Meet Our Team

Founder & Executive Director

Chantal Muhumure

Chantal Muhumure, from Rwanda and born in DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), mother of three children and eighteen years of marriage, is passionate about empowering refugee women in education. 

As founder and executive director of Umoja Abq her dream of empowering women through education is coming true!

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Board President

Debby Morrell

Debby is a retired educator who has lived in Albuquerque for many years.  She met Chantal in 2018 and, after hearing Chantal’s passion for empowering refugee women, signed up to support her!  

Debby’s experience as a teacher and public school administrator has helped her set the policy and procedural foundations for Umoja ABQ and allowed her the joy of welcoming new neighbors into the community and participating in their success.

Umoja ABQ’s mission is to empower refugee women through education, but Debby would add that building relationships in the new community is equally important in helping women become self-sufficient and active agents in their new lives.

Board Vice-President

Simone Crum-Muckle (she/her/hers)

​Simone serves as the Donor Relation Manager for the ACLU of New Mexico. She was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM and is a proud New Mexico State University graduate. She double majored in Anthropology and Women’s Studies with a minor in Biology and went on to obtain a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. Although she originally planned to work in the non-profit world, she quickly moved up the ranks in banking and found passion in serving underrepresented populations. She enjoyed getting out into the community and teaching financial literacy when possible. Her more than 16 years of professional experience spans across multiple industries such as Retail Banking, Institutional Wealth Management and Executive Recruiting. Simone looks forward to helping advance the ACLU-NM’s goals of supporting marginalized communities. Simone comes from a family of activists so racial justice, police practices, reproductive rights, and border rights are among the many issues important to her.

Treasurer

Michele Benton

Michele has significant experience in the realm of finances and bookkeeping, and is thrilled to be working to further Umoja ABQ's mission of empowering refugee women.