Yasmeen is the Planning Specialist for the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, a political subdivision of the State of New Mexico responsible for agricultural water delivery, flood control, and drainage. As a representative for the Conservancy District, she works cooperatively to manage and restore the Middle Rio Grande riparian ecosystem, facilitate community planning, conduct research, and carry out a variety of natural resource and agricultural initiatives within the Middle Rio Grande Valley. She also serves as a board member and/or liaison to regional conservation and education initiatives such as the Socorro Save our Bosque Task Force, The Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program, the New Mexico Environment Department Surface Water Quality Bureau’s Wetlands Program and Resolana Network (formerly Querencia Institute).
Prior to her work with the Conservancy District, Yasmeen worked for the Bureau of Land Management in Taos, New Mexico assisting the update of their Rio Grande Corridor Management Plan and has spent nearly 25 years working along and with the Rio Grande ecosystem in New Mexico. She also spent a glorious summer interning with the USDA Forest Service in the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area. She received her Master’s Degree in Community and Regional Planning with a concentration in Natural Resources from the University of New Mexico in 2001.
A die-hard “valley girl,” she lives in Albuquerque’s North Valley and can be found walking the acequias, tending her garden and fruit trees and writing poetry.
