VOL. 26 FAILURE

Didi Bethurum is a marketing consultant for experience-driven organizations and a professional coach for high-achieving creatives, curious humans, and leaders in transition.

With over two decades of marketing experience, she’s worked at places like Microsoft, madmen advertising agencies, social impact initiatives, and most recently Meow Wolf, where she served as Chief Communications Officer and led marketing and communications during the company’s rapid growth from art collective to nationally recognized immersive arts organization.

A fascinated observer of the digital world’s impact on cognition and creativity, she’s long been obsessed by what we gain – and what we risk losing – in a screen-saturated world. Her work now focuses on helping people reclaim presence, curiosity, and meaningful human connection in an age of Zoomnados and algorithms. She believes presence, play, and conversation aren’t just wellness buzzwords – they’re survival tools.

Didi lives in Santa Fe, where she hikes, mountain bikes, and glues hundreds of tiny pieces of tile into mosaic art in an effort to offset her pixelated life with IRL experience.

Sven Doornkaat’s career began humbly as a photojournalist in Europe, where he honed his craft covering news and events. Over the years, he transitioned into portrait photography, specializing in celebrity imagery and editorial work. His photographs have graced the pages of numerous international publications, including Hello, People, and The Hollywood Reporter. He has also contributed to album covers and advertising campaigns for major U.S. brands, showcasing his versatility and creative range.

A true innovator, Sven’s mastery of lighting is central to his artistry. He often employs DIY light modifiers to shape the mood and tone of his images. However, this expertise was not achieved overnight—it came after years of experimentation and refinement. His dedication to pushing the boundaries of portrait photography has made him a sought-after name in the industry.

David Frequez is a Santa Fe native, entrepreneur, and community builder. He is the founder of Age Friendly Senior Care, which helps elders age in place with dignity, and the owner of Santa Fe GLOOM, the city’s beloved futsal team. David is the former President of the Santa Fe Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and currently serves as Co-chair of the New Mexico Caregivers Coalition. A proud graduate of Colorado State with an MBA, he was honored with the Visionary Award from Santa Fe SCORE for excellence in business. David’s work is rooted in care—across generations, across sectors, and always in service of his community. From senior care to sports arenas, he’s creating new models of belonging, right here at home.

Enoch Cincotta is the founder and co-director of REANIMATOR — a survival skills program focused on bicycles, sewing, and wilderness medicine. His favorite things include cooking one pot meals, and creating album art for his imaginary doom metal band. He lives in Taos, NM with his mealworms.

As the Founder and President of Covalent Logic for 20 years, Stafford Wood leads a team of more than 20 corporate communications experts in Baton Rouge, Seattle, Washington D.C. and New Orleans, in internal communications, graphic design, web development and public relations remotely from her home in Santa Fe.The Covalent Logic team currently serves more than 100 global and local clients like Shell Chemical, Cleco Power, Louisiana Department of Health and Hilton Hotels. As an Accredited Senior Practitioner of Public Relations, she’s received two lifetime achievement awards from the American Advertising Federation and the Public Relations Association of Louisiana and has been inducted into the Southern Public Relations Federation Hall of Fame.

James W. Johnson is the executive director of MAKE Santa Fe, CEO of Mindshare Labs, and sits on the board of Trustees at Santa Fe Playhouse. He’s also an avid creator. James studied Theater and Art at the University of Idaho, earning his B.F.A.

To date, James has designed or built over 150 different theatrical sets. His work has been on stage at Santa Fe Playhouse, Hedgerow Theater, Flat Rock Playhouse, NC Stage Company, and many others nationwide.

His career in the theater slowly evolved into becoming a non-profit administrator. Over the past decade, James has helped theaters, non-profits, and higher education institutes make their mark on the web by creating online systems that benefit the missions of those institutions. He’s led fundraising, marketing, and business development teams and is a self-taught web developer specializing in programming languages related to web design.

James maintains artistic inspiration through photography, metalwork, and as a scenic designer. He’s passionate about leading MAKE Santa Fe and loves sharing his knowledge.

Shawn Evans is an architect and Principal at MASS Design Group, where he co-leads the Santa Fe Studio. Shawn joined MASS in 2022 through a strategic partnership with AOS Architects, where he led a wide range of planning, preservation, museum, higher education, affordable housing, and tribal projects during his 27-year tenure. Shawn’s expertise as a heritage professional has led him to speak at more than 70 regional and national conferences. He was one of three architects selected by the Association for Tribal Archives Libraries and Museums (ATALM) to lead the Culture Builds Communities program, a multi-year program training tribal communities in the planning and design of cultural centers. In 2010, he received the James Marston Fitch Mid-Career Fellowship, where he collaborated with the Pueblo tribes of the American Southwest to study contemporary preservation and rehabilitation efforts. Under Shawn’s leadership, AOS Architects received the AIA New Mexico Firm of the Year Award in 2021 and MASS was named the AIA Santa Fe Firm of the Year in 2022. Shawn studied architecture at Texas A&M University and holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught architectural design at Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of New Mexico. Since his own 2018 diagnosis, Shawn has become a vocal advocate for people with Parkinson’s Disease.