What inspired you to join Project ECHO?  

When I first heard about Project ECHO, I was working for the State of New Mexico. I attended a Medicaid meeting and there was a presentation showing how the ECHO Model could be used to support the aging population: New Mexico has one of the highest percentages of aging communities in the United States.   

 The ECHO Model connected geriatric specialists to primary care providers, specifically in rural communities. I was really blown away; first, because I’d never heard of Project ECHO - and I’d lived in New Mexico for over 25 years!  

Second, I’d been a caregiver for so many family members in New Mexico. We always struggled with getting specialty care, whether that was at home or in nursing home facilities; the long wait lists: hearing that a specialist can’t see you for two years; and the complicated health care system. I just wanted to get better, faster care for my own family members as a caregiver.  

 I was really intrigued by Project ECHO and started talking to some folks—because I am quite forward—about how I could become a part of Project ECHO.  

How does your background prepare you for this role?  

I served various leadership roles at the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services department: policy director; Deputy Cabinet Secretary; and then, acting Cabinet Secretary - which means I was federally recognized as the New Mexico State Unit on Aging Director.   

The combination of those roles within the state allowed me to work directly with all 33 counties, including the 23 tribes, to ensure that every senior New Mexican had access to the best services possible.  

Since joining Project ECHO, I’ve held multiple positions. Now, I serve as the director of United States’ programs; we partner with our Hubs and Superhubs to strategically expand ECHO within rural communities.  

In 2026, we are focusing on expanding our regional and national partnerships so that we’re not working in a vacuum: this year’s theme is collaboration. We’re focusing on diabetes, as well as Alzheimer’s and dementia – we chose that area because of the existing partnerships we have, and there’s a three-year waitlist to see specialists.   

We know that ECHO can have an impact on reducing those wait lists and reaching those communities outside of urban areas.  

What’s one moment at ECHO that you’re especially proud of?  

I had the opportunity to co-lead the AHRQ-funded national nursing home COVID Action Network, providing training and mentorship to nursing homes in the U.S. to increase the implementation of infection prevention and safety practices to keep COVID out of nursing homes.  

Nursing home deaths accounted for 25% of the COVID-related deaths. It was an emergency; it was a crisis.  Our team worked with 99 of our ECHO Hubs, and they launched more than 325 programs. Our goal in that project was to reach 6,000 facilities and we ended up reaching more than 9,000 nursing homes. We had more than 30,000 nursing home facility workers join those sessions from all 50 states.  

But, the piece of that work that stands out to me equally is the community that was formed. Most of those nursing home facility workers were completely isolated. They were in their own bubble of dealing with an unprecedented health crisis - and the death that they saw every single day. That human connection that these sessions provided for these workers – I’ll just never forget how they talked about that.  

What excites you most about the future of ECHO?  

Project ECHO has experienced incredible expansion over the last 10 years. But we still have a lot more work to do, especially in some of these underserved populations, whether that’s in urban or rural communities.  

We’ve positioned ourselves to be the perfect partner to be part of this work. Project ECHO certainly can’t do it alone: it’s about bringing other partners to the table.  

ECHO has demonstrated that we can make an impact and that we can use the model to help in those systems changes.   

What do you enjoy outside of work?  

We live in Santa Fe, so there’s a lot of opportunity to be outside with my husband, Rob, and my two dogs, Olive and Wilson. 

We travel a lot. This is going to sound nerdy: we have a list of our destinations and trips planned out through 2045. We don’t want to miss things or forget things. We’re going to Scotland for two weeks in April.  

I also play golf every single Sunday, even in winter. I never miss a Sunday unless it’s blizzard conditions.  

Right now, I’m in my third year of my Master of Business Administration program so that takes up much of my spare time. I’ll graduate next fall, and I hope it will help me become a better leader and decision maker in these times.    

Featured Image: Avid golfer Kyky Knowles goes international: Te Arai, New Zealand. Photo Credit: Rob Gabaldon, April 2025.