A Doña Ana County Sheriff’s deputy has received national recognition for her work to educate youth about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
Deputy Michelle Ugalde, who has been with DASO since 2000, has worked for over a decade in the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) program, an evidence-based gang, violence and drug abuse prevention program built around classroom instruction for children in middle school.
On Oct. 16, 2015, Ugalde was nominated for the Enrique Camarena Award, a distinguished honor that is given to a member of law enforcement who best exemplifies involvement in communities and efforts to encourage children to be drug-free. The award is named for Agent Enrique Camarena, an 11-year agent with the DEA who was kidnapped, brutally tortured and murdered in Mexico in 1985 while working as a criminal investigator and narcotics officer.
The nomination was sent to a national review board of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In January, Deputy Ugalde received the second-highest level of recognition for her work.
She shares the distinction with Las Cruces Police Officer Chris Carrillo. Both will be formally recognized at a dinner held in their honor on Friday, May 27 at Elks Lodge 1119 in Las Cruces.
Information from Doña Ana County