Mayor Keller Announces Executive Appointments

Matthew Whelan is an accomplished leader with extensive project management skills. He has roots in Las Cruces, NM where he started his professional career as a teenager working for his grandfather’s sanitation company, Silva Sanitation. He began by assembling roll-out collection containers, cleaning containers, and riding on the collection trucks. After the business was sold, he worked for Mesilla Valley Disposal doing accounting work while he attended college. He has served as the Deputy Director of the Parks and Recreation Department since 2016. His career with the City of Albuquerque started as a Principal Accountant for the Department of Finance Administrative Service before advancing to the Parks and Recreation Department where he first became the Fiscal Manager, then the Deputy Director. Mr. Whelan has over 11 years of experience in finance and accounting, including auditing for City, County and Tribal Governments. Prior to the City of Albuquerque, he worked for six years with REDW, LLC one of the largest certified public accounting and business consulting firms in the Southwestern United States, with its main office located in Albuquerque. He is experienced in preparation and compilation of financial statements for government as well as non-governmental entities. Mr. Whelan holds degrees in Accounting and Finance Administration from New Mexico State University.

Tracy Dingmann brings 30 years of engaging and strategic print, broadcast and online communication experience to the Keller administration. In her two decades as a print reporter – 18 of those at the Albuquerque Journal – she explored the issues in the fields of education, art, politics and popular culture. In 2008, she left newspapers to join the nonprofit world as a columnist for the online news source, New Mexico Independent. She also worked as a news correspondent for KNME-TV’s “In Focus” and as executive producer for online news at KOB-TV. For the past five years she has served Bernalillo County as its website administrator and social media manager. Dingmann also serves her community through volunteer work and membership on diverse boards and foundations.

Patrick Montoya returns to the City of Albuquerque as the Director of the Department of Municipal Development, bringing a wealth of experience in local, state, and federal government. Prior to this role, he served as the Division Manager for the Office of Neighborhood Coordination. Having worked for the City since 1994, Mr. Montoya has also served as a Capital Investment Program Official, where he was responsible for the coordination, planning, and implementation of the City’s Capital Improvement Program, and also as the Deputy Director of the Department of Family and Community Services. Prior to working at the City, Mr. Montoya served as an aide to U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, where he worked on a broad portfolio of issues. He also served as the Secretary of Transportation at the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the Division Director for the State’s Labor Department. Mr. Montoya earned his degree from the College of Santa Fe.

Ms. Pierce has more than 30 years of experience working in the health field in the public and private sectors in New Mexico. Most recently she was the Manager for the School-Based Health Center Program at the University of New Mexico, Department of Pediatrics. Before her UNM position, Ms. Pierce provided public health consultation services to a wide range of government, private, and nonprofit organizations, hospitals, and schools and served as the New Mexico Department of Health District One Public Health Director. Ms. Pierce also spent more than a decade as a health care provider and administrator, including nine years at Presbyterian Healthcare Services. She earned her RN diploma from the Presbyterian School of Nursing. Ms. Pierce completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Denver and earned her Master’s degree from the University of New Mexico. She currently serves on the ARCA Board of Directors and is an elder at Covenant Presbyterian Church.