John Pederson was born in Albuquerque, NM at KAFB Hospital. Except for a few brief moves for his father’s Air Force career, he spent almost all his childhood in Albuquerque. He attended Albuquerque Academy and went away to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota for his undergraduate work where he earned a BA in Biology. John then returned to Albuquerque to attend medical school and pediatric residency at the University of New Mexico. Following the completion of residency in 2003, he began a job doing pediatric primary care for Presbyterian. After a few years, he became a pediatric hospitalist and eventually the medical director of the pediatric hospitalist program at Presbyterian. Since 2013, John has served as the medical director for the children’s program at Presbyterian. John has cared for many children with type 1 diabetes in his career and is passionate about improving the life of children with type 1 diabetes. John is married to Dana, a 7th grade math teacher at the Albuquerque Academy and has two children, AJ and Elizabeth.

Dr. John Pederson

Board President

Michael Yao grew up in Kaneohe, HI. Although Michael is not a native New Mexican, Michael completed his Pediatric Residency at the University of New Mexico, and fell in love with the New Mexican sunshine, landscape, green chile, and culture. Following completion of his pediatric residency, Michael completed his endocrinology fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, OH. Following his fellowship training, Michael returned to Albuquerque in 2020 and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology. Michael’s clinical interests are in improving the quality of life of children and adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes and their families, and diabetes technology. Michael is excited to be part of PumpedNM team in hopes to improve the lives of New Mexico’s children and families impacted by diabetes mellitus by increasing their access to diabetes technology.

Dr. Michael Yao

Board Vice President

Corinna joined Bank Of America in 2000. Corinna has supported multiple roles and now holds a position as an Academy Manager on boarding New Hires. Corinna has 3 boys 26 23 and 18 and spends all her free time watching them do what they love sports!

Treasurer

Corinna Marin

Anthony Brown was born in small town of Wyoming where he lived most of his childhood. Anthony graduated from Douglas High School in 2009 out of Douglas, Wyoming. Wyoming is considered Anthony’s home state however he has recently moved to Rio Rancho, NM in 2019 to continue his life in law enforcement. Anthony currently works as a 911/dispatcher for Sandoval County. Anthony’s main hobbies are to be creative with refurbishing furniture and working on his vehicles. Anthony has family that has suffered from type 1 diabetes and family that is high risk for getting diabetes. His passion for helping others with his job and family has brought him to PumpedNM so he can improve the lives of the children with Type 1 Diabetes. Anthony has been married to his wife Breona since 2012 with 4 beautiful daughters Madison, Arona, Talelagh, and Marcita.

Anthony Brown

Secretary

Theresa Trujillo-Saiz is a native New Mexican born in the south valley of Albuquerque. She is married and has two children and three grandchildren. She is happiest when spending time with her family. Theresa first worked as a dental assistant then moved onto public education with Albuquerque Public Schools where she began at an elementary school, moved on to the Student Services Department where they facilitated long term suspension hearings making sure all students were given their fair due process and where they facilitated student transfers. She transferred to the Student Transportation Department as a specialist in charge of monitoring school bus contractors routes, evaluations and assisted with the budget. In 1995, Theresa accepted a position with the Rio Rancho Public Schools as the first executive director of Student Transportation Department (a new school district) . In this position she developed new policies and procedures, budgets, and safety protocols as part of the responsibilities in managing a new department. She also lobbied for the RRPS at the direction of the superintendent and school board on district priorities that included educational funding and policies, attended multiple committee hearing, and collaborated with other educational partners and legislators. After 26 years in public education, Theresa retired to start her business, Trujillo-Saiz LLC, education consultant and government relations. Some of her lobbing clients included four school districts, school bus contractors association, New Mexico Coalition of Educational Leaders and Superintendents, she also collaborated on the facilitation of a Superintendent search and several other education consulting clients. Theresa has a vested interest in PumpedNM as her godson has type 1 diabetes (T1D), and her goddaughter is the founder of PumpedNM a non-profit. Theresa has always focused on children and their needs through her work in education and as a Lobbyist. She is passionate about serving children with T1D and helping in providing them with a better quality of life.

Theresa Saiz

Board Member

April Melia was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She graduated high school from West Mesa in 2002. She attended CNM and PIMA and obtained her associates degree in Respiratory Therapy. She started her repiratory career in 2007 at Presbyterian Hospital (main) and continued her career in other hospitals including Lovelace downtown and UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center. Her specialities included neonatal and pediatric critical care. She was able to work with many patients from peds to adults that have suffered from type 1 diabetes. Diabetes has affected several of her family members and she has a passion to help those who are in the battle of type 1 diabetes. Her passion for patient care and desire to help her community has brought her to the PumpedNM team to help families who have been affected by diabetes. April remains a respiratory therapist for a home health care company. She is married to paramedic fireman for AFD and together they have 5 children , one boy and four girls. 

April Melia

Board Member

Peter Gonzales is a Northern New Mexico native currently residing in Rio Rancho. He graduated from Mora High School in 2002. He attended New Mexico Highlands University and obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems in 2006. In 2007, he began his career in public service, having so far worked at state agencies including the Human Services Department, Department of Public Safety, and the Department of Information Technology. Peter is happy to serve on the board because he is passionate about helping people.

Peter Gonzales

Board Member

Monica was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM. She graduated from St. Pius X High School in 2011. She is also a proud alumna (2015) of the University of New Mexico UNM (Everyone’s a Lobo). Most recently, she completed her master’s degree in social work, along with a public health graduate certificate, at New Mexico State University in 2023. Monica has a great passion for promoting and working toward health equity in the state of New Mexico and beyond. This passion is what encouraged her to join the work of PumpedNM so that she could help make a difference for children with Type 1 Diabetes. She currently lives in Albuquerque with her husband Nathan and sweet dog Ruby!

Monica Rae Otero

Board Member

Natalie is a native New Mexican and was born and raised here in Albuquerque's South Valley.  She attended the University of New Mexico, where she graduated with a B.A., with honors, in Criminology and Political Science, as well as the University of New Mexico School of Law, where she received her Juris Doctor. Natalie’s practice as an attorney currently focuses on general civil litigation, where she represents a variety of clients including insurance companies, government agencies, small businesses, and individuals in a variety of specialized areas such as administrative law and government regulation, employment and labor law, and personal injury. As an attorney, Natalie is passionate about advocating for her clients and important causes such as PumpedNM's mission to improve the well-being and quality of life of children with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie is extremely excited to work alongside the other dedicated board members to bring diverse perspectives to the table and make a positive difference in the lives of the children we serve.

Natalie Duran

Board Member