Albino Garcia Jr

Albino Garcia Jr. is the founder and executive director of La Plazita Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is of Apache and Chichimeca heritage, and has spent over 40 years working with youth, families, and communities across the country, particularly those affected by violence, incarceration, and disconnection from culture. His life’s work is guided by the philosophy that la cultura cura (“culture heals”).

In 1994, Albino founded the New School in Watsonville, California, a place for gang-involved and struggling youth to get a second chance at education. In 1995, he was honored to be chosen as a Kellogg National Leadership Fellow, traveling to more than a dozen countries to study global approaches to healing and justice. 

In 2004, he founded La Plazita Institute, a space for cultural healing, leadership, and transformation rooted in our traditions. Grounded in the core values of respect, honor, love, and family, La Plazita works with youth, elders, and families, drawing on ancestral knowledge and community strength. 

Today, he serves as co-chair of the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative for the state of New Mexico, alongside Chief Judge of the 2nd Judicial District of New Mexico and consults nationally on juvenile justice in tribal and underserved communities. He also serves on the leadership circle of the Circle for Justice Innovations.