Cruces Creatives co-founder, chair named to NMSU Entrepreneur Hall of Fame

Lea Wise-Surguy ’15, the co-founder, chair and executive director of Cruces Creatives, officially joined an exclusive group of entrepreneurs in 2022 as the fourth inductee into the NMSU Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.

Wise-Surguy earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from NMSU, and co-founded Cruces Creatives, a nonprofit makerspace located in downtown Las Cruces, in 2018. Wise-Surguy was nominated through a search organized by NMSU’s Arrowhead Center and the Research, Creativity and Strategic Initiatives office.

“The idea of a makerspace as both a community toolbox and a platform for launching projects for charity, in the arts, in education, in sustainability, in technology, science and in economic development has succeeded beyond my expectations, thanks to hundreds of people incorporating their dreams and using Cruces Creatives to help make them happen,” Wise-Surguy says.

The NMSU Entrepreneur Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding achievement in entrepreneurship among alums representing colleges and disciplines across the NMSU system who have launched successful businesses, introduced innovative entrepreneurial concepts and practices into workplaces, and who have contributed to the entrepreneurial climates of their regions. Community members nominate outstanding alumni entrepreneurs who demonstrate these qualities every fall.

Cruces Creatives provides tool access, training and a community of makers in southern New Mexico, making possible cooperative efforts to foster economic development, improve education, support the arts, advance science and technology, protect the environment and more.