About Asombro
“Asombro” is the Spanish word for “wonder,” which is exactly what the Asombro Institute brings to the thousands of children and adults who participate each year. The Asombro Institute for Science Education is a nonprofit dedicated to increasing natural science literacy through engaging, place-based education. To achieve this mission, we serve more than 22,000 K-12 students and 1,500 adults in New Mexico with hands-on, inquiry-based science education programs each year. Programs take place in classrooms, schoolyards, and at our outdoor classroom, the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park north of Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Staff Members
As the first paid employee of Asombro, Steph has been honored to help Asombro develop into a K-12 science education leader since she was hired in 2000. Steph has a Ph.D. in Biology from Colorado State University and a B.S. in Biology and minor in Teaching from the University of California, San Diego. Her favorite thing about working at Asombro is figuring out ways to translate local science discoveries into hands-on K-12 lessons that engage students. Outside of work, Steph loves hiking, reading, going to plays, baking, and traveling, most often with her husband, son, and dogs.
Kelly joined Asombro in 2019 and is excited everyday she gets to share her love of science with students. Kelly grew up playing in the mountains of Northern New Mexico before heading to the University of New Mexico to study biology. She spent many years as an educator on the banks of the Rio Grande. Kelly returned to UNM to further her understanding of our changing landscapes and earned her Master’s degree in biology researching the impacts of climate change on the Rio Grande cottonwood trees. As an avid hiker and backpacker she loves the opportunity to explore new parts of the Land of Enchantment with her husband, but when she’s not teaching or hiking, Kelly is often found playing the cello or learning Japanese.
Gabriela is thrilled to share her love of the desert and science with the community. She grew up in El Paso, Texas, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and found a love of field research while part of an undergraduate research program at the Indio Mountains Research Station near Van Horn. Gabriela continued on to complete a Master of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Theory in 2015. Her thesis focused on the Ecological Features of the Greater Earless Lizard. She spent many weekends in the field collecting data from pitfall trap arrays and weather stations. She has coordinated mobile museum outreach programs and has 7 years of teaching experience, including public programming for all ages, K-12 classroom visits, and the college-level classroom and laboratory. Gabriela joined Asombro in 2021, and feels like she finally found her dream career. Her favorite thing about working at Asombro is being able to share her passion for our Chihuahuan Desert.
Natalie grew up in Las Cruces, and experienced Asombro field trips first-hand as a local middle school student. She went on to earn Bachelor’s degrees in Geography and Spanish from NMSU, and after volunteering for 2 years at the Las Cruces Museum of Nature & Science, returned to NMSU part-time to take courses in math, physics, biology, and astronomy. During this time, she also worked as a research assistant in the Astronomy Department, spending 5 years studying interacting binary stars and galaxy evolution. Natalie joined the Asombro team in 2022 and is excited to be able to continue to share her love of science with her community. When not in the classroom, Natalie enjoys filming and photographing the bugs in her backyard with her pet lizard on her shoulder.
Marissa joins the Asombro team from Holland, Michigan where she was born and raised. She grew up catching garter snakes and observing monarch butterflies on milkweed, later inspiring her to attend Northern Michigan University to earn degrees in Environmental Studies, Sustainability, and Spanish. After college, she spent time in the U.S. Peace Corps serving as a Rural Extension Agent in Guatemala. She brings 4 years of classroom teaching, public programming, and natural interpretation to the team. Her utmost passion is being a “super cool science school” teacher, sharing her love of nature with students and adults alike. In her free time, she enjoys birding, foraging for wild foods, and cooking. She is thrilled to be a part of Asombro and is excited to learn more about the Chihuahuan Desert and communicate its ecological intricacies and beauty to the community.
Jeremy is originally from Corsicana, Texas, but has adopted Las Cruces as his home and loves the desert southwest. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Rangeland Ecology and Management, with a minor in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, from Texas A&M University. He went on to study the effects of prescribed burning and grazing on Texas horned lizards for his Master’s degree from West Texas A&M University. All of his professional experience comes from the Chihuahuan Desert, having spent over six years in biologist roles and an additional six years as a public information specialist for a state wildlife agency. Though much of his previous experience comes from being a wildlife biologist, Jeremy has realized that his true passion is in outreach education and is beyond thankful to be doing what he loves on a daily basis.
William is a herpetologist by training, and has always been a naturalist at heart. His extensive knowledge of the Chihuahuan Desert stems from research experience in ecology, herpetology, and paleontology. He has a Bachelor’s in Science, majoring in Biology with a minor in Chemistry at Texas A&M University-Kingsville and a Master’s in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology from the University of Texas at El Paso. William and is wife recently moved to Mesilla Valley from El Paso and Sunland Park, and already being in New Mexico feels like his long-lost home. Along with being our park manager, William is also currently a biology instructor at DACC, and an educator and tour guide for the El Paso Insights Science Center. He regularly give tours at Mt. Cristo Rey, highlighting the cretaceous dinosaur tracks and many other fossils that are preserved there. He also serves as a board member and tour guide with Celebration of Our Mountains, highlighting local geology and biology through guided hikes. His main passion is conservation biology as a whole, especially teaching our students about the conservation of our threatened biodiversity. No matter what he is teaching, William, always try to bring his expertise along with his love for nature and our unique Chihuahuan Desert.
Board Members
Gene was primarily raised in a small town in Kansas. He graduated from Wichita State University in 1972 with a BBA in Economics. Gene retired as an US Army Air Defense Artillery Officer in 1990. Upon retirement from the Army Gene worked in the corporate world until turning sixty-six when he figured there were better things to do with his time and energy. Gene’s main interest has been doing what he can to help students with their education, especially in science and math. In addition to serving on Asombro’s Board of Directors, Gene is also served on the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education, NM Public Education Commission, NM Public School Capital Outlay Council, NM State Library Commission, Las Cruces Public Schools Foundation, Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club and Jardin de los Ninos and several committees for the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce.
Justin works at the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range as a Soils Biologist in the National Wind Erosion Research Network group, and has been developing rangeland vegetation and soil monitoring methodologies since the mid 1990s. Since 2008 he has collaborated with scientists in Mongolia to develop a national rangeland monitoring system. He deeply believes in service and giving back to the community, and in promoting development of critical thinking skills through exploration, activity, and experimentation in nature. Justin has been volunteering for the Asombro Institute since 1995, assisting staff with curriculum development, teaching at public events, and implementing site development projects at the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park.
After teaching for more than 30 years, Donna takes pleasure in giving back to the community alongside people she thinks are terrific. She helps with field trips, classroom lessons, public events, and teacher workshops, as well as translating materials into Spanish and creating new materials.
Mark is an archaeologist who has worked in southern New Mexico, eastern Arizona, and western Texas since 1986. He joined the Asombro board in 2003 because he believes in and is inspired by the success of its mission to bring science education to students through hands-on field experiences.
Gil is a Master Electrician and Outside Sales Representative at Resource Group. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but was raised in Las Cruces and the Mesilla Valley. Gil has served as Vice President of the National Electrical Contractors Association, as board member for the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee for electricians, as well as a board member for the new Electrical Golf Association. Whether it is hunting, fishing, camping or motor sports, Gil loves the outdoors and has a strong belief that children who spend time outdoors are healthier in body and mind. Gil contributes his time and knowledge to further the mission of the Asombro Institute and its dedication to increasing scientific literacy.
Carrie is the Associate Director for the Las Cruces Public School’s Teaching, Learning, and Research Division. She leads the Career Readiness and Student Success Program. For nearly 30 years, Carrie has been an educator in diverse locations and situations, including the Las Cruces Public Schools, New Mexico State University, and the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. She also served for three years in the College and Career Readiness Bureau at the New Mexico Public Education Department.
A Brief History of Asombro
Excerpts from an article by Beth Morgan
“We’re from the land of dusty roads, rattlesnakes, and horny toads,”
,”…or so the song goes. Upon looking a little closer, one sees that there are hawks, owls, rodents, deer, bobcats, foxes, coyotes, mountain lions, insects, and a plethora of plant life.
Las Cruces City Commissioner Ron Hudson knew this as early as 1978 and sought to capitalize on it with a regional attraction to be called the Las Cruces Nature Park, which he envisioned as being something like the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum near Tucson. Alamogordo had its zoo. Las Cruces, the second largest city in the state, Hudson thought, needed a place for families to go, too.
Hudson was one of sixteen original board members working on the project. Supporters incorporated as a non-profit in 1990, with a botanical garden foremost in their plans. They considered several sites, two on the West Mesa, another in the bosque of the Rio Grande, and a 240-acre tract of land near the location where former Doña Ana County Sheriff Pat Garrett was murdered in 1908, south of U.S. Hwy. 70.
In early 1997, the project underwent a name change. Now the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park, the board named herpetologist Paul Hyder the park’s first director. Hyder had been conducting educational programs for the park with area schools for five years. Shortly after this announcement, the park’s location switched to a 1,000-acre tract of land on the southwest border of and in the possession of the USDA/ARS Jornada Experimental Range. The Jornada had been inviting school children out to learn about science for years. As the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park’s goals were along similar lines, it seemed like a win-win situation.
The park’s new director—and first paid staff person— Stephanie Bestelmeyer, was hired in 2000 and soon hosted the Insect Expo 2000. One thousand grade-school students from a dozen area schools registered to learn about insects and arthropods.
With the aid of its volunteers, the park then spent 90 percent of its donations, which came in part from the World Wildlife Fund, Chevron, Bridgebuilders Foundation, and the Native Plant Society of New Mexico, on educational programs. Later in 2000, Bestelmeyer had the opportunity to use a 1,200-sq.-m. parking site for vehicles coming onto the range to repair an oil spill as an experiment site, dividing it into plots for test-plantings of native grass seed. The park had the help of dozens of volunteers to develop the plots. This represented the first attempt at site development for the park and provided a location they planned to use as the first stop for field trips for some 2,000 students each year.
The park continued its buggy business, introducing the Butterfly Flutterby in 2002. That year, the Board of Directors noted that Bestelmeyer had expanded the number of students it was serving tenfold: from 1,200 to 12,000. The educational programs had continued to expand and improve, for school children and the public, covering such diverse topics as wildflowers, desert nightlife, bats, weather, and desert ecology.
They built picnic tables and shade structures in 2003. The trails have been developed, and an amphitheater was added in 2005. They had a second employee, Rink Somerday by 2004, and finally, in 2008, the 1,000-acre site was transferred to the park—the same year the organization changed its name to the Asombro Institute for Science Education, with the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park the main venue for its science-based, hands-on educational activities.
As Hudson originally hoped, the park has become a place where families can go. It’s certainly a draw for visitors to the area, a place where they can learn that the desert is not all brown, and it’s not devoid of life. Certainly, with the addition of Asombro’s educational programs for more than 17,000 students each year, the nonprofit has become a major asset to the community—and hopefully will remain so for years to come.
