Karina Armijo

Director

Karina Armijo comes to the Outdoor Recreation Division with 27 years of experience supporting small businesses and events in Northern New Mexico in both the public and private sectors. After receiving a B.S. in Design from the University of Cincinnati, Karina spent time at Los Alamos National Laboratory working in the communications department.

She later continued her career in the private sector providing creative and web design services for the tourism and outdoor recreation-related industries. Most recently, she spent eight years with the Town of Taos as the first Director of Marketing and Tourism, developing and managing local and regional programs to support businesses and events throughout the Enchanted Circle. Outside of work, Karina enjoys spending time in the outdoors, whether learning a new activity like fly fishing or tackling her lifelong love of trail running and hiking; she finds exploring and recreating in the great outdoors her sanctuary.

AJ Jones

Deputy Director

AJ Jones is an outdoor enthusiast with a decade of both marketing and natural resource management experience, including wildland firefighting. Their love for outdoor recreation work started with her first position as a teen with YCC in Oregon. She holds a bachelor’s degree in environment, planning, and design, a master’s degree in community and regional planning, and a master’s degree in water resources with a focus on policy from the University of New Mexico. They have guided marketing and design for dozens of businesses, with promotions seen in state, national and international media; and her branding and design work graces several iconic places. AJ has also been a part of several habitat restoration and ecological study projects over the years including UNM’s Sustainable Water Resources Grande Challenge and BEMP’s Advanced Internship studying burn sites in the Middle Rio Grande Bosque. They have called New Mexico home since 2007 when they moved for college and have been enchanted ever since. AJ spends their time between Albuquerque and Taos with their extended family.

Alongside their career, AJ can be found running through the woods searching for tents with food, a.k.a. doing ultra-marathons. They also enjoy spending time on the beautiful trails of New Mexico backpacking with their spouse and dog, advocating for gender-inclusive running races, and gardening.

Carl Colonius

Outdoor Recreation Planner

Carl Colonius is a long-time resident of northern New Mexico. In 1995, he co-founded Rocky Mountain Youth Corps in Taos, and was the Executive Director until transitioning out of the organization after 20 years. He then launched Colonius Consulting to focus on rural community sustainability. Projects included national service expansion in New Mexico, assisting in the development of the Enchanted Circle Trails Plan, then fronting Enchanted Circle Trails Association, and supporting strategic partnerships and organizational capacity with a multitude of local governments. In 2022, New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division invited Carl to join their team as an Outdoor Recreation Planner. Carl lives in Arroyo Hondo north of Taos, has been married to Romy for 25 years, and has three children, all graduates of Taos High School. Carl skis, bikes, kayaks, backpacks, gardens, assigns chores, is a parciante on the Acequia Madre del Llano, and can be found tooling around the west in an old airstream.

Michelle Simon

Marketing & Outreach Coordinator

Michelle Simon is a passionate outdoor enthusiast dedicated to ensuring equitable access to the diverse and expansive outdoor recreation opportunities in New Mexico. She is committed to helping the state’s outdoor economy thrive. Michelle brings over a decade of marketing experience to ORD through various entrepreneurial ventures and her work in the nonprofit sector. She started her career in Chicago, where she earned a BFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago and founded a photography business that celebrated and brought visibility to the stories of LGBTQ+ families through portraiture.

Now residing in Las Cruces, NM, Michelle spends her time outside of work exploring the mountains via mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking, trail running, and volunteering for youth-centered outdoor clubs and nonprofits. She also enjoys gardening, identifying local flora and fauna, and learning about the unique biodiversity and deep history of the Chihuahuan Desert and beyond.