About Us
Mission Statement:
The Castellano Foundation shall provide positive, effective and meaningful contributions to children and families in our community.
Veteran Services Mission:
The Castellano Foundation Veterans Services program will provide individual therapy to military members and veterans who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress disorder, and substance abuse. In addition to couples therapy between military members and significant others.
Board of Directors
Ambrosio E. Castellano Jr.
Ambrosio E. Castellano Jr., Esq., is Co-Founder and member of the Castellano Foundation Board of Directors. Mr. Castellano was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico and raised on the family ranch in Chappelle, New Mexico. Mr. Castellano’s passion for assisting young students and underprivileged community members started at a young age when he would volunteer his time to officiate youth league basketball games. The passion to serve his community was strengthen when he met his wife and Castellano Foundation Co-Founder Cassandra L. Castellano.
Ambrosio attended the West Las Vegas School District and received his high school diploma from the same. Mr. Castellano has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with an emphasis in law. Mr. Castellano attended South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas, where he received his Juris Doctorate. Prior to attending law school Mr. Castellano was employed by the New Mexico Correction Department Probation and Parole Division. Mr. Castellano is an active member of the State Bar of New Mexico. Mr. Castellano also served three years on the West Las Vegas School Board and when elected became the youngest board member to serve in West Las Vegas History.
Mr. and Mrs. Castellano have been married for two years and have a young son, Emilio Maverick Castellano. Mr. Castellano enjoys time with his family, the outdoors, playing guitar and listening to music. Mr. Castellano hopes the Castellano Foundation can make a positive impact on the youth and underserved members of the community. It is his goal and wish the Castellano Foundation be a beacon of hope for those who need it.
Cassandra L. Castellano
Cassandra L. Castellano is Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Castellano Foundation. Born and raised in the small Village of Pecos, New Mexico, she attended Pecos Independent Schools. While in High School Cassandra participated in six sporting activities and earned 4 state titles as an athlete and 1 state title as an assistant coach. Cassandra received a Bachelor of Arts in Human Performance and Sport, a minor in Health with a concentration in Exercise Science Summa Cum Laude from New Mexico Highlands University. Mrs. Castellano received her Masters in Special Education Summa Cum Laude from The University of the Southwest. A strong advocate of health, nutrition and physical activity, Mrs. Castellano professional interests focus on community outreach, hands-on student based learning, as well as providing opportunities and meals for disadvantaged children and families. Cassandra believes through this foundation and the help of the community we can ensure a positive future for the youth and families in our community. In addition to her professional duties, Mrs. Castellano is a proud mother and wife. Cassandra enjoys spending quality time with her family and is up for an adventure at any time.
Ambrose M. Castellano
Ambrosio Castellano Sr. is a proud father of five, pampo to his grandson and fiancé to Renee Roybal Mr. Castellano attended the West Las Vegas School District. Mr. Castellano has served on the West Las Vegas School Board and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Luna Community College. Currently, Mr. Castellano is the owner of AGM Konstruction and Environmental Services, LLC. Mr. Castellano is also the current State Representative for District 70. Mr. Castellano has dedicated his life to public service and helping his community. Mr. Castellano is excited and honored to be a member of the board of directors of The Castellano Foundation.
Ryan Aragon
​Ryan Aragon was born and raised in Las Vegas, New Mexico. He is the Bursar/Student Accounts Receivable Manager at New Mexico Highlands University. Prior to working at NMHU, he has work experience with various NM State agencies where he served a roll in accounting/finance. Ryan is also an alumnus of NMHU, in 2016 he earned a Bachelor’s of Business Administration focus in Accounting and in 2019 he earned aMasters of Business Administration focus in Finance and Management. Ryan believes every person has the right to food, clothing, healthcare, education, and mental health wellness. Ryan’s vision for The Castellano Foundation is to assist as many children, families, and veterans in the community with those necessities.
Reyna Castellano
Reyna Castellano is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Currently, she is the Director of Social Services for Cibola General Hospital. Reyna is a native New Mexican, born and raised in Las Vegas and graduated from Robertson High School in 2003. She attended New Mexico Highlands University and graduated with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Psychology and later graduated with her Masters of Social Work degree in 2008. Reyna has worked in various settings during her career as a social worker. Working with individuals experiencing mental health crisis is where her heart lies, and it is her daily goal to help those in need when they need it the most. Aside from Reyna's professional career, she is also a wife and her biggest blessings are her three beautiful children. When she is not working, she enjoys being with family, crafting, and being in the mountains to help recharge her mental battery. Reyna's family has directly been impacted by the mental health aftermath that our past and present military members suffer from that is too often under reported, not properly treated, or worse, stigmatized which prevents our veterans from seeking help and many times results in suicide. Working with our veterans with the sole purpose of offering support, locating resources and providing therapeutic treatments is an additional goal of hers that she shall accomplish through this foundation.
MSGT Guillermo M. Castellano
Carlos Medina
Carlos Medina is a singer, songwriter, actor and comedian. He was born in Las Vegas, NM and grew up in the village of El Coruco.
Carlos resides in Santa Fe, NM with His partner, Christina Romero. He has been a full time performer and entertainer for over 15 years. Carlos's music and comedy has allowed him to travel the United States and parts of Mexico.
Carlos is honored to be part of the Castellano Foundation. He looks forward to participating and contributing in the efforts to preserve our culture, traditions and values.
Guillermo is the Squadron Superintendent at the 34th Fighter Squadron, Hill AFB, UT. As the Superintendent he is the senior enlisted advisor to the commander of one of the Air Forces first active F-35 fighter squadron. Guillermo is responsible for tracking 41 unit positions, and mentoring 15 enlisted airmen, 20 commissioned officers and 4 civilian contractors. He also schedules training and oversees resource prioritization and mission execution of the F-35’s 5.8 billion dollar annual flying hour program.
Guillermo was born in Las Vegas, NM and graduated from West Las Vegas High School in 2002. He later enlisted in the United States Air Force in 2005. For the first 15 years of his military career he was a Security Forces member. During that time, Guillermo deployed 6 separate times; 4 of those deployments were outside the wire combat deployments in direct support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. His two additional deployments were not combat deployments. In 2020, following a cross-train, Guillermo is now an aviation resource manager and anticipates his retirement in 2025.
Aside from Guillermo's personal career, he is a husband and a father of three. Because of his personal experience with PTSD, his goal is to help fellow Veterans who may need a support system to turn to without fear of judgement, stigma or lack of understanding of what they have been through.
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Phillip Ulibarri Jr.
Phillip J. Ulibarri, Jr. is a proud husband and father of three. Mr. Ulibarri attended West Las Vegas High School where he was a standout football player and scholar. Mr. Ulibarri Is currently employed by the New Mexico Department of Transportation, District 4. In his personal time Mr. Ulibarri serves on the board for the La Plaza Little League Association, volunteers as a coach for the Northern New Mexico Youth Football League and any other community involvement he can assist in. Mr. Ulibarri is excited to be a member of the board of directors of this foundation and looks forward to the positive impact The Castellano Foundation can make.
Ron Patel
RonPatel is the Chief Business Officer of New Mexico United, a Professional Soccer Club based in Albuquerque, NM. New Mexico United plays in the United Soccer League (USL) along with over 30 professional clubs in the United States. After Co-Founding New Mexico United in 2018 with Owner/CEO Peter Trevisani, Ron helped guide New Mexico United to league leading attendance figures as the Vice President of Sales. After the 2019 season, Ron was recruited to lead Golden Grape Entertainment in McAllen, TX. Golden Grape Entertainment is a sports & entertainment group including a USL Soccer Club, (RGV FC Toros) NBA G League Franchise, (RGV Vipers) a 9,700 seat soccer stadium, (H-E-B) a 9,000 seat arena (Bert Ogden Arena) and an indoor sports training facility. (DHR Health Training Center). After departing South Texas during the Coronavirus Pandemic to return home to New Mexico, Ron returned to New Mexico United in January of 2022. In 2006, prior to his sports career, Ron became an entrepreneur by forming "Just Dine In,” a multi-restaurant delivery company. Starting in Albuquerque, his company merged with Portland, OR based Delivered Dish in 2013. A couple of of mergers & acquisitions later, the company grew to 7 markets in the Western United states. Publicly traded Grub Hub purchased the budding company in late 2015 when Ron exited the organization. Ron was born in Liverpool, England and is still an avid fan of his beloved hometown team, Liverpool FC. Ron is married to the love of his life, Isabelle, and is a proud stepdad to their two children, Jose and Nickey, along with small and loud dogs Rocky and Lady!