IFAM Staff
Meet the Team
The IFAM staff are the backbone and unsung heroes of our organization. While the Board sets our course, it is our staff that truly bring the International Folk art Market to our community. From fundraising, to event planning, to marketing and more, our staff is what keeps us moving forward every day.
Staff
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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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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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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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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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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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Martin is the Market Logistics Coordinator at the International Folk Art Market. A Los Alamos native, Martin entered the art market scene selling paintings and leather jewelry at Fuller Lodge fairs as a Middle School student. His art/design career then focused on theater from High School through Undergrad at UNM and eventually an MFA from New York University. He spent four years in Seattle and 20 years in New York City as a set and costume designer for theater, musicals and operas, as well as theater production work as a scenic artist, fabric dyer, craftsperson, and jewelry designer. After returning to New Mexico in 2019 he spent four years in Interior Design.
Martin’s critically acclaimed design work for the opera stage has included scenic and costume design for the double bill of Trouble in Tahiti and La Serva Padrona for Opera Santa Barbara, and scenic design for the New York premiere of Fauré’s Pénélope at Manhattan School of Music, plus productions at Utah Opera and numerous seasons at Opera Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Other Career Highlights include many years as owner/designer/maker of Adornments NYC handmade jewelry, which became Bluer Skies Design when he returned to New Mexico. He has also created jewelry, crowns and accessories the stage. His creations include custom accessories for Madonna, the Queen of Pop and her dancers for her Rebel Heart tour and the crown for Elsa, Queen of Arendelle in Disney’s Frozen on Broadway, plus numerous other characters in the show. Other creations include New York themed wire sculptural elements for Tiffany & Co’s Fifth Avenue Flagship Store windows.
Martin was also a Member, Board Member and Events Director for the Etsy NY Street Team which later became know as the NY Handmade Collective.
After so many years as a maker in various fields and mediums, he is is thrilled to be back in the market scene and joining the team at IFAM.
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martin@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7616
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Jared Smith is the Director of Market Operations at the International Folk Art Market. Despite having lived in Santa Fe for 17 years, he had only attended the Market once before joining the production team in the summer of 2021. He quickly developed a deep affinity for IFAM, its mission, and the diverse range of artists that the Market uplifts. He returned as a production coordinator in the summer of 2022, and joined the team as a full-time staff member shortly thereafter.
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jared@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7606
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Sullivan is the Director of Advancement. She arrived at IFAM in 2024 from the Santa Fe Opera, where her role encompassed fundraising, strategic planning, board management and government affairs. Prior to the opera, Sullivan spent a decade in the travel industry, providing perspective-shifting experiences for her clients as they traveled the world. Sullivan has long championed the transformative power of embracing cultures different from one’s own, and it brings her great joy to be a part of the IFAM team and contribute to a mission that aligns closely with her personal values. When not in the office, Sullivan enjoys hiking and rafting under New Mexico's bluebird skies with her fluffy canine companion, Bisco.
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sullivan@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7608
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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 -
505.992.7613
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Rachael is the Artist Development Coordinator at IFAM.
She was born in Colorado and lived there until relocating to Santa Fe in 2023. For several years, she was the Gallery Manager and Curator at the Crested Butte Center for the Arts' Kinder Padon Gallery, where she organized 25 exhibits with over 50 artists.
She holds dual BA degrees in business administration with an emphasis in management, and studio arts with an emphasis in photography from Western Colorado University. Throughout her time in undergrad, she held positions as station manager of the university's radio station and consultant at the writing center. She has also worked as a marketing and administration intern at a few startups on the front range and volunteered at art museums across Colorado. Rachael is currently pursuing a masters degree in gallery and museum management.
When not in the office, Rachael enjoys listening to music, reading, taking pictures, and playing with her cat Frenzy.
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505.992.7615
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Diego Muñoz is the Director of Marketing and Communications.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Diego made his way north in 2016 and fell in love with everything New Mexico had to offer.
He has taken on a variety of marketing roles throughout his career including financial services, automotive, and consumer brands.
Diego holds a Bachelor of Arts in Media Advertising & Marketing from the University of Texas at El Paso, and a Master of Arts and Sciences in New Media and Brand Marketing from Southern New Hampshire University. When he is not at work, you can find him skiing or taking care of his four cats and two dogs.
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diego@folkartmarket.org
505.992.7602
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 a ten-day period starting in late October, two dedicated teams of experts – the Selection and Placement Committees undertake the daunting process of identifying the virtuosos who will share their art and stories at the Market.