Rayellen's Story
Additional Information
Born in Santa Fe and graduate of Valley High School in Albuquerque, I have loved my NM home my entire life. I moved away to go to college and pursue my career and was able to move back in 2015.
My life story is not one of privilege. My dad was a sheet metal worker and was on job sites on the Navajo Reservation. I went to elementary school in Tuba City, Ganado and Many Farms. as well as in Albuquerque and Texas. My life was upended at age 13 when my father died suddenly.
My stay at home mom was devastated. Left to raise me and my sister age 8 with few skills, she wasn't always able to make the best decisions for us. I have been on my own since I was 16 years old and only with the support of teachers at VHS who saw my potential was I able to graduate in the National Honor Society.
I put my husband through college while working as one of the first female store managers for a national drugstore chain in the 1980's. During this time, I took night classes at the local junior college and then graduated myself in 1991. I then went to work at PricewaterhouseCoopers which has taken me to almost every continent and given me opportunities to be a leader in a male-dominated industry.
I will soon be retired, and the DPNM and our Party will be my focus.
