Michelle Lujan Grisham Goes the Extra Mile for New Mexico

In 2019, Michelle Lujan Grisham made history as the first Democratic Latina governor in the US. The twelfth-generation New Mexican builds on her family’s legacy to create real, lasting change for everyone in New Mexico to achieve their American Dream.

By Noah Johnson

Photo + Video by Cass Davis

Design by Arturo Magallanes

When Michelle Lujan Grisham is asked what her legacy will be, there are several potential answers she could give.

She could say she was the thirty-second governor of the State of New Mexico and the first Democratic Latina to be elected governor in US history. She could tout her administration’s investments in driving economic growth, ensuring high-quality education, and advocating for issues like environmental policy, reproductive freedom, and sustainable development. She could even mention her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, when her state and the country navigated uncharted territory on several fronts.

However, during her interview with Hispanic Executive, she doesn’t offer these responses. Instead, she offers a vision.

“I want people to have real optimism about where their families are and where they are going. I want young people to see the benefits of the state in which they were born and raised, and I don’t want them to feel like they’re missing out because they’re a New Mexican,” she says. “That everything they ever dreamed of is in this backyard and that we can build that set of opportunities for generations to come. I want to make sure New Mexico is viewed as one of those states where we can do literally anything we put our mind to.”

Commitment to Community

Lujan Grisham’s strong belief in the state’s potential wasn’t born in a vacuum.

She and her two siblings grew up in Los Alamos to parents who were committed to the community. Her father ran a full-time dental health practice, was the first public health dentist in the state, and specialized in providing dental care to disabled children. He’d travel to rural communities providing free dentistry and would foot the bills for patients who couldn’t afford their lab work. Her mother was involved with federal advocacy to provide reparations for families affected in Los Alamos. Lujan Grisham’s sister attended the School for the Visually Handicapped, and their mother had many leadership roles with the school, including chairwoman of the board.

Lujan Grisham always knew she wanted to effect positive change like her parents.

“I didn’t know any different,” she says. “My parents were always out there making sure that people who were less fortunate had what they needed, and that’s how I grew up. I always wanted to help people and no doubt I was inspired by my parents and their greater family who always went the extra mile for others.”

It took time for Lujan Grisham to find her footing once she started her career. While a professional position at Westinghouse Advanced Energy Systems exposed her to interesting people and problems, she quickly realized the work wasn’t for her. In part, that prompted her to pursue law school as suggested by her grandfather, Eugene D. Lujan, who was one of the first Hispanic justices of the New Mexico Supreme Court. Her law degree paved the way for stints at big firms handling copyright, intellectual property, and more. After a few years performing that work, she still felt like she wasn’t where she was meant to be.

That’s when an interesting opportunity arose: a staff attorney position for the Lawyer Referral for the Elderly program. The program offered free legal advice and services to New Mexico seniors and helped provide resources tailored to their needs. Within a few months, Lujan Grisham was the director of the program. Taking that job not only changed her career trajectory and career opportunities but also deepened her passion for social justice.

“I was struck by how hard it was for people to get connected with the things they actually need. There’s a multitude of barriers,” she says. “It just really opened about everything—housing, income, equality, transportation, basic dignity, and life supports. Then, tougher issues like guardianship, dementia, commitments. There was this whole breadth of issues where the government wasn’t doing enough to support families, and it also didn’t do enough to prevent it by helping people get prepared for these issues.”

“I want to make sure New Mexico is viewed as one of those states where we can do literally anything we put our mind to.”

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on the New Mexican American Dream

Building the New Mexico Dream

From there, Lujan Grisham took her public service dedication to the next level. In 1991, she served as director of New Mexico’s Agency on Aging, reporting to three governors throughout her eleven-year tenure. In 2002, she became the first Secretary of New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services under Governor Bill Richardson. Richardson then named Lujan Grisham as New Mexico Secretary of Health in 2004, and she served in the position until 2007.

There was no shortage of accomplishments: expanding school-based health centers, banning junk food from schools, and putting teen pregnancy prevention programs in place. “We made incredible strides to improve teen pregnancy rates and prevent teen pregnancy,” she stresses.

Then there is the public health work, which included importing flu vaccines when there was a vaccine shortage and crisis during a flu pandemic. Childhood vaccination rates also rose considerably during her tenure.

In each chapter of her appointment career, her focus was the same: advocating for senior citizens, veterans, and the disabled while prioritizing investments in healthcare infrastructure and innovative programs that improved quality of care.

“It was all wrapped around healthy families and better economic focus, so people could have the ability to do more for themselves and meet that American Dream, particularly for a minority majority state and for a state that has long had deep rooted generational poverty at its core,” she says.

After being elected to the Bernalillo County Commission in 2009 and serving from 2010 to 2012, Lujan Grisham was elected to New Mexico’s First Congressional District. In Congress, she served on the budget and the agricultural committees, where she passed legislation to help tribal communities and public schools pay for law enforcement training. Lujan Grisham also served on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus during the 115th US Congress. She also partnered with the Veterans Administration to increase veterans’ access to healthcare and collaborated with diverse stakeholders to clean up Albuquerque’s drinking water.

Her track record resonated with New Mexicans and in 2019, she made history as the first Democratic Latina elected governor in the US. When asked what the title means to her, she says it’s one that she doesn’t take lightly.

“When young girls come up to me and talk about how they are motivated and interested in elections and public policy, my responsibility becomes increasingly clear,” she says. “My role has the enormous potential to get every minority woman to think about their role in government and being governor gives me that opportunity to inspire them.”

Since her election in 2019, Lujan Grisham and her administration have made critical investments to move New Mexico into the future. They’ve invested in growing industries like cannabis and outdoor recreation, which resulted in the state’s best year for new job growth in fifteen years. They allocated nearly a billion dollars to New Mexico’s schools, reformed laws to ensure students get necessary financial support, and gave educators a historic year-over-year raise. She and her team have also led the charge on fighting climate change, investing in clean energy, and setting ambitious climate goals.

Lujan Grisham believes young people should spend time thinking about their legacy, too. Young Latinas, in particular, can start by “seeing your abilities not your limitations.”

“Sexism is alive and well. It’s easy for women and women of color to see any number of barriers and so many test in front of them,” the governor says. “We want young people to prepare themselves, but it’s still too easy for so many women with incredible leadership qualities to not see themselves as leaders in their own right.

“So, my advice is to recognize that those qualities are there,” she continues. “Tap into it earlier not later. Put yourself in a position where people give you a chance to lead. Do as much as you can with as much as you have right now.”