SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday announced the appointment of Annie Winterfield Manriquez as her Senior Advisor for Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure.

Manriquez will work with key stakeholders across government and the private sector to bolster New Mexico’s cybersecurity infrastructure and systems, as well as create statewide standards and best practices for information-sharing, communications, and incident response protocols. 

“A robust cybersecurity framework has never been more important, and we are already seeing more sophisticated cyberattacks being carried out in New Mexico and the rest of the country,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham. “It is critical that the state continue to take action to make sure we are as prepared and protected as possible, and Annie is the leader the state needs.”

Manriquez, who is nationally recognized for her work to create innovative solutions to complex technical and national security challenges throughout multiple presidential administrations, will apply her expertise to ensuring New Mexico’s critical infrastructure and cyber defenses can withstand the rapidly evolving world of cyberthreats. Before coming to New Mexico, Annie was in senior leadership at The MITRE Corporation, a Federally Funded Research and Development Corporation (FFRDC), known in part for its groundbreaking work in cybersecurity. There, she led the Intelligence Analysis and Strategy Department and worked with agencies across the Executive Branch to overhaul and modernize multi-billion-dollar programs, including cyber systems. Manriquez held previous appointments at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars and Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. She is a graduate of the University of California in Santa Barbara.

“I am grateful the Governor asked me to step into this role, it could not have come at a better time – protecting New Mexico’s vast intellectual and physical capital from rapidly evolving cyber threats has never been more urgent,” Manriquez said. “I am ready to get to work.”

As the current geopolitical situation in Ukraine devolves and state-sponsored cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure in the U.S. grow more sophisticated, the White House and federal agencies responsible for cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection have called for states to take immediate steps to strengthen their defenses against potentially crippling Russian cyberattacks.

The state already follows established frameworks and best practices to monitor and protect digital assets in New Mexico, but due to the ever-changing threat landscape, state systems and technology protocols must be continuously monitored, reevaluated and improved to maintain a robust cyber posture.