Meet the Team
The IFAM staff are the backbone and unsung heroes of our organization. While the Board sets our course, our staff truly brings the International Folk Art Market to our community. From fundraising and event planning to marketing and more, our staff is what keeps us moving forward every day.
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Nick Avery-Bucher is the Manager of Accounting for the International Folk Art Market. Nick moved to Santa Fe from Madison, WI with his wife Maegan and son Jackson in 2018. Prior to moving to Santa Fe he taught guitar lessons and played in a few bands, including the People Brothers Band, which regularly toured the Midwest. He also organized a three day music festival called People Fest that is now in its 15th year and has over 1,500 attendees. Before working at IFAM Nick held several positions at Outside Magazine. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family, playing music, hiking and riding his bike.
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nick@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7611
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Susan Brown is the Director of Finance and Human Resources of the International Folk Art Market. Susan moved to Santa Fe in 2016 from Orange County, CA and joined the IFAM team in February 2018. In California, she spent 20 years in consumer and commercial banking and worked as a controller for a small service company for several years. Prior to the “big move”, she enjoyed eight years as the Business Operations Director for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tustin. Susan loves to travel and plays French horn in several community ensembles.
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susan@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7604
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An award-winning social entrepreneur, educator, and researcher, Stacey brings over 20 years of experience working with artisans globally. Before joining IFAM, Stacey spent 5 years as an assistant teaching professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, Leeds School of Business in the Social Responsibility & Sustainability Division. Stacey founded and led Global Girlfriend, a fair trade enterprise she founded that partnered with over 250 women-led artisan enterprises in forty countries. She built a multi-million-dollar market for handcrafted apparel and accessories through e-commerce and wholesale partnerships with premier retailers including Whole Foods Market, Target, and West Elm as well as 1,500 boutique retailers nationwide.
In 2017 she co-founded Trade+Impact Association, a global non-profit trade association advancing women-led social enterprises. She has consulted governments and global NGOs including the US Commerce Department Law Program, USAID, UK AID, Prospero Zambia, AgExport Guatemala, and Aid to Artisans. Stacey’s mission is to highlight the power of global artisan work in providing economic opportunity, community and cultural preservation.
Stacey has been honored by the Microsoft Corporation as a recipient of the company’s Start Something Amazing Awards, by Organic Style as one of their Women with Organic Style, by Multichannel Merchant magazine as a “Maven of Merchandise.” She earned her PhD, MSW, and BSW in social work from Colorado State University, the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and Western Illinois University respectively. Stacey is the author of Global Girlfriends: How One Mom Made it Her Mission to Help Women in Poverty Worldwide, co-author of a chapter in Handbook on the Business of Sustainability, and her most recent research study Artisan Social Enterprises in Zambia: Women Leveraging Purpose to Scale Impact was published in the Social Enterprise Journal.
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stacey@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7607
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Coming soon.
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ben@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7602
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Coming Soon.
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valerie@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7603
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Craig Garcia is the new Director of Advancement at IFAM. A native of Santa Fe, Craig has a lifelong love for the city’s rich culture. His global outlook has been influenced by travels to over 40 countries.
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craig@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7608
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Jacci Gruninger joins IFAM as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO). She is a dedicated leader with broad experience in management and community engagement. This newly established COO role will focus more on overall market operations, enhancing the experience for customers and artists, and maintaining partnerships with the city, State, and market stakeholders.
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jacci@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7606
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Leigh comes to IFAM as a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Azerbaijan, 2013-14) with a background in event planning, project management, and logistics. She’s been volunteering with the Folk Art Market for years and is excited to be part of the team that works in the background to make the Market happen. Leigh holds a BA in Geography from UNM and a Master’s in Library Science from Texas Woman’s University. In her downtime, she is an avid pickleball player and loves both solo international travel and taking domestic road trips.
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leigh@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7603
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Nadia is the Director of Artist Development of the International Folk Art Market. She made her way to New Mexico in 2018 after some time away from the sunshine and mountains. While she was born in Washington, D.C., Nadia has lived in many different areas of the United States and Europe throughout her life. Over the past 18 years, she has worked at several non-profit organizations and museums engaging the public through her passion in arts education, community outreach, development, and cultural heritage. Nadia is excited to meld her professional experience with her enduring support of art and culture at IFAM. Nadia holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts with a minor in Art History from Pratt Institute, and a Masters of Arts in Archaeology with a concentration in Heritage Management from Leiden University. When she isn’t in the office, Nadia enjoys being outdoors skiing and hiking. She is also an avid traveler, and aspires to visit an ever-expanding list of countries.
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nadia@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7609
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Rachael joined the International Folk Art Market in February 2024. Originally from Colorado, she moved to Santa Fe in 2023.
Before IFAM, Rachael was the Gallery Manager and Curator at the Kinder Padon Gallery within the Crested Butte Center for the Arts, organizing 25 exhibits with over 50 artists. Upon arriving in Santa Fe, Rachael worked as the Director of the Horseshoe Gallery alongside curator Bobby Beals.
Rachael holds dual B.A. degrees from Western Colorado University (WCU) in business administration (management emphasis) and studio arts (photography emphasis). In the Spring of 2025 Rachael earned an M.A. in gallery and museum management from WCU.
Rachael spent many years working with the university radio station and served as station manager. Throughout undergrad, she was also a consultant at the writing center, a marketing teaching assistant, held several marketing and administration internships, and volunteered at art museums.
Rachael is passionate about visual arts, travel, and music. She spends her free time doting on her cat and loved ones, reading, backpacking, practicing film photography, and learning archery.
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rachael@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7615
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Alli Wheeler is the Volunteer and Community Relations Manager. Born in Oregon, they moved to New Mexico in 2022 to pursue a Master's degree in Latin American history at the University of New Mexico.
At UNM, Alli received a Foreign Language and Area Studies grant to study the Quechua language. Prior to graduate school, they completed a year of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA member coordinating volunteer tutoring/mentoring programs at a refugee resettlement site in Louisville, Kentucky.
When not in the office, Alli enjoys hiking and playing the banjo and accordion -
alli@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7613
Interested in joining the IFAM team?
Shaping the Market
The International Folk Art Market is nothing without our artists, and we would not have the opportunity to share such incredible artists without the expertise of our Artist Selection and Placement Committee. Over ten days starting in late October, two dedicated teams of experts – the Selection and Placement Committees undertake the process of identifying the virtuosos who will share their art and stories at the Market.