Community & Business Development
EDD’s Community, Business & Rural Development staff (CBRD) or "regional representatives" are located in the regions they serve in every corner of the state. They assist businesss and communities in a broad variety of economic development needs:
- Passing and using the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) to provide local incentives for job creation
- Community infrastructure financing assisted by FUNDIT, a collaborative group of community development funding agencies who review and vet projects in a single meeting
- Administers the Business Retention & Expansion Program in their respective regions
- Workforce training for eligible businesses through the Job Training Incentive Program;
- Team members help businesses complete each step of the application process
- Business development project funding in collaboration with Finance Development
- The reps work directly with the local government and business throughout the LEDA funding process
- Assist businesses in taking advantage of New Mexico’s tax credit incentives for job creation
- Assist communities in responding to Potential Recruitment Opportunities (PROs) from the New Mexico Partnership
- Resolve state regulatory or other issues that impact businesses
- Help communities identify the best business startup programs to meet their economic development goals
- Access to other EDD programs such as MainStreet, Arts & Cultural Districts or the Frontier & Native American Communities Initiative
If you are a New Mexico business that manufactures, or exports more than 50% of your primary product or service, and you have never been contacted by the Economic Development Department, or if you have questions or comments about our services, please contact Mark Roper, Division Director: Mark.Roper@state.nm.us or 505.827.0323.
For professional economic development assistance contact your regional representative:
Community, Business & Rural Development Regions
- Region 1: Lorraine Ruggles
Bernalillo Office
(505) 490-7662
Lorrainel.Ruggles@state.nm.us
- Region 2: Peter Mitchell
Santa Fe Office
(505) 827-2199
(505) 570-7796
Peter.Mitchell@state.nm.us
- Region 3: Max Gruner
Albuquerque Office: (505) 412.5036
Tribal Liaison
Max.Gruner@state.nm.us
- Region 4: Tim Hagaman
Mora Office
(505) 862-2322
Tim.Hagaman@state.nm.us
- Region 5: Louise Marquez
Las Cruces Office
(575) 430-1232
Louise.Marquez2@state.nm.us
- Region 6: Susie Russell
Roswell Office
(575) 626-6653
SusanL.Russell@state.nm.us