UNM professor Renee Ornelas will receive a Distinguished Public Service Award for her work with victims of sexual abuse.
Ornelas, who teaches at the UNM Health Sciences Center, is the director of Para Los Niños. The program provides medical care for children who have been sexually abused and follows up with teenagers who have been sexually assaulted.
Ornelas said her greatest motivation in working with children is the opportunity to make a positive difference in their lives.
"Giving kids and families a place and a person to talk to about what happened to them and assure them that they're going to be OK - that's really what I do, and that's really what helps them to begin to heal," she said. "It's being able to do that, I think, that really keeps me doing it."
Ornelas said starting the program was difficult because of a lack of funding and involvement.
"It's hard to get good, qualified people to help because of the type of work that we do," she said.
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Ornelas said Para Los Niños is free of charge to families in New Mexico and has a waiting list so long the program cannot make appointments until January.
She said the program is looking for more funding and volunteers.
Ornelas said anyone who wants to enter the field should first volunteer with the Rape Crisis Center or a domestic violence shelter to find out if the work is a good fit for them.
Ornelas is chairwoman of the statewide Child Abuse and Neglect Panel. She is also a member of the mayor's sexual assault task force, which works to improve Albuquerque's efforts to address child abuse and neglect.
The award, in its 39th year, is given annually by Gov. Bill Richardson.
Joanne Fine, chief communications officer of United Way, and Sherman McCorkle, president and CEO of Technology Ventures Corp., nominated Ornelas for the award. They said her 20 years of around-the-clock work inspired them to send her name to the governor.
Fine said she has worked closely with Ornelas over the past two years.
"I can't think of anyone that does the work that she does," Fine said. "If ever anyone deserved the recognition of the New Mexico public service award from the governor's office, it's her."
Jennifer Nysus works with Ornelas at Para Los Niños. Nysus said Ornelas is a great director for the program because she is attentive to patients and her colleagues.
"(Ornelas) is very caring in all that she does here and always makes it a point to listen to the members of our team," she said. "She has high standards for all of us and herself and works very well with everyone; she is always taking peoples' needs into consideration."
