Well, pretty close, actually…
I was stoked yesterday when I learned that New Mexico’s governor appointed Dr. Patricia Trujillo to be the new Deputy Secretary of Higher Education.
This powerhouse Chicana from Espanola has a Masters degree in English/ Creative Writing and a PhD in US Latina/o Literature. She has been tenured faculty at Northern NM College AND the Director of the school’s Office of Equity and Diversity (which she started). And she is or has been a member of the boards at NewMexicoWomen.org, Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, Tewa Women United, and LANL Foundation. She has published writings on cultural identity, Chicana feminism, indigeneity, and place-based identity and she was recently named the Creative Writing Editor of the “Chicana/Latina Studies: The Journal of Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social,” a peer-reviewed journal out of Arizona State.
It feels good knowing we have a badass woman advocating for students and developing education policies. I’m super stoked for you, Patricia, and for New Mexican students.