Commissioner Isabella Solis was elected to the District 3 (previously District 4) seat on the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 8, 2016. She took the oath of office on Dec. 29, 2016, and assumed the duties of County Commissioner on Jan. 1, 2017. Her four-year term ends Dec. 31, 2020, and she is eligible to seek re-election.

Commissioner Solis represents District 3, which encompasses most of northeast Doña Ana County, including the East Mesa, Hacienda Acres, Organ, Moongate and the eastern areas of the City of Las Cruces.

IN HER OWN WORDS

Arriving in Las Cruces in 2006, I was born in San Angelo, Texas, to Jesse and Alexandra Garcia. I am the oldest of eight. From Texas, I advanced my career in Louisiana after graduating from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA.

My parents were migrant workers in the 1960s. They imparted the value and ethic of work. My father worked through his life and became a local business owner in the cotton industry.

For more than eight years I served with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where I was instrumental in providing disaster recovery services following Hurricane Katrina.  I assisted families who lost their homes and moved them into Direct Housing as residents rebuilt their homes.

During my tenure with FEMA, I served the FEMA headquarters/Logistics Branch, which included Government Sales Services.  Part of my duties were to oversee families transitioning back to permanent housing.

I also served with Tierra del Sol, a non-governmental organization which works in concert with the federal government to provide homes to qualifying families.  Familiar with disaster recovery and relief, I worked with Mayor Judd Nordyke of the Village of Hatch following the flooding in 2006 where more than 402 homes were affected.  My role was to logistically coordinate volunteer agencies.

Through my commitment to public service, I was appointed to serve the City of Las Cruces as a member of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program advisory board, where I raised awareness of needs for seniors in the county.  I am a member of the Ocotillo Institute for Social Justice, where I derived my aspiration for public service.  The Institute is founded to developing leadership and ways of empowering individuals.  I also served on a steering committee for the communities for health advocating for improved health services.  I was recently appointed to serve as committee chair for the Big Event for Cancer Aid Resources and Education, Inc., (CARE) a group devoted to serving better care and access for cancer patients.

I am an avid believer in voting rights, where generations before us struggled in New Mexico for the rights to vote.  A registered Democrat, I believe in working to ensure the needs of people are provided through local government.

My husband and I have four adult children: Liz, Elaine, Krystina, and Ezekiel, and one child, Renee, who is in high school.  My husband, Richard, is a native of Las Cruces, who served in the United States Marine Corp.  He is retired from the Department of Corrections, and currently serves as an officer at the Federal District Court in Las Cruces.