Dominic Cappello, Co-Director of the Anna, Age Eight Institute spoke with Adrian Carver, the new regional manager for the metro region of New Mexico about why he chose to accept his new role and his thoughts on positive change in New Mexico.

Question: The mission of the Anna, Age Eight Institute is to prevent childhood trauma and social adversity by ensuring all families have access to vital services. What attracted you to this groundbreaking project?

In a world rife with misinformation, I am inclined toward solutions-oriented projects rooted in research, evidence-based practices, and common sense logic. The Anna, Age Eight Institute provides the framework to employ these tools in solving today’s problems. I have long been passionate about supporting community members in developing and honing a sense of civic identity. That is, people having a sense of who they are and how they interact with systems of support and decision-making. Participating in our communities (and helping others to do so, too) is a sure way to combat the forces who aim to subjugate us.

Question: What skill sets do you bring to the institute and to our local initiative partners and change agents?

Many people in the community know me as a natural connector, someone who thinks deeply and critically, and a systems change advocate. As a kid, I was often described as observant and in tune with my senses. I use these skills in my public policy, public relations, organizational management, and communications work. As a generational New Mexican, fighting for economic and educational justice is a heritage that runs in my blood. My aunt Lola, namesake of Dolores Gonzales Elementary in Downtown Albuquerque, was among the first Hispanic women to earn a doctorate in education, and she pioneered dual language education in the state. My mom has been a tireless education advocate, fighting for children and their needs. I learned from them that it takes normal, everyday people to make good things happen.

Question: With our public health and public education goals, we are talking about transforming the adverse social determinants of health into the positive social determinants of health, meaning, ensuring ten vital services in each community across the state. It’s never been done in the US. What do you think about the boldness of this long-term plan?

Doing what we know works, shouldn’t be considered bold. I want my family to live in a world where systems work properly and a person’s access to opportunity isn’t determined by the zip code they live in.

Question: How have you seen childhood trauma impact families and communities? How have you seen social adversity in the form of lack of access to vital services impact families and communities?

Like many parents, mine were determined to make sure that my sister and I “made it.” That’s not to say things were easy for us. I remember waiting in the lobby of the WIC office down the road from our house. I’m confident that the availability of milk and cheese is one of the reasons I’m here today. That support helped my family survive when we needed it. We are living proof that when families have access to assistance, it works. But that wasn’t the case for many of my classmates or even extended family members. Years and generations of substance misuse and trauma manifested themselves in the childhoods of many of my neighbors and relatives.

Question: What are the strengths you see in New Mexico and their capacity to address disruptions to healthcare, schools, jobs, and vital services?

New Mexicans are resilient. Proudly, with calluses on our souls, our families have learned how to survive and thrive in this high desert for generations on end. Ingenuity and grit are in our blood, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the lives we live together.

Question: Ensuring vital services means working with ten different service sectors, from medical care to job training to early childhood learning programs. What are your ideas about doing local work, promoting capacity-building and collaboration across agencies in a county?

If I learned anything from my dad, it was to work hard and build things. I love building relationships with the hardworking and long-committed people and organizations in our communities. Expertise comes from experience. It’s the people doing direct service (and the people they serve) who are the experts in what our communities need. I also love experimenting! I am naturally curious and often find myself asking the question, “How does that work?” I find the scientific process informative to many aspects of my life, including working locally and across sectors. I believe in shared truth, and I know that you can’t manage what you can’t measure. That’s why I’m so excited about my role with the Anna, Age Eight Institute. Working with experts in dynamic, innovative ways to shift systems toward justice fills my soul.

Question: What fuels your commitment to equality and justice?

My family, my mother, my father, my sister, my husband, and Granny Cordelia, who at 98 is the matriarch of a family with a heritage of activism, education reform, and mutual aid. If we choose to, we have the ability to lift and support everyone in our communities. My family inspires me to fight as hard as I can to see that we make that choice collectively.