Kathy Ulibarri
Chief Executive Officer

Katherine (Kathy) Ulibarri is Chief Executive Officer of the Collaborative for Higher Education Shared Services, Inc. (CHESS). As CEO, she sets the vision and strategic direction for CHESS and leads the deployment of strategic priorities.

Kathy also owns K Ulibarri Consulting, LLC., where she shares her rich experience as a senior level executive with others in need of executive coaching, strategic planning guidance, and management consulting expertise. She cultivates executives and leaders who dream big and embrace their ability to bring about positive change by clarifying their vision, eliminating barriers to action, and achieving positive results.

Prior to forming K Ulibarri Consulting, LLC, Kathy served as Vice President for Finance & Operations at Central New Mexico Community College, the state’s largest community college. In that role, she was the Chief Financial Officer and oversaw strategic planning, institutional research, finance, treasury management, accounting, information technology services, construction, maintenance and operations, human resources, labor relations, procurement, contracts and grants, among other duties. Before that, she served as Executive Director of Planning, Budget and Institutional Research and as Special Assistant to the President at CNM.

Previously, Kathy served as the Deputy Director and as Interim Cabinet Secretary at the New Mexico Higher Education Department. She was the Budget Director for Albuquerque Public Schools; held several posts at the New Mexico Commission on Higher Education; and worked at the University of New Mexico, including as Director for Cooperative Education.

Kathy contributes time to a variety of boards and organizations and currently serves as Treasurer on the board of Homewise, Inc. She earned a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Business Administration from University of New Mexico.

Greg Saunders
Chief Operating Officer

Greg Saunders is Chief Operating Officer for CHESS. He brings over 20 years of senior leadership experience in operations, information technology, and project management to CHESS. In this role, he oversees CHESS projects in a collaborative, high-performing work environment and forges partnerships with leaders and teams at member colleges. He is the Senior Program Manager over implementations and directs and manages all program-related activities, ensuring alignment of processes to the CHESS vision among the members. In addition, he provides operational planning and establishes procedures to help grow the CHESS nonprofit organization.

Prior to CHESS, Greg acted as an independent advisor for various clients interested in software implementation, programs, policies, and procurement in the government sector. He also serves as a part-time instructor at Central New Mexico Community College teaching college-level courses in the business and computer fields.

Greg was the Judiciary Chief Information Officer for the New Mexico Supreme Court through the Administrative Offices of the Courts. He managed a statewide technical program and was directly involved with strategic policy.

Previously, Greg served as Chief Information Officer for the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, overseeing four major programs including tax revenue collection, oil and gas royalties, motor vehicle department, and property taxes. He was also Chief Information Officer and Deputy Executive Director of the New Mexico Gaming Control Board. He was instrumental in setting up the IT infrastructure, creating new policy and rules, implementing and electronic monitoring system for slot machines, creating a licensing process, and assisting licensees with setup, operations, and compliance.

Greg obtained both his Master of Arts in Organizational Management and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Laura J. Mulry
Communications Officer

Ms. Mulry has been a higher education professional for more than 20 years. As the Communications Officer, she oversees marketing and public relations for the six-college consortium to support the objectives of CHESS leadership. She coordinates the CHESS Communications Team, with representatives from each member college who contribute their expertise, and oversees media relations, branding, and web content management.

Concurrently, Ms. Mulry serves as Santa Fe Community College’s Assistant Executive Director of Marketing and Public Relations and as its Policy Officer. Along with her colleagues, she works to cultivate and engage prospective and current students and to build relationships with stakeholders.

Before joining SFCC, Ms. Mulry oversaw the New Mexico Regional Development Corporation’s Accelerate program, a coalition of six colleges and universities providing students enhanced academic and professional opportunities. She was the state’s first Director of Communications at the New Mexico Higher Education Department, where she managed public relations, built networks across institutions, and coordinated the nation’s first statewide Higher Education Campus Safety Task Force. 

Ms. Mulry holds a Master of Arts in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College, Santa Fe; a Superior Diploma in French Language and Culture from L’Université de Strasbourg, France; and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from University of Dallas. She is a graduate of Leadership Santa Fe. 

Trish Heaton
Talent Training & Development Officer

Trish Heaton is the Talent Training & Development Officer for CHESS. She brings over 16 years in higher education, and over 12 years focused on training, learning, and development. As Training Officer, Trish will manage training for the Workday Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation and Student Information System. She also will develop programs to support functions outside of these projects. Before joining CHESS, Trish was the Director of Learning and Development at CNM, the Co-Coordinator for the Workday Training Team, and a member of the Human Resources Workstream and Change Management Team. Previously, she has held roles in human resources, organizational development and training at UNM.

Prior to her work in higher education, Trish spent 16 years in the hospitality sector working for Marriott International including roles in all areas of hotel management. During her career, she has successfully led implementation of system and training rollouts, establishing new departments, enterprise-wide training implementations, and launching an Employee Learning Management System.

She has an associate degree from CNM and a Bachelor of Business Management from UNM.