MVPHA Comptroller Elizabeth Garcia has more than 30 years of accounting expertise. Her experience includes staff accountant at the El Paso Independent School District and 18 years at the Housing Authority for the City of El Paso (HACEP). During her tenure at HACEP Garcia worked in various roles including Accountant overseeing state, federal and local grants and Capital Fund Planning and Budget Specialist and was responsible for developing the Public Housing Annual and Five Year Plan and Budgets; including the timetable for the implementation of the Capital Fund Programs.

Garcia is bilingual and graduated from Park University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management.

Mr. Cruz is a lifelong resident of El Paso with over 38 years of experience in the maintenance department and construction projects at the El Paso Housing Authority (HACEP).

During his employment at HACEP, he held the position of Maintenance Supervisor, Special Projects Supervisor, Area Maintenance Supervisor, Assistant Construction Manager, Warehouse Clerk, Assistance Superintendent, Warehouse Labor, and Utility Labor.

Mr. Cruz has extensive supervisory experience. He has supervised temporary employees under modernization construction programs and CFP funds through sixteen communities, including all warehouse materials needed.

In addition, Mr. Cruz has supervised grounds crew, and in-house permanent roofing crew to provide replacement of diverse types of roof membranes throughout the Housing Authority Communities to including scattered site units, two-stories’ building, High-Rise buildings and Mid-Rise buildings.

His professional certifications include Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), and Housing Agency Procurement & Contracts Management.

Maria Licon has over 30 years in an administrative, HR and Managerial roles. Maria Licon brings extensive experience in customer service, human resources, business operations and leadership. Ms. Licon has hands on experience in the Housing Choice Voucher Program as an HCV Specialist as well as the FSS Coordinator. She enjoys working with our families and providing safe and affordable housing.

Maria Licon comes from a close-knit family, and she enjoys spending time with her sisters. Maria Licon was born in El Paso, and she attended the University of Texas in El Paso and finished her studies with The University of Phoenix and graduated with a bachelor’s in business management. Her professional certifications include Travel Consultant, HCV & FSS Specialist and Human Resources. She is bilingual and speaks fluent English and Spanish.

Gaylynn Herrera worked for the Housing Authority of El Paso for 20 years in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Department. She started as an HCV Specialist, moved up the ladder to Quality Control Specialist and in 2018 moved up to Quality Control Manager. Mrs. Herrera started her career with Budget Rent a Car, where she worked for over 20 years, 10 of which were in management where she oversaw the El Paso Airport Counter and pilot offices. She has over 40 years’ experience in customer service. Mrs. Herrera was hired by MVPHA in 2021 as a Senior HCV/Quality Control Specialist and in 2024 she was promoted to a management position as a Property Manager overseeing the Public Housing Department. Mrs. Herrera has achieved many certifications in the Housing Industry through Nan McKay, including HCV Specialist, HCV Housing Quality Specialist, and Public Housing Management. Mrs. Herrera is bilingual, speaks very well English and Spanish. She has a bachelor’s degree in management/human resources from Park University and currently attained a Leadership Certificate through the Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program. Mrs. Herrera understands the struggles and challenges the community faces in finding affordable homes and she is committed and motivated to serve and provide the help that is needed in finding a safe and affordable place to call “home”.

Joel Martinez has over 30 years’ experience in Property Management working in all aspects of HUD Programs such as Section 8 Housing Specialist, Tax Credit Housing Program, Public Housing Manager, Section 202 Elderly Program, USDA Farm Labor Housing Program, Student Housing and Market Property Management. Joel Martinez a bilingual professional that loves to work with the public and community, Mr. Martinez is son of a farm labor migrant family and has been raised in the Doña Ana County all his life, he has dedicated himself to helping families in Affordable Housing, and enjoys spending time with family, and friends.

Commissioner Chavez was born and raised in Mesilla Valley. She has lived in the village of Doña Ana for over 30 years and her mestizo ancestors have been in the Mesilla Valley for hundreds of years. After high school Sylvia and her husband Israel Chavez of 32 years began raising 3 children, running a small trucking business, all while she also worked as an Educational Assistant. She eventually graduated from NMSU with a Bachelor’s in Bilingual Elementary Education and a Master’s in Educational Administration. She was an educator for 14 years, connecting with bilingual families in the classroom and helping support the needs of the whole family. Her professional experience also includes leading the first Community School initiative in Las Cruces, supporting student success, and responding to the unique needs of the community. Today, she is an Early Childhood Instructional Coach coaching preschool teachers across the state and serves as the Communication Coordinator for the Dona Ana Resilience Leaders (DACRL). She is a founding member of the Dona Ana Village Association (DAVA) and uses her free time to uplift her community’s voice. She is an active and passionate voice for vulnerable families throughout Doña Ana County.

Commissioner Molina was born and raised here in Las Cruces and has strong and deep grassroots in this community. Ms. Molina has 4 grown children, 3 of whom still live in Las Cruces and have raised their families here. She is a proud grandmother of 13 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. She is empathetic to families living in public housing because she grew up in the Tres Arboles location. Ms. Molina realizes that it's not everyone's goal or dream to go back to living in public housing. She genuinely sees it as a positive asset.

Commissioner Molina’s background includes an associate degree from NMSU in Education Paraprofessional and a Child Development Associate (CDA) from the Washington DC Council for Professional Recognition in Early Childhood Education. She worked at NMSU as a Head Start Teacher for the Dona Ana Head Start Program and as a CDA Adviser. She also worked as a preschool teacher at Jardin De Los Ninos, Alpha School, Las Cruces Child Care Resource and Referral and Success by Six. During her work with Success by Six, she submitted a proposal to Paso Del Norte Health Foundation and was awarded a $70,000 grant to train 24 women from Sunland Park and Chaparral to become Promotoras in their communities. She was part of a team of Early Childhood Professional that developed the Early care, Education and Family support 45-hour entry level course at NMSU. She served as the first Resident Council President for the Las Cruces Public Housing Authority before it became MVPHA. and most recently served as Resident Council President for MVPHA from September 2023 to June 2024. She is extremely grateful and humbled for the opportunity to work with the MVPHA as a Resident Commissioner and serve as an advocate to the families in Public Housing to see them thrive.

Commissioner Lopez is a native Northern New Mexican. She moved to Las Cruces after high school to attend NMSU. She has spent the last 21 years planting her roots in the beautiful community of Las Cruces. Alongside her husband, they are raising two amazing children and are proud to call Las Cruces their home.

Commissioner Lopez holds a bachelor’s degree in arts and science from New Mexico State University and has spent the last two decades serving Dona Ana Community in the juvenile justice, child welfare, and housing sector. With an emphasis on individualized and intensive wrap-around case management, psycho-social education, and program evaluation as mandated by the New Mexico Children Youth and Families Department and other governing entities.

For the past 11 years, she has had the pleasure of developing her leadership capacity at Families & Youth Innovations Plus. During this time, she has a strong focus on agency strategy around continuous quality improvement, internal and external referrals management, and program development. Her time spent in the housing arena includes over 15 years working with youth and families experiencing housing scarcity. She also worked with local government to address housing at the Macro level. She is committed to championing people who don't have the platform for their voices to be heard. She promotes change in systems that focus on creating opportunities for people to progress from surviving to thriving in our community. She is a compassionate, innovative leader with a focus on program design and implementation, quality of care, and community collaboration. She looks forward to working alongside other passionate people to make our county truly the best place to live.