Board

Russell began his career as a teacher at Adobe Acres Elementary School in 1964 and served for 37 years in the Albuquerque Public Schools until retiring in 2001. In APS he served as a teacher, activities director, assistant principal, lobbyist and retired as the Principal of Eldorado High School. He also served as Principal of Washington and Wilson Middle Schools in APS. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the University of New Mexico and did additional graduate work at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado and at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Currently, he also serves on the Board of Directors of the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame, where he is a past president, and the New Mexico Coalition of Educational Leaders (NMCEL)

Cameron served five terms as chair of the NMERB from 2010 until August 2020. She also held the offices of secretary and vice chairperson during her tenure and served on the Committees on Resolutions and Nominations for the National Council on Teacher Retirement.

Cameron received her Bachelor of Science in Education from North Texas State University in Denton, Texas, and taught in Corpus Christi, Texas, for three years. She then received her Master of Education from Western New Mexico University in Silver City. Cameron retired in June of 2015 after her thirty-ninth year of employment with Deming Public Schools. During her career, Cameron was a teacher, literacy specialist, staff development coordinator, principal and associate superintendent. Cameron served as president of the National Education Association of New Mexico (NEA-NM) from 1996-2001. She also represented New Mexico as director on the board of the National Educational Association (NEA), member of the NEA-AFT Committee on Unity, and trustee on the NEA Member Insurance Trust Fund.

In addition, Cameron was a member of the State Personnel Board for seven years, serving as chairperson and vice chairperson during her tenure. She also served on the NM Educational Standards Commission as a member and chair; the NM Superintendent’s Blue Ribbon Committee on Education; NM Legislative Education Initiatives and Accountability Task Force; and the NM State Department of Education’s Charter School Task Force.

Larry Magid has worked in the financial services industry for over forty years. Mr. Magid has served as a financial advisor for the past 26 years and is currently with Robert W. Baird, Private Wealth Management.

Mr. Magid graduated from the University of Oklahoma, Price College of Business, with a BBA in Economics and Finance. He and his wife have three children and ten grandchildren.

Max Baca has served as the Vice President for Finance, Administration, and Government Relations for New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) since October 2013, responsible for a $90 million budget providing leadership for the institution relative to financial strategies, forecasting, and business operations. Mr. Baca is responsible for the following functional areas: business office (accounting, budgeting, cashier’s office, and external audit); human resources and payroll; purchasing and receiving (procurement, leasing, contracts, credit cards, and risk management); information technology; campus police and security; and the financial operations for campus safety, government relations, auxiliary operations, and athletics.

Mr. Baca’s successful higher education leadership experience spans over three decades. He serves in key executive leadership roles as a trusted advisor, possesses in-depth knowledge of all aspects of higher education operations, and is recognized for developing high-functional teams and for resolving complex issues. He raised unrestricted net assets from $800 thousand to over $10 million in a six-year period despite state funding cuts and declining student enrollment. His solid and in-depth analysis, financial vision and budget allocation has allowed the university to put funding towards initiatives and investments to grow enrollment, retention, marketing efforts and employee compensation contrary to external financial threats.

Laura M. Montoya

State Treasurer, Ex Officio

Treasurer Laura M. Montoya was sworn into office on January 1, 2023 as the first female State Treasurer of New Mexico and the first Latina State Treasurer in the U.S. She was born, raised and educated in Northern New Mexico, earning her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Psychology with a minor in Sociology and her master’s degree in Public Affairs from New Mexico Highlands University. Serving New Mexico for more than two decades in federal, state, tribal and local government, she worked under U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, Treasurer Douglas M. Brown, and Treasurer James B. Lewis, and was elected to two terms as Sandoval County Treasurer. Laura has worked in several capacities in both the New Mexico House of Representatives and the New Mexico Senate, in addition to serving as the vice-chair of Finance, Pensions and Intergovernmental Affairs, chair of the Next Generation of Young Elected Officials, and several other boards and committees. She is an advocate for financial literacy and teaches finance and treasury classes to county and city employees, elected officials, and union members.

Donald Duszynski is the representative for the American Association of University Professors and currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Biology at the University of New Mexico (UNM).  In addition to chairing the UNM Department of Biology for ten years (1982-1991), he also served as Director of the Museum of Southwestern Biology (2005-07), Research Professor and Consultant to the Vice President for Research (2007-08), Special Assistant to the UNM President (2008-2011), and Founder and past-President of the Biological Society of New Mexico.

He has been the recipient of more than 30 state, federal and private agency grants totaling more than $8 million. Dr. Duszynski has authored over 180 publications, including three book chapters and four books.

Matías Fontenla is a Professor of Economics at the University of New Mexico. In addition to serving in the ERB’s Board of Trustees, he also serves in the Investments Committee of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the institution that shaped higher education by helping implement academic freedom and tenure principles at American universities. He also has been elected to the Executive Council of New Mexico’s American Federation of Teachers (AFT) labor organization.

Within UNM, Professor Fontenla has been elected by the general faculty to chair the Committee on Governance, one of the shared governance bodies at the university. He also is the Treasurer of UNM’s faculty union, United Academics of UNM.