About the Governor

Michelle Lujan Grisham is the thirty-second governor of New Mexico and the first Democratic Hispanic woman elected governor in U.S. history.

During two terms in office, Governor Lujan Grisham has led one of the most consequential anti-poverty efforts in the nation. She pioneered the nation’s only cradle-to-career framework connecting free, universal child care, pre-K, tuition free college and adult education programs, backed by a dedicated funding stream that does not depend on annual budget negotiations. In doing so, New Mexico went from a ranking near the bottom in early childhood investment to a national model.

Governor Lujan Grisham has also advanced a sweeping approach to health care access, ensuring that the most vulnerable New Mexicans are covered while expanding the state’s health care infrastructure to improve access to doctors throughout the state. As a result of her ambitious and strategic education and health care initiatives, New Mexico has achieved the largest poverty reduction in the U.S. over the past three years.

The governor’s record also includes a landmark clean energy transition, a 50-year water security plan and strong, consistent advocacy for New Mexico’s tribes, veterans and seniors.

Before her election as governor, Lujan Grisham served three terms in Congress representing New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District and chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. She previously led the New Mexico Department of Health and the Department of Aging and Long-term Services.

A 12th-generation New Mexican, she was born in Los Alamos, graduated from St. Michael’s High School in Santa Fe and holds undergraduate and law degrees from the University of New Mexico. She is the mother of two adult children and grandmother of three.