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SANTA FE 鈥� Growing up in Taos, Syri Mongiello learned the importance of providing central spaces for small communities to come together, a concept that鈥檚 at the heart of her new role as executive director of the Santa Fe Farmers鈥� Market Institute.

Mongiello was promoted to lead the nonprofit this spring after more than a decade as operations director for the institute, which launched in 2002 to create a permanent, year-round space for the independent Santa Fe Farmers鈥� Market.

The institute achieved its central goal in 2008, raising capital to construct the 25,000-square-foot Farmers' Market Pavilion at the Santa Fe Railyard 鈥� 9,000 square feet of which has been bursting with commerce and colorful fresh produce from the market every year since.

The pavilion also provides office space for the institute and Second Street Brewery.

On May 16, around 100 vendors were stationed inside and outside the pavilion as two local bands shimmied shoppers along what has become not only a central gathering spot for the denizens of the City Different, but a major economic hub and tourist attraction for the city.

鈥淭he market has been an incredible economic driver for Santa Fe and the Railyard,鈥� Mongiello said. 鈥淭his was a major redevelopment project the city took on about a little over 20 years ago, and the farmers鈥� market was really the first anchor business to move in.鈥�

She knows that distinguishing her organization鈥檚 role as owner, operator and maintainer of the pavilion from the nonprofit that runs the market requires a special level of emphasis given their closeness in name and purpose.

Mongiello鈥檚 counterpart, Santa Fe Farmers鈥� Market Executive Director Debbie Burns, also took pains to make the distinction, adding that she believes the longtime operations director to be an ideal successor to former institute director Manny Encinias, who left in November.

鈥淪yri鈥檚 a wonderful choice for them,鈥� Burns said. 鈥淪he has all the institutional knowledge, which is critical for our business because of all the interchanging things that happen between how we run 鈥� what we do, what they do. She can hit the ground running, so that is wonderful.鈥�

In her new role, Mongiello will also help oversee the institute鈥檚 SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks programs, as well as tens of thousands of microloans awarded to small farmers in the state each year. Last year, the institute lent a total of roughly $50,000 to market vendors, Mongiello said.

Around 80% of products found at Santa Fe Farmers鈥� Market are agricultural, according to Burns. A 2024 market study by the New Mexico Farmers鈥� Marketing Association found that

Besides the year-round Saturday market, which operates from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Santa Fe Farmers鈥� Market also operates a Tuesday Market from May 5 to Dec. 22 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and a Railyard Artisan Market inside the Pavilion on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A Tuesday Del Sur Market at Presbyterian Medical Center, open Tuesdays from July 7 through Sept. 29 from 3 to 6 p.m., is a newer offering and part of the organizations鈥� joint efforts to bring fresh produce to other parts of the city.

鈥淲e want local fresh food to be for everyone, not just people who can come on a Saturday because they don't work or because they have lots of money,鈥� Mongiello said. 鈥淲e want everybody to be able to access fresh local food, so that's our mission. And to me, that equity piece is really meaningful because I'm part of this community, and I don't want to feel like there are things in the community that are only for certain people.鈥�

Mongiello said her father was a contractor in Taos, giving her some exposure to the ins and outs of keeping a space in good order after it鈥檚 built.

鈥淚'm kind of literate in those things because of my upbringing in Taos,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd so I actually like being involved in building management. It sounds kind of nerdy, but I like being able to provide this building for the market and for everything else in this community.鈥�

She brings to the role a master鈥檚 in nonprofit management from the University of San Francisco and a background in nonprofit management; before returning to New Mexico to join the Institute in 2015, she worked as operations manager for Arts & Ideas at the Jewish Community Center for 12 years.

As executive director, she said she鈥檚 aiming to 鈥渉ave a bigger vision for the organization moving forward鈥� and to make the Institute more 鈥渧isible in the community.鈥�

鈥淲hat matters to me in terms of developing my career has been working in a mission-driven setting,鈥� Mongiello added. 鈥淚 need to care about what I鈥檓 doing. It can鈥檛 just be a job.鈥�

John Miller is the sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.