct instructor for Eastern New Mexico University in Roswell, New Mexico, and has been a speaker at seminars on estate planning, retirement planning, and trusts.

 

Feliz Angelica Rael is a practicing attorney in the areas of elder law and healthcare abuse and neglect.  She graduated from the UNM School of Law in 2001 and has managed her own law firm since 2010.  Feliz has been a member of the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association since 2006 and served as the 2019 President of the New Mexico Guardianship Association.  She has lectured on various topics involving healthcare services for the elderly at seminars in New Mexico as well as nationally.  Feliz has several noteworthy jury verdicts and when her trial schedule permits, she is actively involved in following the legislative process for bills affecting elderly and/or disabled New Mexicans.  

 

Sally Abeyta, a Certified Senior Advisor and National Certified Guardian, heads the financial team at Decades, LLC. She oversees all aspects of the financial management work with Decades court-appointed conservator clients, estate administration and financial powers of attorney for incapacitated adults. Sally also works with seniors in need of assistance with daily money management. A UNM graduate from the Anderson School of Management and a lifelong native of New Mexico, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and loves helping others. For a third year in a row, member of the NMGA Symposium Planning Community, Sally is a member of the New Mexico Guardianship Association as well as the New Mexico Estate Planning Council.