About Desert Blooms Grief Center

President

Our President at Desert Blooms Grief Center is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) and currently an Assistant Professor of the Social Work program at New Mexico State University. This was a natural next step in her professional life, guiding our future Social Workers, after more than 17 years of counseling and advocating for children and families throughout Southern New Mexico. Of all those years serving others, Susie feels the most important work she did was provide grief counseling and coordinating hospice bereavement services. She cares deeply for a person’s overall well-being, and it is this compassion that led her to be a part of our mission at DBGC and helping to set it up as a resource for our community for many years to come.

MS, Social Work, New Mexico State University
BA, Spanish, New Mexico State University

Vice-President

A New Mexico native with a long-standing career in the mortgage lending industry, Vicki has an impressive pulse on our community. Her compassion and drive has given many families from all walks of life a chance at home ownership. This has resulted in countless friendships and partnerships within the community that make Vicki the perfect ambassador for as important of a cause as ours. Vicki also grew up in a large family that often welcomed children in foster care before going on to care for two children who’d lost their mothers herself. She witnessed first-hand, the various losses that a child can experience and the subsequent effects. This experience of caring for bereaved children, and a career built on relationships, has prepared Vicki to be our Vice President at Desert Blooms Grief Center.

BS, Agricultural Business, New Mexico State University

Treasurer

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Secretary

Laura joins our Board of Directors after 20+ years of working at NMSU in various departments from Assistant Advisor Coordinator to Advisor and Life Skills Coordinator. Add to that, over 12 years as a Senior Administrator for Boeing, Laura brings organization and attention-to-detail to her role as Secretary on the DBGC board.

She is currently retired, and seeking to support her community as much as possible.

BA, Government, New Mexico State University
MA, Education, New Mexico State of University

Board Member At-Large

Maria is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with currently five years of experience supporting both children and adults through a wide range of emotional and psychological challenges. Having lost her own mother in childhood to health complications, Maria understands how challenging it can be for a child with little to no support to attempt to navigate as complex of a concept as death is. This is her “why” for joining DBGC's Board of Directors. She seeks to ensure no child in her community goes through such an experience alone again, and continuously adds to her arsenal of knowledge and skills in order to do so.

MS, Social Work, New Mexico State University
MS, Public Health, New Mexico State University
Registered Play Therapist Certification (RPT), In-Progress

Executive Director

Melissa began her professional life in the United States Air Force and it is how she came to arrive in Las Cruces in 2014. After 9 years of service, Melissa transitioned honorably out of the Air Force and remained in the city that had become home. Since 2018, she has worked as a government contractor for corporations such as Raytheon Technologies and General Dynamics. Melissa knew it was not what she was ultimately meant to do though.

The most significant time of her life to date was the loss of her mother to ALS as a child. She recalled how the loss affected her, and the support she received from a children’s grief support program at a local non-profit. Melissa then discovered the shocking prevalence of childhood bereavement in New Mexico, and knew what she needed to do.

She is now the Founder and Executive Director of Desert Blooms Grief Center.

Certified Grief Educator, David Kessler + Grief.com