The most important part of keeping any non-profit organization running is its leadership. SouthWest Writers maintains an entirely volunteer board of directors. Each individual oversees one or more activities of the group. Most of the members of the board are volunteers. The Executive Committee oversees the day-to-day running of the organization and is empowered to make financial and legal decisions on our behalf. They are elected by a majority vote of those members of the organization who choose to participate in the voting process.
NOTE: ONLY SWW Members are allowed to vote.
We ask that all SouthWest Writers members show their support of these dedicated volunteers by casting their votes. Link to election ballot is at the bottom of this page.
The 2026 Nominees are:
President
Kimberly Rose
Kim Rose has been a member of SouthWest Writers since her college days. She’s been working on the board of directors on and off for over a decade. Kimberly Rose has a BA in English from University of New Mexico. She’s published several award-winning short stories and hopes to publish her first novel soon. She has worked as an EMT and currently works as a technical writer.
Vice President
Allen Herring
Allen (he/him) is an award-winning writer and artist. He is a queer, mixed race individual raised in Northern New Mexico, but has made Albuquerque his home. He enjoys writing stories that would fall into speculative sciencefantasy-realism, but only because he sees life as a spectrum of all genres. He has a master’s degree in Cultural Studies. He has been a member of Southwest Writers for several years and has been serving on the Board as the Sage Anthology Project Manager. He is a single parent and a proud cat dad.
Secretary
Helen Jack
Helen A. Jack has been a member of SWW since 2024. She writes in a variety of genres, such as fantasy, science fiction, and gothic suspense. She lives in Albuquerque, NM with her amazing husband and three young sons.
Treasurer
Cornelia Gamlem
Cornelia is an “accidental author” who started writing when she collaborated with a colleague on The Big Book of HR. They’ve written seven more business books, a weekly blog, and columns and articles for other business publications and platforms. She’s served on SWW’s board since 2021.