Advisory Board

About the Board

The UNM-Valencia Campus Advisory Board is an elected body of five representatives, who are residents of Valencia or Northern Socorro counties. Responsibilities of the Board include approving the campus annual budget and calls elections for local tax levies and capital outlay general obligation bonds.

Each member is elected to terms of four years. Terms of office are staggered, and elections for alternately two or three year positions are held every two years. For more information, please call 505.925.8540.

Meeting Dates

Regular meetings are held on the first Tuesday of February, May, August and November at 5 p.m. at the campus in Tomé with the designated room to be determined on the agenda. Special meetings may also be announced.

All proposed agendas will be available the week before each meeting from the Office of the Chancellor.


Paul T. Luna

Chairman, Los Lunas

Mr. Luna, who was elected to the Advisory Board in 1999, is a retired administrator after spending most of his career in the Los Lunas school system. He was born in Albuquerque and attended Los Lunas High School before earning a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees from The University of New Mexico. As a lifelong resident of Valencia County, Luna is an avid oil painter and the proud father of three grown sons. Luna says he likes to serve on the Advisory Board to “provide the best programs for students of Valencia County, and because of the great staff at UNM-Valencia.”

Belinda Martinez

Secretary, Belen

Mrs. Martinez, who was elected in 2003, is a cum laude graduate of UNM-Valencia and a graduate of the UNM College of Education. Martinez is the mother of five children and grandmother of seven. Her husband, Chris, is a detective and criminal investigator for the Transportation Division of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. Martinez loves serving on the board “because as an educator and parent, I like advising students on the importance of education and pursuing theirs dreams and becoming productive members of society.”

Eloisa Tabet

Board member, Belen

Mrs. Tabet, who was elected in 2010, was born and raised in Belen. Tabet spent 28 years in the banking industry and is currently retired and living in Rio Communities. She is a past president and current director of the Pilot Club of Belen. Tabet is the proud parent of four children, twelve grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She likes serving on the board because “I have always been a supporter of education, and enjoy promoting higher education to the students of Valencia County. I am impressed with everyone that makes this institution an outstanding success.”

Christopher Williams

Board member, Los Lunas

 Mr. Williams, who was elected in 2023, was born and raised in South Carolina. He moved to New Mexico in 1996. He retired from the New Mexico Air National Guard after serving for 23 years. Williams has been employed at Sandia National Laboratory since 1998 in various roles including safety and emergency management and response. He is a proud parent of five children and four grandchildren. As a homesteader, Williams enjoys raising animals, gardening, learning to keep bees and spending time with family.

Joleen Chavez

Board member, Belen

Mrs. Chavez, who was elected in 2021, currently works for American Fence Company as a Material salesperson and has four children. Born in Albuquerque, Chavez was raised mainly in California because her father served in the Navy for more than two decades. She moved back to Albuquerque in 2005 and then to Belen in September 2020.  In her free time, she enjoys reading true-crime novels, making soaps and doing arts and crafts.