Danika Bodmer

Danika has been a vital part of the Mama’s Minerals staff for the past 7 years. If you’ve ordered from our web site, it’s very likely that the loopy scribbles of Danika’s handwriting are somewhere on your package. She’s been working the back rooms of Mama’s Internet Department since she was sixteen, minus her excursions to New Zealand, Russia and Japan. As Danika describes it, though much of her time is spent "in her cave filling web site orders to the soundtrack of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'", she has proven invaluable in organizing the Albuquerque inventory. She has recently been reintroduced into the world as a cashier at Mama’s Santa Fe store, where she hobnobs with people from around the world and speaks bad Russian and Japanese to tourists who smile and nod politely.

Danika moved to Santa Fe to join the circus, learning aerial fabric, trapeze, clowning, and acrobalance at Wise Fool New Mexico. A sweet (though not particularly mild mannered) rock shop clerk by day, in the evenings she’s transformed into her circus alter ego, ZaZaJanx, a glittery-unitard-wearing high flyer who plays twenty feet in the air, supported by nothing but a few strips of fabric. To follow her circus adventures, check out her blog at zazajanx.worpress.com.

Merlene Dubre

After retiring from a position as a health care tech at the University of New Mexico Newborn Intensive Care Unit, Merlene decided to pursue her passion for rocks by coming to work for Mama’s Minerals. As our new floor person, she is happy to help answer any questions and is very eager to learn.

Hailing originally from the Dine reservation in Ganado, AZ, Merlene is a metalsmith, beader, and rockhound. She belongs to the Albuquerque Gem and Mineral Club and frequently goes on digs with the Friends of Archaeology through the New Mexico Museum Foundation. http://www.museumfoundation.org/friends-archaeology.

In her spare time, Merlene plays the stand up bass and the twelve string guitar in a group called The Sturdy Girls. She also loves to spend time with her five grandchildren and newest great grandchild.

Daniel Kessler

Daniel is the new bear in our Internet Department cave. He has come roaring into the company redesigning, restructuring, and reformatting the Mama’s Minerals web site product inventory and marketing. All the fancy new products you see on the web site are his doing, and we are excited to welcome the changes he has initiated.
 
Daniel brings to Mama’s an extensive work history and lots of experience in the marketing world. Boasting two Master’s degrees in Marketing and Strategic Planning, his last job was based in Dubai, UAE working for a national consumer goods company. His primary goal for the Internet Department is to bring our web site to one of the top ten web sites in the world for our industry—a commendable goal that we wholeheartedly support!

In his spare time, Daniel enjoys human-powered outdoor sports. He is also an accomplished home brewer, and has won state and regional competitions for his creative beer concoctions. Daniel’s favorite items in the store are the quartz skulls, because they remind him of the ancient Meso-American skulls of the Aztec and Mayan cultures.

Trish Lea

As a life-long rockhound and devoted customer of our Santa Fe store, Trish came in to purchase a crystal and, as luck had it, also found a job. Trish's former profession of 25 years was in television advertising. Trish says that she has been receiving an invaluable education while working at Mama's Minerals, learning the science and vibrational aspects of Mama’s extensive inventory of rocks, gems, minerals, fossils and beads. Trish is also a talented artist and photographer, having studied photography in Venice, Italy before starting her career in television.

In recent years, Trish has walked to raise money and awareness for her favorite non-profit, Autism Speaks. She continues to support Autism Speaks, hoping that the future will bring greater understanding and acceptance of this mysterious disorder, leading to a cure.

After moving to over two acres of land in Santa Fe in 1990, Trish was able to rescue and raise five beautiful wolf-dogs that were destined for a short future. She does not recommend that everyone try it. Acreage, high fences, understanding, and wolf education are a must before taking on this commitment. A favorite wolf organization that she supports and has donated to regularly is Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in Ramah, NM. Trish thinks that visiting the sanctuary is a must for anyone who loves wolves and wants to be close to these beautiful and wild spirits.

Jo Anne Mathews

Jo Anne Mathews, our resident lapidarist and one of our beading instructors, came to Mama's Minerals in 2006 as a sales associate. With her extensive background in the jewelry business, Jo Anne quickly moved to managing our Lapidary Room. Since the early 70's, Jo Anne has been polishing her skills in lapidary, beading, fine jewelry production and sales. Come by our Albuquerque store Wednesday through Sunday and Jo Anne will cut open your geodes, drill your stones, and polish off the broken corner of your favorite crystal. She'll also answer your questions on saws, grinders, rock tumblers and drill bits.

In 2008, Jo Anne started making stone, wood, bone and shell guitar picks. Each pick is a hand carved polished piece of practical art, perfect for collectors and musicians alike, such as Santana and Cyndi Lauper, both of whom own some. Recently, Jo Anne has begun transforming her guitar picks into wearable art and jewelry, now available as earrings and pendants.

Visit our Albuquerque store to see Jo Anne's handmade, one-of-a-kind works of art. Also available online: JAM Guitar Picks

Alberto Ortega

Alberto joined our team the middle of last year (2010). A valuable member of the team, he was recently promoted to Events Coordinator and now oversees all of Mama's classes, workshops, field trips, birthday parties and other special events.

To Schedule an Event:
Alberto Ortega
Events Coordinator
Mama's Minerals
505-266-8443
events@mamasminerals.com

Alberto is also a family man and an active member of the community. Social justice and human rights are very important to him. Alberto has a part time job teaching parenting classes with Enlace Comunitario, a social justice organization, and works with El CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos, the only Latino immigrants’ rights organization based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

For fun and as an artistic outlet, Alberto performs and teaches Aztec dancing. His group has performed at the Smithsonian Institute, the Kennedy Center and countless other performance spaces. Alberto's group not only teaches the art form, but also the history, tradition, and culture behind the dance, through free and low cost Aztec dance classes and workshops.

Kris Parrot

Assistant Manager Kris Parrot can often be found playing with rocks while working. She is Mama’s Minerals’ display maven and is in charge of making products look irresistible.

Though Kris has an impressive resume, which includes a Masters Degree in Latin American Studies, her passion lies in producing fabulous works of art. Her favorite art media are assemblages, mixed media collage, and stone carving. Kris gains great inspiration from the natural environment and incorporates her ideas of caring for the earth in each piece she makes. Most objects from her assemblages are found and recycled items, insuring the uniqueness of every art piece. Each of the carved stone hands, bears, and elephants bearing Kris’s signature also reflect her love for nature and her unique talents.  

When Kris is not busy making artwork or admiring our newest piece of petrified wood (her favorite item in the store), she loves to read detective novels and go for nature walks.

Kris's work is available for sale at our Albuquerque store and at Amapola Art Gallery.

Amanda Rice

Amanda is Mama’s Minerals’ resident geologist.  Hailing from a long line of geologists, miners, assayers, and rockhounds reaching back to her grandfather and great uncles, it was only natural for Amanda to become a part of the Mama’s Minerals family after graduating from UNM with a BA in Geology. Amanda’s father instilled in her a passion for the earth at a young age on camping trips in her native Colorado.  

In her spare time she loves mountain biking, long distance running, reading and cooking. Her favorite place to run is still in those beautiful Colorado mountains where she grew up.

Amanda teaches our kids' geology classes and hosts our birthday parties. She loves children and is thinking of one day becoming a science teacher. Amanda is welcoming her first child this June and all the Mama’s Minerals’ staff is excited for her to bring her little one to work. Her favorite store items are the globes with countries of inlaid stone.

Marissa Rodriguez

Marissa has been a valued employee of Mama's Minerals for over 10 years now. With her vast knowledge of minerals, fossils, beads, and all things crafty, Marissa has been our go to person. When we need an answer to a question, ask Marissa. Which metal detector is right for me?  How do opals form? How do I tumble polish obsidian? Marissa will have the answer, or she'll find it to add to her endless pool of knowledge.

Marissa started as a sales clerk, progressed to assistant manager, and now oversees the daily operations of our Internet department. When you buy from our online store, she's the woman who makes it happen. She's a multi-faceted individual and an all around gem.

Diana Romero

Diana is our rock, metaphorically and literally. Our Head Cashier, Diana is always at the cash register ready to greet and help everyone. She is the go-to woman when any employee has a question and in her five years of service to Mama’s Minerals customers, she has accumulated quite a lot of stone knowledge.

Growing up, Diana was always an enthusiastic rockhound and beader, which is what brought her to work at Mama’s Minerals. She also has a soft spot for marbles and spheres, with quite a sizeable collection at home.

Diana can be seen always wearing a pendant of her favorite stone, Black Tourmaline. In her spare time she likes to relax, watch movies, and enjoy her two beautiful granddaughters who have been known to call her their "Queen."

Taylor Roth

Most people see Taylor and think he is a rock star (he is to us), but this interesting character is actually the newest edition to the Mama’s Minerals sales floor. Recently having moved back to Albuquerque from New York City, Taylor was drawn to work at Mama’s Minerals because he loves rocks and fossils. He has fond memories of collecting rocks while growing up in Los Lunas, NM, and his favorite thing in the store is the Ammonite Fossils.

Aside from living in the Big Apple, Taylor has studied cinematography and has worked on such notable sets as Indiana Jones, Transformers and Breaking Bad. He can often be seen riding his electric green bike to and from work, so please keep an eye out for him! In his spare time Taylor likes to rock out on his vintage Rickenbacker 4003 bass guitar, draw, make screen prints, and listen to his sizeable record collection. 

Steve Sanders

Steve is our web wiz in the Internet department. Initially hired to rebuild the old Mama’s Minerals web site, Steve oversees ongoing web site development and assists with marketing, web analytics, search engine optimization, web site content, technical support and other Internet-related tasks. This month (June 2011) is his two-year anniversary with Mama’s Minerals, and he loves the creativity and variety of projects and tasks he works on in his day-to-day operations. His favorite things in the store are the inlaid Earth globes and fantastic mineral specimens.

Steve rides his bicycle to and from work nearly every single day. He estimates that he saves 1 1/2 - 2 tons of carbon emissions pollution every year by commuting, shopping and running errands by bike. Please watch out for him and the many other bike riders on the road, as an increased number of cyclists have suffered deaths and serious injuries in Albuquerque this year as a result of drivers not paying attention or respecting the rights of cyclists. We value him very much.

In his spare time, Steve likes to take long workout rides on his bike, hike, bird watch, throw boomerangs, write, and spend quality time with his son Jonathan.

Yvette Sandoval

Some might say that Yvette is the mother of every rock and bead that comes through the doors of Mama’s Minerals. She has purchased, inventoried, weighed, and priced nearly every item in all three stores. As the heartbeat of Mama’s staff, it's very important to Yvette that she help each employee find their niche to blossom. A strong believer in education, not only has Yvette studied biology at UNM, she encourages all her staff to seek further education and is eager to teach employees new things about our business every day.

Though Yvette knew very little about the rock and bead business when she started with Mama’s in 1996, she is now the ultimate reference. Her excellent management skills can no doubt be attributed to her years of mothering her two fabulous kids, now teenagers. Yvette spent her early years at Mama's teaching kids' classes and running our kids' geology outreach program.

In addition to making jewelry, Yvette loves to read, dance, travel, and cook. (We like her to cook, too.)  She is very involved in her neighborhood and church communities, and her favorite store items are Selenite and Copper in any shape or form.

Carrie Shockley

Carrie’s experience running her own Etsy vintage store groomed her for the Mama’s Minerals Internet Department. She loves stones as much as vintage goodies, and it was this love that led her to apply for the shipping clerk position where she now pulls orders, takes inventory, and boxes items for the website. Her most recent stone adoption was a large Lepidolite pebble she nicknamed “Leppy.”  She feels that the best part about working in the Internet Department is that she doesn’t have to deal with any belligerent people, something she was well acquainted with after bartending for ten years.  Can we link to lepidolite on website?  

A self-professed “EduPunk,” Carrie has been homeschooling her son for the past eighteen years and values a do-it-yourself attitude toward acquiring knowledge. She also enjoys exploring the lakes of New Mexico with her kayak almost every weekend. In her spare time, she binds books and creates mixed media artwork.
Carrie’s experience running her own Etsy vintage store groomed her for the Mama’s Minerals Internet Department. She loves stones as much as vintage goodies, and it was this love that led her to apply for the shipping clerk position where she now pulls orders, takes inventory, and boxes items for the web site. Her most recent stone adoption was a large Lepidolite pebble she nicknamed “Leppy.”  She feels that the best part about working in the Internet Department is that she doesn’t have to deal with any belligerent people, something she was well acquainted with after bartending for ten years.  

A self-professed “EduPunk,” Carrie has been homeschooling her son for the past eighteen years and values a do-it-yourself attitude toward acquiring knowledge. She also enjoys exploring the lakes of New Mexico with her kayak almost every weekend. In her spare time, she binds books and creates mixed media artwork.

Astarte Stakes

One of the best parts about working in the Santa Fe store for Astarte is meeting all the happy tourists who come to shop and share in her love for stones. As a transplant from Florida, she too fell in love with New Mexico while on vacation and feels that living in Santa Fe is magical. As our newest salesperson, Astarte enjoys making jewelry and working with stones. She also has a broad background in hands on healing and became connected to the metaphysical aspects of stones during her ten years as a professional healer.  

Though she greatly appreciates the beauty of every item in the store, her favorite piece is a smokey quartz skull that flashes rainbow colors when turned. In her spare time she likes to hike, hold ceremony with friends, and make chocolate.

Josiah Torres

After his grandmother sparked Josiah’s interest in beading, he decided to apply for a job with Mama’s Minerals at the young age of fourteen. By the age of fifteen, he was teaching our kids' and adult jewelry classes. He has since held a myriad of positions at Mama’s, including e-commerce assistant manager, sales clerk, events coordinator, and his current position as graphic designer and marketing guru. Those who have seen our billboards and ads can appreciate Josiah’s versatility and creativity. Online and in the community, his gifted eye for design and sense of humor help make Mama’s Minerals one of the most sought after rock destinations in the U.S.

An avid beader, Josiah has entered multiple pieces in the New Mexico state fair, and recently paired with a friend to start their own company, Tierra Designs. Their custom pieces run the gamut from elegant pearls to elaborate rosary designs. See their work at TierraDesigns.net.

Josiah loves spending time with family, working out, hiking, sewing, traveling, and seeking out new spiritual experiences. His favorite stone is moldavite.