The Art of Generosity is a storytelling series made possible through underwriting by the Santa Fe Community Foundation. Each feature shines a light on a local nonprofit shaping the cultural, social, and economic fabric of our region. By elevating these stories, the Foundation furthers its role in connecting people with the organizations as well as causes that help our shared home thrive.

For more details: santafecf.org. 

Gerard’s House: Helping Children and Families Through Loss

“New Mexico ranks the highest in the nation for childhood bereavement, with 1 in 7 kids experiencing the death of sibling or parent before age 18,” says Gerard’s House Executive Director Nicole Maes-Gonzales. Gerard’s House supports children and families by providing free bilingual bereavement services to those experiencing the death or separation from a loved one. The organization offers weekly peer support groups, individual sessions, summer camps, teen movie nights, crisis response, and caregiver support to youth aged 3 to 21, as well as adult support groups. 

Maes-Gonzales’ connection to the organization runs deep and her life mirrors that of many of those Gerard’s House serves – she lost a parent at age four, and her only sibling and remaining parent before she was 27. She served first as a volunteer since the organization’s inception in 1997, then as a board member. She became Executive Director eight years ago. Today Maes-Gonzales directs 10 staff and a budget of over $700,000 that comes from individual and corporate donations, foundations, faith communities and local, state, and federal grants. Programs are delivered by more than 70 volunteers ranging in ages from 20 to 94. This dedicated cohort includes mental health professionals, students studying counseling, and those who have suffered their own losses. 

For All Types of Grief

For Gerard’s House, grief encompasses not only the death of a loved one, but also separation through incarceration, deportation, abandonment, kidnapping, or borders. To serve this latter growing community, the organization created Nuestra Jornada, a group specially designed for families with immigrant roots from Mexico and Central America that incorporates cultural traditions into healing. 

“We’ve also adapted to serve those who don’t feel safe leaving their homes by reactivating the virtual support groups we offered during the pandemic,” she says. Gerard’s House expanded its reach further by opening a physical space in the Española Valley and adding support groups designed with and serving the Native American community. 

“There was no place like Gerard’s House for me when I was a child,” Maes-Gonzales says of how Gerard’s House aims to change the stigma surrounding grief and mental health, fostering a grief-sensitive community through education and outreach. “My heart fills when I see kids learning how to support themselves in the future with tools they’ll use over a lifetime. When I think of the ripple effect of how those tools can be extended to partners and community members and that cultural shift, that’s success.” 

Story by Kelly Koepke
Photos Courtesy of Gerard’s House

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The Art of Generosity is a storytelling series made possible through underwriting by the Santa Fe Community Foundation. Each feature shines a light on a local nonprofit shaping the cultural, social, and economic fabric of our region. By elevating these stories, the Foundation furthers its role in connecting people with the organizations as well as causes that help our shared home thrive.

The Forest Stewards Guild (FSG), founded in Santa Fe in 1995, recently celebrated 30 years promoting responsible forest management across the United States. FSG fills a vital niche connecting science, policy, and also landowners across the nation. They offer programs as varied as research, youth training and intern initiatives, to tree planting and innovative wildfire prevention. FSG’s small, passionate staff of 35 is stationed across the country. They operate with a budget of about $5.5 million per year – a combination of federal funding, grants, sponsorships and dues from its almost 900 person membership. Most members also professionally engage with the life of forests such as foresters, wildlife professionals, and water quality experts.

Inside the Forest Stewards Guild: 30 Years of Innovation in Forest Management

Executive Director Zander Evans’ extensive background in ecological research and the human impact on forests took him from Providence, RI to work as a cartographer and spatial analyst with the US Geological Survey, to a PhD from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. 

“My wife is from Santa Fe. As soon as I finished my PhD in 2006, she was waiting in the driveway with a moving truck ready to return,” he says of his move to New Mexico. He became FSG’s first Director of Research that year, moving into the Executive Director role in 2017.  

A New Headquarters

This year, the organization purchased its 5,600 sq. ft. building on Warner Circle with help from the Santa Fe Community Foundation, the New Mexico Finance Authority, and Washington Federal Bank. Now the staff has office and meeting space. The garage houses firefighting tools, camping gear as well as other equipment vital to its mission of protecting forest health. 

Evans believes that responsible forest management is about doing, learning, and collaborating for the long-term. His philosophy is reflected in FSG’s ongoing growth and also community-focused approach.  

“The Guild’s work is incredibly rewarding because we see the positive impact of responsible stewardship every day. What I most pride myself on is identifying gaps where we can make a difference. For example, we introduced AI wildfire detection cameras in New Mexico, which was a small but impactful project. It makes me feel good when a small organization like ours can jump in and solve a problem. We have a great team, creative ideas, and are making connections. Those connections are only possible because of individual relationships and trust built over a long time.” 

For more information, visit here.

Story by Kelly Koepke
Photos Courtesy of Forest Stewards Guild

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