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
Indigi Bean Creative
Vanderwagen, NM: Akeemi Martinez Vanderwagen, NM: Akeemi Martinez first learned about WESST through a community partner at the American Indian Business Enterprise (AIBE), who had shared information about workshop at WESST geared towards women. She took her first training in 2024 and has since worked with our WESST team throughout the state. As an emerging artist and entrepreneur, Akeemi is navigating the intersection of creative expression and business development. Indigi Be
Jack's Plastic Welding
Aztec, NM: Jack's Plastic Welding team, TJ Garcia, Miguel, Layla, Dylon, Evan, Perri, Carlos Moreno, Tyson, Shannon, Amber, Travor, Niaomi, and Greg. Dereck P not included in photo. Aztec, NM: Jack’s Plastic Welding (JPW), based in Aztec, NM, has been building durable inflatable products since 1982. The business began as a sole proprietorship and has now grown into a specialized manufacturing operation with a 10,000+ square foot facility. In 2025, WESST, the New Mexico Manuf
Enchanting Soap Collections Take Flight
By WESST | June 9, 2026 Earlier this year, Enchanting Soap Collections, WESST incubator tenant and Ascend ABQ cohort member, entered Runway to Success, the Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC) pitch competition. They were selected as one of nine businesses from a national applicant pool of 120 to pitch at a national competition in St. Louis. While they did not advance to the next round of the competition, Roberta Easter and Chrystal Trykoski are still winning big: they we