Perinatal Associates of New Mexico, Ltd.
Dr. Terry Harper
By Lisa Ragsdale
Photos by Dan Quan
 Dr. Terry Harper, a perinatologist, is a very busy and happy woman. She calls my cell phone upon leaving the Santa Fe office of the Perinatal Associates of New Mexico, Ltd.—it’s been a long day of work, I’m sure - yet, Terry is incredibly upbeat and full of energy. We try to agree on a time and place to meet, but she’s throwing a baby shower this weekend, and is attending another next weekend. A “job perk,” she says, laughing. We finally agree in a flurry of email correspondence to meet face-to-face in Albuquerque, where she lives.
Terry works with a group of physicians who specialize in high-risk pregnancies. All of the physicians in this group are perinatologists, obstetricians who have received an additional two or three years of fellowship training in high-risk pregnancies. Their training includes intensive care and use of specialized obstetrical equipment, including ultrasound. Currently, Terry is the only female physician in the Albuquerque-based group.
Terry wasn’t always in the medical field, however. She was encouraged to pursue a career in engineering because she was good at math and science, and after graduating from Rice University with a degree in mechanical engineering, she went to work in the Silicon Valley. There, she “wasn’t particularly inspired” because her work was not “people related.” She moved on to work in the oil industry here in the Southwest, and the work was better, but “not satisfying.” It was then that Terry made a sharp transition from the oil fields of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico to the medical profession.
Click here to continue the story >>> |
|
New Mexico Junior Livestock Auction
By Monika Dziamka 
It is no surprise that Don Chalmers Ford understands horsepower, but the Rio Rancho -based company knows a thing or two about steer power as well. Thanks to Director of Community Relations Pamela Chavez and her fundraising group, My Fair Ladies, employees of the dealership and supporting members are learning even more about the business of livestock.
When Pamela joined the company in 2005, she and Don Chalmers created a group of women who pledge money toward the New Mexico State Fair Junior Livestock Auction, a cooperative organization between 4-H and Future Farmers of America clubs across the state. Children and young adults between the ages of 9 and 18 compete to sell animals they have helped raise in order to earn money for college or trade programs, start a business, or other future plans. Chalmers had by then also established Los Cuatos, a group of men committed to pledging a minimum of $2,000 each for NMJLA.
Click here to continue the story >>> |
Green Manure & Bats
By Beth Donahue
 Sharlene Grunerud and her husband Michel Alexander are dedicated organic farmers, having farmed together for 20 years, the last 10 full time at the No Cattle Company. Sharlene explains, “There are many cattle ranches all around us, and since we are an organic farm, we named the ranch No Cattle.”
Sharlene defines “organic” as food grown without synthetics such as petroleum-based ingredients, insecticides, or fungicides. With a strong commitment to the land, its creatures, and their happiness, they invite friends and customers to a big Hoe Down at the end of their growing season. (This term refers to the time of year farmers can put down their hoes.)
Both have a family history in agriculture, and they do all the farm work themselves, except for transplanting, when friends come to help, and the fruit harvest, when they hire help. Michael says, “When someone asks how many people work on the farm, I always reply, “Myself, Sharlene, and John—John Deere, that is.”
Click here to Continue the story >>> |
COVER STORY
