Meet The Team

President

Barry Dungan

Barry Dungan was born and raised in New Mexico. He received his B.S. and M.S. in horticulture with a focus on plant genetics from New Mexico State University. During this time, he also received a minor in chemistry and statistics. After graduation, he held a research assistant position at NMSU helping facilitate research for students and visiting scholars. Barry is one of the founding members of Rio Grande Analytics in 2016 and has helped develop testing methods to adhere to State regulations. Barry strives to support the New Mexico cannabis community and to protect public health and safety.

Microbiology Laboratory Director

Paul Lambert

Paul Lambert received both a B.S. and M.S. in agricultural biology from New Mexico State University, finishing in 2017. He spent his undergraduate time working for the university’s nematology department and did his master’s project researching a bacterial disease afflicting pistachio orchards. After graduation, Paul worked on several projects within the chemistry and plant pathology departments of NMSU before accepting the role of manager for the university’s Plant Disease Quarantine Facility. Paul worked on multiple projects for the university involving bacterial and fungal plant diseases before coming to work for Rio Grande Analytics in 2019.

Analytical Laboratory Director

Calen McKenzie

Calen grew up in northern New Mexico and completed a B.S. in biology at the University of New Mexico. Working in desert and rangeland ecology, he developed an interest in analytical chemistry and phytochemical profiling. While completing an M.S. in plant and environmental sciences at New Mexico State University, he pursued biochemical research of several commercial crops, including green chile. His passion for analytical phytochemistry brought Calen to Rio Grande Analytics in 2020, where he is currently proud to lead the Analytical Laboratory.

Microbiology Laboratory Manager

Andrew Dominguez

Andrew received a B.S. in both biology and microbiology from New Mexico State University in May 2017. He attended graduate school at NMSU to complete a M.S. in plant and environmental sciences in December 2019, with a focus on soil microbial community ecology. Andrew worked as a lab manager in a soil microbiology and desert ecology lab at NMSU for three years. During this time, he led and assisted on projects involving biological soil crust and wet wall biofilm surveys at White Sands National Park, the Chihuahuan Desert, and Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. He also collected and analyzed root associated soil bacterial and fungal communities of native and invasive grasses and shrubs of the Chihuahuan Desert, and pecan orchards across southern New Mexico. Andrew trained several NMSU students in field and microbiology lab techniques. He began working as a microbiologist for Rio Grande Analytics in April 2022.

Analytical Laboratory Manager

Joseph Wood

Joseph Wood is the Analytical Laboratory Manager at the Las Cruces branch of Rio Grande Analytics. He obtained a B.S. degree in agricultural biology, a B.S. in weed science and a PhD in plant and environmental science from New Mexico State University. During his time at NMSU he worked on research related to organic pest management, secondary plant metabolite analysis and plant physiology. Within these topics he specialized in glucosinolate degradation, carotenoid analysis and photosynthesis.

Logistics Manager

Dylan Brown

Dylan graduated with a B.S. in biochemistry from University of New Mexico in May 2019, minoring in psychology. In 2021, he joined our team as our first full-time technician. In the two years since, he has helped build Rio Grande Analytics into the robust laboratory it is today. While working with us, he completed the cannabis science and medicine certificate course from the University of Vermont School of Medicine. At his current position of Logistics Manager, he oversees the interface between the analytical and microbiology laboratories and the client facing staff.

Senor Analytical Technician

Brittany Romero

Brittany graduated from the University of New Mexico with her B.A. in biology with a minor in psychology. After graduation she gained three years experience in quality control working within the pharmaceutical/nutraceutical industry. Her experience in quality control brings a focus on regulatory compliance, ISO standards, risk management, and equipment calibration management. Along with her work experience she also brings with her an ASQ certification in quality and a contamination-based risk management certification. She merges both laboratory and quality control skills together as a part of the analytical team since joining Rio Grande Analytics in January of 2023.

Senior Analytical Chemist

Krystal Vargas

Krystal graduated with honors from New Mexico State University, receiving her bachelor’s degree in horticulture. While at NMSU she developed an interest in phytochemistry, taking part in carotenoid research in chile peppers, and later contributed to finding the new ‘Lota Lutein’ pepper cultivar. She then received her master’s degree in crop sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. While going to school in Illinois, Krystal’s projects involved both carotenoid research in amaranth and cannabinoid research in hemp, with her focus being on cannabinoid studies involving both outdoor and indoor grown hemp. Her thesis centered on both feral hemp with a lineage from World War II and fertilizer trials. Following her graduation, she joined Rio Grande Analytics as an analytical chemist in June of 2023.

Administration

Bradley Cruse

Bradley is currently enrolled at Central New Mexico Community College to earn his Associates of Communications and plans on transferring to the University of New Mexico to complete his bachelor’s degree and his master’s. Bradley has been working in the cannabis industry for the last six years and aims to make the state of New Mexico one of the leading adult-use cannabis markets. Bradley joined Rio Grande Analytics in 2022 and is helping grow the business to be the best testing facility for cannabis in New Mexico!

Microbiological Technician II

Nick Passagila

Originally from Southern California, Nick moved to Louisiana to attend university. He attended McNeese State University on scholarship and graduated with honors in 2018. He received a B.S. in biological sciences with a minor in chemistry. He moved to New Mexico in 2019 and has been involved with New Mexico’s cannabis program since then. He started off as a budtender, eventually becoming store manager at a retail location, before joining our team in October of 2022. Since joining our team, Nick has specialized in microbiological laboratory practices, recently becoming our first Microbiological Technician just a year later.