For Casey Anglada DeRaad, the next frontier is the Hispano Chamber

Casey Anglada DeRaad has been building things her whole career.

First, it was spacecraft electronics at what is now the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland. Then, in the late ‘90s, DeRaad was working on small satellite constellations at NASA’s headquarters.

More recently, that work has taken the form of NewSpace Nexus, the company DeRaad founded in 2019 to bolster New Mexico’s space economy.

Now, DeRaad is bringing that experience to a new role. DeRaad, originally from northern New Mexico, was recently named the 2026 board chair for the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, the group tasked with elevating Hispanic businesses across the city.

“…It’s this gem that some people understand it, but not everybody understands the impact they have,” said DeRaad, who has been on the Hispano Chamber board for six years.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Was there a moment in your life when you doubted that you were the right person for the job?

When we first kind of started talking about what we needed to do with what we do do for NewSpace — convening this space ecosystem and setting up the resources — a lot of folks were like, “Oh yeah, let’s get so and so to do it.” And that’s when my husband was like, “No, you need to do it.” We’re not doing this for ourselves; we’re doing this for the space industry. We want to keep working with all the partners within the state, within the Spaceport, the companies, the government organizations. We’re not doing it for NewSpace, we’re doing it for this space industry.

How does running NewSpace Nexus shape the way you show up as chair of the Hispano Chamber? Do these two roles feed into each other?

They totally do. My vision is to work with all these board (members) to support the chamber, to keep it going, to be able to have the funding — and the diversity of funding — to come in so they could keep doing their wonderful programs. For NewSpace, it’s the same thing. We have some grants to do some of these programs that support the companies. We need to do these convenings, like these big events, to bring that ecosystem together. … The way the two organizations (run), they really are very similar. I can kind of use my skills that I’m running NewSpace (with) … as a chair for the chamber.

What’s one thing you want people in the business community to know about the Hispano Chamber by the time your term ends?

That the chamber is amazing. I think it’s so funny because — and this is told about us, too — it’s this gem that some people understand it, but not everybody understands the impact they have. (The chamber has) a number of programs that support small businesses. They have a procurement series. They just started this ECHO program for IT and advanced computing that all these small companies can come in and really learn what all these new changes are. The chamber is just really about serving and growing these small businesses and supporting them. Even way before I was chair, I always introduced the chamber as my second favorite organization because, of course, my NewSpace Nexus has to be first. But I just love the chamber. I love what it does. … We have to keep making sure they’re economically viable and resilient, and that’s sort of the role of the board — just really keep making sure they’re strong.

What’s a challenge facing Hispanic-owned businesses here in the city?

I think education. I know this as a startup, (that) it’s a lot. It’s a lot to know how to get going, how to do your accounting system, how to go after different grants, especially some of the government grants.

What advice do you have for a young person reading this?

You can do it. A lot of times, I always give the advice — get mentors, talk to people. Don’t be afraid to ask someone who has gone through a path, “How can you help me?” A lot of the young people — and I have a young staff — they’re afraid to ask. But by asking, you are honoring a person. … And just be persistent. There’s been lots of times where it’s like, “No, you can’t do it.” Or, “Why are you doing that?” You just have to say, “I can do it. I can do it.”

Matthew Narvaiz is the Journal’s business editor. You can reach him at mnarvaiz@abqjournal.com.