近距离内射合集

It鈥檚 a lot of traveling: Melora Palmer has been to more than 60 countries and has lived in five of them across three continents.

Although she has been rooted in Albuquerque for the past nine years, the world instead is now coming to her.

Palmer is executive director of Global Ties ABQ, an organization that brings groups of people from around the world to Albuquerque to talk with New Mexico experts and each other about any number of current issues.

For example, Palmer last year organized a summit on women in politics that included a female member of the Polish Parliament and others from Greece, Germany, Iran and other countries.

A recent visit to Albuquerque centered on protecting intellectual property, while officials from Turkmenistan visited last month to 鈥渕ake trade deals鈥� on critical minerals, Palmer says.

鈥淭hese current and emerging leaders don鈥檛 just come to meet us; they come to learn from us, build ties with us, and get to know us, often remaining in contact with us to share updates on their work and how it was inspired by what they experienced here in our community,鈥� she says.

Global Ties ABQ is one of more than 80 such federally funded organizations across the country that partner with the U.S. State Department鈥檚 International Visitor Leadership program to plan and host such visits. About 150 Albuquerque residents hold paid memberships to the local group, allowing them to take part in some of the meetings with dignitaries and to host participants in their homes.

Last year, Albuquerque was host to 19 gatherings, involving 263 people.

鈥淚 have to say one of the most exciting things about this job is to understand that there is some pretty amazing expertise right here in this city,鈥� Palmer says. 鈥淭he other thing that鈥檚 been really fun is no matter what the subject has been, we鈥檙e almost always able to address it. I hear a lot from visitors that, compared to 鈥� other cities they go to, people are just so open and willing to share. I think that is kind of unique to Albuquerque.鈥�

How does Albuquerque benefit?

Economically, it鈥檚 a huge benefit for us, because this is all money coming from the State Department to bring these people in. They all are staying in hotels. They鈥檙e all eating in restaurants. They all are taking transportation. We brought about $350,000 in revenue into the state last year. But it also just brings in openness. The fact that our community is interacting with the international community, it just continues to build bridges.

Are there any visitors who stand out for you?

There was a young man who was in a fellowship program funded by the State Department. He was from North Macedonia, and he had started building solar towers 鈥� like cut-and-paste towers that people can use to create solar energy. And the way it works with the towers is you have these large mirrors that reflect energy into the sand, and that鈥檚 how you store it. Well, the husband of a good friend of mine is at a company where that鈥檚 exactly what he鈥檚 doing. So I got these two together for dinner, and when (the husband) found out how much the guy鈥檚 mirrors cost, he said, 鈥淢an, we鈥檙e paying twice that out of China.鈥� So this 25-year-old in Macedonia started selling mirrors to him. You know, you just changed that guy鈥檚 life forever. That is incredibly rewarding.

How did you get into this job?

I kind of fell into it, but I鈥檓 pretty happy about it. I went to university here (University of New Mexico), but then lived and worked overseas for 25 years. I went to Toronto for seven years and 鈥� then I was in Paris for 10 years. And then my husband at the time joined the 近距离内射合集 Nations, and I went into humanitarian aid. We moved to Haiti and then West Africa. When I got back here 鈥� I just started hosting (with Global Ties). They approached me about being on the board. I remember I鈥檇 been to Tanzania for three months, and when I came back, things had kind of imploded. We had tried to do a merger, and it didn鈥檛 work. They looked at me and said, 鈥淒o you want it (the job)?鈥� and I said, 鈥淥K.鈥� Every day, I鈥檓 really happy I did it.

What do you find rewarding about it?

I鈥檝e always had a very strong need to feel like I鈥檓 contributing to the solution, not to the problem. And I鈥檝e always been involved in charitable and volunteer efforts. This is at a higher level, and you really are building bridges.

Have you ever encountered a cultural difference that was hard for you to bridge?

I would say that in some of my travels and even living in Africa, it was prejudice toward women and women not having equal opportunities. I鈥檝e seen some places where you just hit this wall, and because you鈥檙e a woman, you鈥檙e not going to be seen any differently.

What did you learn in your travels that you wish other people knew?

I think so many Americans have no idea how well they live. And even with the strife that鈥檚 happening now and a lot of the conflict that鈥檚 happening, we still have economic opportunity. We still are a land of plenty. And I think it鈥檚 really important that we stay humble. I think if every single, or maybe 50% of Americans, lived in a developing country for one month, it would change so much how we deal with other people. So it鈥檚 to keep that sense of humility.

Ellen Marks, a former Journal editor, writes One-on-One profiles and Scam Watch. You can reach her at emarks@abqjournal.com.