Los Alamos County Councilor Katrina Schmidt/Courtesy photo

BY KATRINA SCHMIDT
Los Alamos County Councilor

As the newest member of Los Alamos County Council, I want to introduce myself to those of you whom I haven’t yet met.

I am excited to have the opportunity to represent the people of Los Alamos and serve as a public official.

I began my professional career in public affairs working for the International Affairs Division of the Niigata Prefecture, a region of Japan comparable in population to the state of New Mexico. I presently teach fourth grade at Barranca Mesa Elementary and previously taught eighth grade in my home state of Wisconsin.

In my daily interactions, I connect with families, newcomers, and all of the individuals who make our educational system so amazing. I am eager to bring my perspective as an educator with experience in strategic communications.

Although my background is in education and international relations, I am interested in supporting a broad set of interests in our community. This includes measures to attract and support local businesses, addressing housing needs and vacant properties, increasing social services, and building tourism.

One initial focus is the needs of our children, preteens, and teens who are facing challenges in their formative years that we didn’t have, particularly with the spread of social media and early access to the Internet.

I want to make sure that we are supporting this demographic, and I seek to hear from youth and their parents regarding what they need and how better we can support them during this crucial developmental time in their lives.

I believe that the best path to serving our community is through direct engagement. I want to hear the voices, concerns and ideas for Los Alamos and White Rock’s future. I look forward to hearing from the community and am exploring different means of communication, including informal meetings.

Please feel free to reach out to me at any time. I can be reached at katrina.schmidt@lacnm.us.