WMC Leadership - Board of Directors

Teresa Conner

Teresa Conner has been a member of the WMC almost since its inception. She has served the WMC as past Secretary and President. She also served on the Advisory Board for a number of years and is currently a member of the Board of Directors. She has attended numerous Fly-Ins over the years and very much enjoys the process of educating our legislators about the mining industry. 

Teresa has over 40 years of experience in both the mining and oil and gas industries. She has worked in the private sector for several mining companies, and in government service for three separate agencies, as well as for several consulting firms.  During her career Teresa has held various mining engineering positions, including those of ore control, short term planning, long term planning, and project engineer. She has also worked as Reclamation Manager and Environmental Manager at several mine sites in Nevada and Alaska. Teresa has been responsible for permitting, compliance, reporting, and reclamation and closure planning at several mine sites as well as a liaison between mining companies and tribal entities in order to gain trust and understanding between two very different entities. She is well-versed in both State and Federal permitting requirements including those related to mining, reclamation and closure, water, air, waste, etc., in addition to the permitting process under the National Environmental Policy Act.  Teresa currently has her own consulting business that focuses on exploration and mine permitting. 

Teresa earned her B.S. degree in Mining and Geological Engineering from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. In 2021 she completed her Master of Legal Studies degree with a focus on Mining Law and Policy.  She is a long-time member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME), a member and former Trustee for the American Exploration & Mining Association (formerly the Northwest Mining Association), and a member of the New Mexico Mining Association.