About Rooted Strategies NM
Rooted Strategies NM, LLC provides strategic planning, facilitation, program design and evaluation, grant writing and other support services to non-profits, community groups and local governments across New Mexico.
Our specialty and passion is working on rural economic development, youth leadership, climate and environmental justice, and water, food and agriculture projects and programs.
As communities and organizations, we are doing vital work - and we owe it to ourselves, to the land, and to future generations to do our work with the highest level of integrity, strategy and skill. So much is at stake, we cannot afford to be disorganized. Rooted Strategies NM is here to walk alongside you as you sharpen your vision and toolbox to serve your community with courage and clarity.
About Emily
Emily Arasim Beltrán is a community planner from Northern New Mexico. Born and raised in Tesuque, she now lives, works and farms with her family in the Española Valley.
In 2025, Emily launched Rooted Strategies NM, LLC. Her intention is to use her love of organizing, eye for detail, and knack for asking hard questions to help her clients and collaborators deepen their critical work.
She also sits on the Board of Directors for the New Mexico Resiliency Alliance and the Northern Youth Project, and keeps herself rooted by farming with her family and elders. As of Fall 2026, she is teaching rural community planning and development at the University of New Mexico as an Adjunct Professor.
From 2018-2025 she worked for the New Mexico Acequia Association in a variety of positions, including coordinating the Food, Farms and Seeds program; the Youth Education program; and outreach and communications with acequia communities across the state. She has also held staff roles with the Environmental and Economic Justice Leadership Team at Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, the Northern Youth Project, Communities for Clean Water, and the Women’s Earth and Climate Network.
Emily holds a Masters Degree in Community and Regional Planning from UNM, with concentrations in community development and natural resource planning. As part of her graduate studies, she spent three years conducting research and writing a handbook on the importance of rural grocery stores across Northern New Mexico, and practical strategies for their protection and revitalization.