Mayor Keller Announces New Hires

The City of Albuquerque has filled key roles across departments to support important initiatives. New hires in Economic Development, Policy, and General Services will fill important needs and help advance work in the community. Each of these hires brings their own extensive experience that will help optimize work within their departments to achieve positive outcomes for the City and for the people of Albuquerque.   

Alex Colbert-Taylor, Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II Coordinator, General Services Department

Alex Colbert-Taylor, Albuquerque's newly appointed Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II Coordinator, brings a wealth of experience and passion to his role. Alex is an attorney by training, with a long history of disability rights advocacy. His diverse prior work includes providing legal assistance to marginalized communities such as low-income seniors in New Mexico and homeless individuals in Atlanta, as well as working with FEMA to ensure the equitable treatment of natural disaster survivors with disabilities across the nation. He grew up in Athens, Georgia, attended the University of Georgia, and obtained his JD at the University of Michigan. Together with his two children, Alex has called Albuquerque home for six years.  

Enthusiastic about fostering inclusivity, Alex is committed to ensuring that every individual, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, enjoys equal access to the city's programs, services, and facilities. His dedication to this cause reflects not only his professional background but also a personal commitment to creating a more accessible and inclusive Albuquerque for all. 

Rachel Snyder, Bloomberg City Hall Fellow

Rachel Snyder joins the City of Albuquerque for a two-year term as a Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellow. The competitive fellowship matches emerging leaders with cities and is made available at no cost to the city through the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. Rachel is a recent graduate of the Master in Public Policy program at the Harvard Kennedy School. She focused her research and work in best practices for local, state, and federal actors to design policy and programs that reimagine the relationship between education and work. Prior to the Kennedy School, she worked for Washington, D.C. Public Schools, where she brought together business, public, and nonprofit partners in the region to expand work-based learning opportunities for D.C. youth and went on to support the passage of the first apprenticeship policy for K-12 students. 

During her time at the Kennedy School, she worked on workforce and education policy initiatives in the governor’s offices of Arizona and Wyoming and published longitudinal research on student outcomes for one of the first U.S. youth apprenticeship programs as a Project on Workforce research assistant. Previously, Rachel taught 8th grade science; her students’ stories are her motivation to create new pathways to good jobs. Rachel is a native Arizonan and holds a Bachelor of Arts in sustainability and political science from Arizona State University. She is an avid hiker and jigsaw puzzle enthusiast. 

Wade Taylor, Senior Economic Developer

Wade Taylor comes to the City of Albuquerque Economic Development Department as a seasoned real estate and economic development professional with decades of experience promoting sustainable economic growth. Most recently, Wade served as a site selection consultant, performing real estate and market analysis for the private sector. 

Wade has extensive experience in comparative investment mathematics, as well as lease, tenant, sales, labor, and business cost analyses, and market forecasting. He has played pivotal roles over the span of his career, including positions in marketing and tourism. 

Wade holds a degree in Regional Development & Land Use from the University of Arizona, and throughout his career he has worked closely with local stakeholders, crafting innovative strategies to drive economic growth, and foster a vibrant business ecosystem. He has participated in over 3 million square feet of industrial, office, special use and redevelopment projects, and is an expert in land use development. 

With the City of Albuquerque, Wade will leverage his analytical skillsets in feasibility analysis and public approval process to recruit, retain, and expand businesses in Albuquerque, creating a more diversified and resilient economy for local families.