Albuquerque Press Women and Friends

Sophie Martin

Executive Director of the New Mexico Board of Bar Examiners and Albuquerque attorney Sophie Martin will speak to Albuquerque press Women and Friends on Monday, May 13 at Mimi’s Cafe (4316 The 25 Way) at 11:30 a.m. Martin will discuss what it takes to become an attorney in New Mexico.

In order to gain a license to practice law in New Mexico, prospective attorneys must demonstrate both legal competence (most notoriously through the bar examination) and character and fitness to serve. Martin will discuss the process of attorney licensure in New Mexico, including the specific standards that applicants must address in order to become licensed here, and the national discussion over how past criminal history affects applicants’ road to licensure.

Sophie Martin is an Albuquerque attorney and the Executive Director of the New Mexico Board of Bar Examiners, the agency that administers attorney admissions for the Supreme Court of New Mexico. She holds both a J.D. and an M.B.A. from the University of New Mexico and a B.A. in Theatre from Occidental College in Los Angeles. Sophie is a 2013 recipient of the National Association of Women Lawyers’ Award, a two-time honoree on the Albuquerque Business First’s Forty Under 40 list, and the 2012-2013 Editor-in-Chief of the New Mexico Law Review. She teaches marketing and social media, nonprofit management, and women’s leadership in the professional development programs at the UNM Anderson School of Management.

Albuquerque Press Women and Friends is an organization for communicators. Everyone is welcome. We order from the menu. Non-members will be charged an additional five dollars.

Melanie Majors

Melanie J. Majors. executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, and Sherry Robinson, journal and author will speak to Albuquerque Press Women and Friends on Monday, April 8 at 11:30 a.m. at Mimi’s Cafe (5849 the 25 Way). Majors will asses the actions of the 2019 session of the New Mexico Legislature on issues of transparency, open government and ethics. Robinson will take a closer look at the major bills, the people and the politics involved.

Majors has a 30-year professional career in New Mexico that spans the fields of journalism, communications and public relations. In 2010 she opened her own Communication firm, The Majors Company, specializing in media training, crisis communication and strategic planning. She started her career as a print reporter where she earned an AP Citation and several NMPA awards for her news coverage, and is an accomplished author of numerous publications. She was a producer at KOB TV 4 for several years working in both news and promotions. After moving into public relations, she has provided senior-level counsel and strategic relations for some of New Mexico’s leading corporations and major projects. She is also a media trainer for the New Mexico Broadcasters Association, and is a past board member of the Foundation for Open Government; a past president of the New Mexico Chapter of Public Relations Society and a former New Mexico Press Women officer. In 2008, the New Mexico chapter of the Public Relations Society of America awarded her the Vista Award.  She is a graduate of the University of New Mexico’s journalism school and is currently an adjunct professor in that department. This year NMFOG monitored a wide variety of bills proposed by legislators. Several bills sought to make government less transparent to citizens. Other bills allowed individuals to limit the amount of information public available about them. One important bill would have forced lawmakers to publicly disclose who wanted to spend public capital outlay money, and for which projects. Majors will discuss all this and more.

Sherry Robinson

Robinson will deliver a wrap-up of the 2019 legislative session — the highs, the lows, the major bills, the people and politics. She has covered the Legislature every year since 2011 for the Gallup Independent. Her first session was in 1981 for “The Illustrated Daily” on KNME. She is a long-time, award-winning New Mexico journalist and author. Robinson is also a long time active member of Albuquerque Press Women.

Albuquerque Press Women and Friends is an organization for communicators. Everyone is welcome. We order from the menu. Non-members will be charged an additional five dollars.