Директор по делам молодежи и семьи ушла из мэрии Санта-Фе спустя менее года работы

Lia Azul Salaverry, director of the Youth and Family Services Division, speaks to the public about the proposed Richards Avenue Micro Community project during a July 14 meeting at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center. Salaverry left her job with the city last week less than one year after she was hired in September. For the second time in as many years, the city of Santa Fe will be searching for a Youth and Family Services director following the departure of Lia Azul Salaverry last week. Salaverry’s departure after less than 12 months on the job leaves a hole in the city’s capacity to address its homelessness crisis at a time it is working to juggle a range of existing services and contracts and working to create a new homelessness strategic plan. Salaverry’s last day as a city employee was Aug. 18, according to city spokesperson Peter Olson. He declined to state whether she resigned or was fired, writing in a Wednesday email the city does not comment on personnel matters. Salaverry could not be reached for comment Wednesday. A public records request for her city personnel file is pending. City records custodian Juventino Alva wrote in an email Wednesday, one day after The New Mexican submitted the request, that it was “overly broad and burdensome” and that the office would send an update on its progress “on or about October 26, 2026.” Salaverry was hired in September and since January has been the main official responsible for coordinating the city’s homelessness response following the departure of former Community Health and Safety Director Henri Hammond-Paul at the end of former Mayor Alan Webber’s term in office. The city did away with the community health and safety director position as part of a reorganization of city government initiated by Mayor Michael Garcia this spring. Garcia said at the time responsibility for homeless services would revert to the Youth and Family Services director. Until a new director is hired, Olson wrote Community Services Director Sandra Emory will serve as the primary leadership contact for the division, which has six other employees. Asked if the division has enough capacity to manage all its current initiatives, Olson wrote Emory “has developed a comprehensive workplan to carry us through this time and until we can find a division director.” Prior to joining the city, Salaverry worked as a senior manager for Pallet, a company that makes modular shelters frequently used as transitional housing for the homeless, including in Santa Fe. She also previously worked as a policy adviser for the city of Oakland, Calif. Salaverry replaced former director Julie Sanchez, a longtime city employee who resigned last summer for a position in the state Aging and Long-Term Services Department. At the city of Santa Fe Salaverry helped organize a homelessness summit the city hosted in June and oversaw ongoing efforts to create a Pallet shelter community on city-owned land on Richards Avenue. An early neighborhood notification meeting for the site is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Salaverry was also responsible for managing the city’s contracts with homeless service provider Urban Alchemy, which currently manages the city-owned homeless shelter at 2801 Cerrillos Road. The City Council in June added $500,000 to Urban Alchemy’s one-year contract to run the shelter to make up for a funding shortfall and extended it for another six months for an additional $1.3 million. Links below are provided by a third-party ad network (RevContent). This publication does not endorse or guarantee the products, services, or claims featured.