SANTA FE – After more than a year of managing an unprecedented deluge of unemployment claims brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and overseeing the disbursement of more than $3.5 billion in funds to displaced workers throughout the state, New Mexico Workforce Solutions Secretary Bill McCamley will step down from his position.

McCamley’s resignation is effective Friday, April 16. Ricky Serna, who had previously served as deputy secretary at the Department of Workforce Solutions, will serve as acting secretary until a full-time replacement is identified; the administration has begun searching for qualified candidates.

“I am grateful to Bill for his work over the last few years and in particular since the pandemic reached our state,” said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. “COVID-19 affected everyone in New Mexico, and the Department of Workforce Solutions was asked to step up and meet the new and unexpected and ongoing needs of so many of our neighbors. I am certain the state employees there will continue to do all they can to help constituents around the clock as we begin to move toward the end of the pandemic.”

“I was proud to have the opportunity to lead this department and take up new and important initiatives like expanding apprenticeships, the governor’s STEM challenge and many others,” said McCamley. “The last year has been challenging for so many New Mexicans, and I know the hard-working employees at DWS and across state government will continue to work to meet the needs of New Mexico workers all across the state.”

Before joining state government in 2019, McCamley served as a state legislator representing the Las Cruces area from 2012 through 2018, as a Doña Ana County Commissioner and as executive director of the New Mexico Rural Development Council.