SUN Staff Report
2/5/09
Rio Arriba County has hired a Columbia University-trained planner on a temporary basis to “see how she cooks,” Planning Director Patricio Garcia said.
Garcia’s remark, which was made during his Jan. 22 introduction of Louise Popcock to the County Commission, received a hearty laugh from commissioners and County administrators, but it appears not to be accurate description of her duties. Instead, Popock, currently of Chimayó, is working with Assistant Planning Director Gabriel Boyle on amendments of the comprehensive County plan and learning County ordinances, planning and land use procedures. She hopes to be confirmed as a permanent employee by mid-February.
Popock, 23, was born and raised in Peñasco, where her parents, Toby and Violette Alby, still reside.
Her senior year at Peñasco High School, Popcock attended the United World College in India on scholarship, where the curriculum included community development work. After graduating from Peñasco, she returned to India to complete the two-year World College program before interning at Sen. Pete Dominici’s Washington, D.C., office.
She subsequently attended Columbia University in New York, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in urban studies with a focus in community development, she said. While at Columbia, she completed a study of how to promote better nutrition in through better access to fresh produce from farmer’s markets.
“Food stamp recipients can only spent $24 a year on farmers’ market purchases,” Popock said. “That’s one trip. That’s ludicrous. There are simple policy changes that can make a big difference in nutrition.”
After graduating, Popock completed additional internships with the state Economic Development Department in Santa Fe, the National Center for Frontier Communities in Ojo Sarco and the Bronx Defenders, a public interest law firm in New York.
Asked for Popock’s salary, Garcia said he could not recall. Asked whether other candidates were interviewed, Garcia said he could not recall. Popock said she is being paid $19 an hour.
She is at least temporarily replacing Chris Palmer, who resigned Nov. 21 after fewer than six months on the job.