New director at city Quality of Life Department

“It doesn’t seem like it’s been 23 years,” Carol Brey said about her return to Las Cruces in late 2022 to become director of the city’s Quality of Life Department (QLD).

Brey had been administrator of Thomas Branigan Memorial Library for four years when she became director of the El Paso Public Library in 2000, a position she held for a decade.

Brey later served as a foreign service officer for the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., including tenure in the office of U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the current chair of the Senate Subcommittee on State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development Management, International Operations and Bilateral International Development.

Brey was director of the State Department’s Office of American Spaces 2018-21, overseeing more than 600 cultural and information centers in nearly 130 countries around the world. These platforms, or “American Spaces,” were tasked with “creating an American experience for foreign nationals abroad,” Brey said, along with teaching about American history and culture, and even teaching English.

In addition to her work in Las Cruces and El Paso, Brey was a library administrator in Illinois, Oklahoma and Missouri. She was president of the American Library Association 2004-05, earning her a Wikipedia site.

At QLD, Brey oversees 140 employees and Branigan Library, city museums, senior programs, public art and the city’s volunteer network.

“Every one of them brings so much passion for what they do,” Brey said. The department also has “a very close connection to transit,” the city’s RoadRUNNER Transit public transportation system, Brey said.

Brey said she was interested in being QLD director because “I wanted to give back to the community,” and her skills and experience align with department programs and services.

At American Spaces, Brey provided direct support to nine South American countries through U.S. embassies in Argentina and Brazil, the city said in a news release. With that experience, Brey said she was drawn to the QLD in part because of its library and museums connections with Latin America and particularly the U.S.-Mexico border region and Chicano artists.

 “It’s a fascinating job,” she said. “There are a lot of diverse elements to this job.”

Brey also plays the flute and is looking forward to a personal connection with local musicians, she said.

Public art

The city’s Public Art program includes more than 60 pieces of public art.

“That’s a lot for a city this size,” Brey said. “I love that.”

Public art can be found at City Hall, Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley, Las Cruces Fire Station No. 3, Visit Las Cruces and elsewhere throughout the city.

Volunteer Network

The city’s Volunteer Network connects more than 350 volunteers with nearly 40 cultural sites, programs and departments throughout Las Cruces.

“That’s an incredible number of people (working with QLD) to achieve our vision,” Brey said.

Senior Programs

Senior Programs not only serves meals at five sites in Las Cruces, it also offers home-delivered meals (Meals on Wheels). The city served more than 250,000 meals during the past year, Brey said.

The city’s Food 4 Paws program provides senior citizens with free pet food every two weeks.

Senior Programs also offers a wide range of classes and activities, including GED classes, English as a second language, a mystery book club, ceramics, acrylics, drawing, painting and weaving, swimnastics and aqua fitness, Zumba, tai chi and body balance, lapidary, silver jewelry and stained-glass open labs, games like Mah Jongg and chess, Dungeons and Dragons for teens and for adults, Spanish and even a personal archiving workshop.

Branigan Library

The library’s summer reading program had more than 1,100 participants this year, Brey said, including more than 400 adults.

“It’s really been very successful,” she said.

The library’s master plan includes adding additional locations in the city, Brey said.

Museums

The city’s four museums had more than 100,000 visitors during July 1-June 30, Brey said, with attendance returning to pre-COVID levels.

Museums host a wide range of exhibits throughout the year and offer programming for children and adults. Most programs are offered free of charge.

“User experience is everything,” Brey said, and staff are continuously working to increase programming at city museums.

As soon as she settled into her office at City Hall, “I felt like I was home,” Brey said.

“People don’t realize how much there is to offer here,” she said. “We should not sell ourselves short. If we believe we are the best, we can be the best.”

For more information, visit www.lascruces.gov/2097/Quality-of-Life, www.lascruces.gov/1877/Public-Art (scroll down and click on “Interactive Public Art Tour”) and www.lascruces.gov/1749/Volunteer. Also visit www.lascruces.gov/1314/RoadRUNNER-Transit.

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