CYFD Policy Advisory Council
The members of the Children Youth & Families Department (CYFD) Policy Advisory Council. were appointed following an executive order directing its creation signed in February by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. In addition to creating the advisory council, the order directed multiple other, immediate changes that will transform the way the department serves and protects the state’s most vulnerable children and families.
The CYFD Policy Advisory Council gathers professionals from the child-welfare community including service providers, families who have interacted with CYFD, attorneys, and behavioral health providers. Each council member offers a knowledgeable and diverse perspective.
Council members include:
Brennan Bowman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Urban School Counseling from Norfolk State University. She has over 17 years of experience working with children and families in many capacities. Currently, Ms. Bowman is a middle school counselor with Albuquerque Public Schools and CEO of “With a Village,” an academic success coaching service, where she works with students and their families.
Rick Quevedo is the CEO and founder of Desert View Family Counseling Services in San Juan and McKinley Counties, which specializes in infant mental health, supervised visitation, in-home services & reunification, wraparound, and outpatient mental health for adolescents and families who have experienced significant trauma. Rick serves on serval Task Forces including the Early Childhood Coalition and is a board member for the San Juan Regional Medical Center.
Kenneth Stowe is the Division Director of Curriculum & Instruction at the New Mexico Public Education Department and a Board member of the CASA Partners 4NMKIDS. As a former foster youth who experienced multiple bouts of homelessness, he understands first-hand how imperative it is to build systems and support state agencies for children and youth.
Barbara Yehl has a Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) and has worked as an Adoption Counselor for birth mothers as well as an Area Director for a private foster care organization in Texas. She and her husband have been foster parents and adopted a sibling group from the New Mexico foster care system. Barbara is the creator and Director of Lighthouse Foster and Adoption Support- a nonprofit organization that serves foster and adoptive families in Chaves County.