About

Corrales MainStreet Board of Directors

Sue Evatt – President

Since “retiring” to Corrales from Philadelphia in 2011, Sue has become an angel investor, entrepreneur, mentor, and advisor to early stage businesses and organizations in this community.  She has a broad technical and management background in nuclear power, aerospace, and technology based economic development.

Sue currently serves as a Director of Vara Wines in Albuquerque, and she joined the New Mexico Angels board in June, 2020.  She is past President of the Corrales Cultural Arts Council and incoming President of Corrales MainStreet.

Valerie Burkett - Vice President

Valerie Burkett is a third generation New Mexican with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of New Mexico. Valerie is an Associate Broker with Q Realty and has been practicing real estate for over 13 years. She settled here in the Village of Corrales over 8 years ago with her husband Zachary Burkett and three kids, Ella, Coen, and Avery. She moved to Corrales to offer her family a better quality of life. The sense of community, vibrant arts and culture, and rural living are what attracted Valerie to Corrales. She and her husband have been serving the Village of Corrales in various ways from her husband serving as District 6 Village Councilman, to serving on Corrales Elementary’s PTA board, leadership roles within the Village Cub Scout Pack, volunteering at community events, and now Valerie’s position on the Corrales MainStreet Board. “I am proud to call Corrales my home and volunteer on the Corrales MainStreet board with so many talented people who all share a common goal to help our community thrive.”

Angela Gutierrez – Executive Director

A proud HillTopper and graduate of Los Alamos High School, Angela is a home-grown New Mexican. Post high school, she attended the University of Arkansas Little Rock on a Division-One soccer scholarship. Earning a Bachelor of Arts in Human Communication Theory and Marketing, her career experience highlights sales, problem-solving, and work in the world of philanthropy. She lives in Corrales, where she and her husband are raising their children and contributing to the vitality of the village through a family-owned business. Angela joined Corrales MainStreet as a board member in 2020 and transitioned to the Executive Director position in July of 2021. She joined the organization because she believes strongly in community service and the value of volunteering.

Linda Parker – Treasurer

The common theme throughout Linda’s professional career has been sales in some format, whether it was a clothing buyer for a major department store, director of development for the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, a shareholder in an actuarial firm or owning two employee benefit firms. Currently her remaining benefit firm, Cafeteria Plan Company located on Corrales Road, is run by her daughter-in-law which affords Linda time for her passion for volunteerism. This passion has provided her opportunities to serve on non-profit boards such Anderson School of Management Foundation, NM Museum of Natural History Foundation, Albuquerque Community Foundation, Small Business Council of America, Corrales MainStreet (treasurer), and lastly co-founder of the Parker Center for Family Business, an affiliate of ASM at UNM.  PCFB offers family owned businesses educational opportunities to propel their operations to a more financial and emotional level of success, which runs parallel with Linda’s reason for joining CMS, which is to help our citizens continue our historical heritages and sustain our tax base revenue to protect our chosen lifestyle in our bucolic Village.

Jim Kruger – Past President

Jim has been an active member of Corrales MainStreet since 2006 when he and his wife, Patty, moved to Corrales from Santa Fe. He has served as CMS’ President, Vice President, Treasurer, and chair of the Economic Vitality Committee, Starry Night, and in a variety of other ways. Jim’s involvement in CMS is driven by a desire to contribute to the community where he lives and a desire to help the local business’ community flourish. His professional career was in commercial banking, having served as President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of three banks in New Mexico. Currently, Jim provides Financial Consulting services to his son’s business, Rio Grande Realty & Investments, LLC.  Being a volunteer for non-profit community organizations has been a big part of his nature. Being a volunteer has provided him the opportunity to meet and know a wide range of people that he might not otherwise have met. Jim’s greatest accomplishment is being Preston’s Grandpa.

Lynn Martinez

Lynn is a Navy brat. Her dad moved her family here in 1960. She pretty much considers herself a native. Lynn attended Sandia High School and University of New Mexico receiving a BA in journalism and political science. She is a rabid Lobo fan! Lynn has been a licensed real estate broker for 43 years and is an Associate Broker for Coldwell Banker Legacy specializing in residential real estate. She enjoys helping people with life's challenging transitions. Being a trusted advisor to her clients requires her to be a financial advisor, social worker and often a family therapist. 

Lynn has been a member of the Kiwanis Club of Corrales since 2007. She has served as a board member and is currently Chair of the Charitable Review Committee for Foundation Grants and Chair for Greeters & Thought for the Day.  She became a Board Member of Corrales MainStreet in 2019 and sits on the Economic Vitality committee and is the Co-Chair for Starry Night; which she has been involved with since 2015. She and her husband have lived in Corrales since 1995. He passed away in 2020 and she has no desire to be anywhere else but here where she has many friends and enjoys our small town feel. Lynn believes Corrales is truly an “oasis in the middle of the urban sprawl.”

Locally, Lynn is also a supporter of the Corrales Arts Center, Music in Corrales, Corrales Police, Corrales Fire Department and various committees. She is also a supporter of the UNM Lobo Club, UNM Foundation, St. Felix Pantry, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Joy Junction, Habitat for Humanity, KNME PBS, Roadrunner Food Bank & the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her desire is to make a positive difference in her community.

John Perea

John Perea was born and raised in Corrales, New Mexico where he is the co-owner of a local family business Perea’s Restaurant and Tijuana Bar. Mr. Perea graduated from the University of New Mexico with a double degree in Marketing and International Management with a minor in Economics. He has a background in natural resource project management, economics, marketing, and international management. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nicaragua in small business development from 1992-1996 where he provided training and technical assistance in accounting and general management to members of agricultural cooperatives and worked within local communities to enhance both micro enterprise base and tools used in the education system. He has worked on a variety of economic development, flood risk management, ecosystems restoration, and other watershed projects for Native American Tribes. He has overseen and worked on watershed restoration projects for Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Ohkay Owingeh, and Cochiti Pueblos. In addition to serving as a board member to Corrales Mainstreet, Mr. Perea is a Village of Corrales Farmland Preservation Farm Commissioner and serves on the Corrales Parks and Recreation Commission. 

Joel Gregory

Joel was raised in Corrales before going to college in San Luis Obispo, CA where he got his degree in Electrical Engineering. Later, he and his wife moved to Portland, OR, and in a bizarre career change, started a philanthropic brewery called Ex Novo in 2014. In an effort to both expand his business to an exciting new market, and return home to be close to his family (all who now live in Corrales), Joel started the third location of Ex Novo in Corrales in 2019, situated on over 3 acres right on Corrales Road. He strives to provide a welcoming and spacious community space that will leave a lasting, positive impact on what it means to be a resident of Corrales. He and his wife have four children, and he joined MainStreet to help shape the future for them and his neighbors.

Jerilyn Faye Emerson (aka Cookie)

Cookie was born in 1941 and lives in Corrales with her husband, John.  She is currently an active board member on Corrales MainStreet and is associated with several committees as assigned or needed. She is the Chair of the Corrales Garden Tour, a committee of Corrales Main Street. The garden tour is currently in its 14th year and raises approximately $11,000 – $15,000 each year. She organized, with two others, the Kiwanis Club of Corrales in 2006 and served as Secretary for 6 years, President in 2017 and Lt. Governor of the SW District in 2012. She also served as President of the Kiwanis Club of Albuquerque in 2010. Cookie has also been a member of the NM Symphony Guild, now called NM Music Guild, since 1985 where she chaired the NM Symphony Ball in 1995, the Silent Auction for Ball in 1993,  the Symphony of Trees in Winrock Center in 1990, and created a design house called La Casa de Musica alongside designer, Leslie Jackson; builder, Scott Patrick; and High Desert. Cookie joined Corrales MainStreet due to her involvement with the Garden Tour.

Maureen Cook

Maureen’s family moved to Corrales in 1983 when she was 10 years old. She earned a Finance degree at NMSU and worked at Intel Corporation for 13 years before becoming a stay-at-home mom with their 3 children; Kate, Ryan & Sara. She and her husband started a Supply Chain software company, Right Sized Inventory, in 2013 which Maureen is the owner of today, and the company is certified as a National Women’s Business Enterprise. She has been very involved in her children’s schools and she also volunteers at the Children’s Grief Center, is a board member for the New Mexico Soccer Foundation and coached youth soccer for 14 years. Maureen and her children started the “Dave Gives Back” campaign in 2021 to raise support and awareness for Search & Rescue after their family experienced the tragic loss of her husband and Kate, Ryan & Sara’s father, Dave, in the mountains of Colorado where they heavily relied on Search and Rescue. Maureen loves the foundation that Corrales has provided her family and believes strongly in “giving back” to your community. She joined Corrales MainStreet as a board member in 2020 and chaired the first annual Holly Daze online auction in conjunction with the Corrales Arts Center.