Redhorse Engineering
Santa Fe, NM: Teena Redhorse Teena Redhorse first became involved with WESST in 2023, before she officially launched Redhorse Engineering, an engineering and expert project management business. At the time, she knew she had the technical experience to start a business, but she also knew there was a lot she didn't yet know about running a business. Teena started taking business trainings at WESST, learning the fundamentals to develop a business plan, and continued with additio
Creative Duke
Albuquerque, NM: Jordan Tate Jordan Tate is the owner of Creative Duke, a creative design company based in Albuquerque. He first approached WESST in July 2019 when he decided to turn his side project into a full-time company. Jordan initially received a WESST Hope loan and describes it as "the boost I needed to get my business operational." He was able to purchase equipment to secure his initial clients, providing him with a good starting point as far as quality he was able t
Retail Therapy
Silver City, NM: Lauren Bland Lauren learned about WESST through word of mouth from a fellow colleague, and she connected with WESST in May 2026. She loves a good pun and aptly named her business Resale Therapy, after her history as a physical therapist. One of the biggest barriers for Lauren was taking the leap and pivoting from regular life to starting her business venture. She is a full-time Doctor of Physical Therapy but always knew she wanted to start a business in anoth
Aurora Borealis Glassworks
Albuquerque, NM: John Owen John Owen is the owner of Aurora Borealis Glassworks in Albuquerque, the only public access glass art school in the city. He had previously served as lead instructor when the opportunity arose to purchase the established and successful glass-blowing studio. John reached out to WESST in May 2023 for financial and coaching support when he was in the process of purchasing the business. John had more than a decade of hands-on experience in the art comm
KAN-SEI
Albuquerque, NM: Maki Kimura Maki Kimura is a Japanese calligrapher based in Albuquerque. After more than two decades of professional work in the United States as an award-winning collaborative pianist, she decided to pursue a career in calligraphy following a serious hand injury. While researching business and entrepreneurship, Maki learned about WESST when she started her company, KAN-SEI LLC. She signed up for a product photography class in the summer of 2025 and began wor
Celebrating 13 Years with WESST: Melissa Williams' New Role
By WESST | July 15, 2026 WESST's longest serving employee, Melissa Williams, was recently promoted to Director of Lending. Melissa first joined WESST in 2013 as a Loan Fund Administrator and has been an integral member of both the WESST team and Lending department ever since. In 2025, WESST closed out the year distributing over $1,000,000 in loans to entrepreneurs and small businesses. Through the Credit Builders Alliance (CBA), Melissa is a certified Master Trainer and is cr
Investing in the Childcare Ecosystem: Insights from the OFN Small Business Finance Forum
By WESST | July 10, 2026 Ciara Peña Smith joined WESST in May 2026 as our Chief Operations Officer and has hit the ground running. With over a decade of lending and servicing experience, her work has consistently focused on strengthening the operational infrastructure behind capital delivery—ensuring that funding programs are efficient, accountable, and scalable. Ciara Peña Smith and Jonathan Ward of The Fund for Jobs Worth Owning This past June, Ciara represented WESST at th
Ebenezer Childcare LLC
Hobbs, NM: Yaneidy Gomez Yaneidy has always been passionate about helping others and previously worked as a nurse. As she and her husband began thinking about their next chapter, they noticed a growing need for child care services in the Hobbs area. With their own children now teenagers, they wanted to create something meaningful to serve families. Yaneida was unable to return to nursing full-time after undergoing surgery, and inspired by her sister-in-law, who operates her o