Becki is a researcher and writer for Arrowhead Center, exploring new directions for programming and communicating with the organization’s many stakeholders. She is involved in program development, funding, and reporting, as well as strategic planning initiatives for Arrowhead Center and the broader NMSU System. She also serves as an adjunct faculty member in Doña Ana Community College’s English Department. Becki earned her B.A. in Psychology from Wilkes University; and a M.A. in Anthropology and Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Professional Communication from NMSU.

Becki can be reached at broan@nmsu.edu.

Kristi serves as a Program Manager at Arrowhead Center, for the NM REAP Technical Assistance Grant Program. Her focus is on providing technical assistance, outreach efforts, and evaluation programs to provide continuous support and improvement of the program. She received her bachelor’s degree in Family and Consumer Sciences from NMSU.

Kristi can be reached at Kcoogler@nmsu.edu

Carlos Murguia serves as AIF’s Associate Fund Manager, a general early-stage seed fund that primarily focuses on New Mexico’s regional strengths in agriculture, biotechnology, health/devices, information technology, engineering, energy, and water technology industry sectors. He is responsible for overall program operations, including the development and implementation of business support programs and industry ecosystems to help startups maximize growth and success. Carlos also serves as the Director of the Foster Innovation Exchange and the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship at Arrowhead Center. Carlos has established partnerships with different organizations to support entrepreneurship and provide prototyping services to entrepreneurs in the Paso del Norte Region. He received the New Mexico State University Alumni Association Fall 2017 Outstanding Graduate Award for the Graduate School and is a New Mexico Angels board member. Carlos is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, a Certified SCRUM Master by the Lean Six Sigma Institute, and was recently selected as a Hunt Aspen Fellowship awardee.

Carlos can be reached at cmurguia@nmsu.edu or at (575) 646-2025.

Alejandro Najera-Acosta serves as Program Specialist, Sr., for NMSU’s Arrowhead Center. He is a Ph.D. student at New Mexico State University (NMSU) pursuing a major in Industrial Engineering, and a minor in Applied Statistics. Growing up in an industrialized environment as is Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, Alejandro has experience managing systems, procedures, implementing control plans, mentoring, designing, and planning from professional expertise, teaching, research, and service. He has worked in different synergistic research projects, being involved in fields such as manufacturing, product design & development, sustainability, quality assurance, statistical methods, Six Sigma, design of parameters and tolerances. Additionally, he has served as a liaison between NMSU and the UACJ supporting academic collaboration. Alejandro received his B.Sc. in Industrial & Systems Engineering and M.Eng. in Manufacturing with Product Design Specialization from the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juarez (UACJ). He has been granted the Business Award for Academic Excellence by COPARMEX Juarez, recognizing the generational highest GPA for local main universities, and recently he received the Love Learning Award. 

Alejandro can be reached at a_najera@nmsu.edu or at (575) 646-2025.

Alexxis Renteria serves as the Communication Specialist for Arrowhead Center. In this role, Alexxis works to build and maintain Arrowhead Center’s brand and website. She serves as a graphic and web designer. As well as a team leader of students who develop marketing and branding materials in a professional environment. She holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in Graphic Design which was represented in her thesis, from New Mexico State University. Alexxis has also earned an Associates of Applied Science for Advertising Graphics and Design from El Paso Community College.

Alexxis can be reached at aorti251@nmsu.edu  

Aaron serves as a Program Manager for Arrowhead Center, focusing on coordination, communication, and outreach activities. For his role, Aaron relies on his extensive experience in event planning, program management, and logistics coordination for efforts that serve the small business community. He received his bachelor’s degree in Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management and a Master of Business Administration from NMSU.

Aaron can be reached at stoddard@nmsu.edu or at (575)-646-4965.

Carissa Trujillo is a program specialist and lead instructor for Arrowhead Center’s Sprint accelerator programs. She has an NMSU Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Marketing and a minor in Accounting. Over the past ten years, she has worked with several non-profit organizations and educational programs both nationally and internationally. Carissa is passionate about giving back to the community and helping to empower New Mexico small business owners. She has assisted over a hundred entrepreneurs throughout our great state and has also served on Las Cruces’s non-profit organization board.

Carissa can be reached at ckt@nmsu.edu 

Cristina Vargas serves as a Marketing Communications Specialist at Arrowhead Center, where she concentrates on promoting programs such as Studio G, the University Center, and others. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Marketing and has over a decade of experience in the field. In her role, Cristina collaborates with cross-functional teams to create engaging content, manage social media channels, maintain website pages, plan events, and execute marketing campaigns. Additionally, she mentors clients seeking marketing and branding guidance, ensuring their success in the competitive market landscape.

Cristina can be reached at acvargas@nmsu.edu 

Shasta Younker is a Program Specialist, Sr. for Studio G at Arrowhead Center. She has a Bachelor of Arts and Science with a Masters in Agricultural Business from NMSU. Over the past four years, she has worked with students interested in Entrepreneurship. She helps them connect with advisors and businesses with knowledge in the startup process, opening the line of communication, and bridging the gap between the workforce and business. Shasta strives to help students achieve their goals and see their projects come to life while assisting businesses all over New Mexico to enhance their programs. Shasta and her family enjoy riding horses, going on trail rides, shooting archery, and playing soccer.

Shasta can be reached at syounker@nmsu.edu 

John is a program specialist supporting NM FAST, University Center, and NMSBA. He focuses on creating informational material, presenting in webinars, and maintaining the accuracy of guides given to clients seeking non-dilutive federal funding. He also helps drive innovation by supporting the creation of a commercialization curriculum for students interested in entrepreneurship and assisting small businesses connect to subject matter experts to help find solutions for technical challenges of the business. He holds a B.S. in Biology from Columbus State University and a M.Sc. Biology from New Mexico State University.

John can be contacted at jcwaller@nmsu.edu or (575) 646- 3516