Our Leadership

Cabinet Secretary Alisha Tafoya Lucero was appointed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2019 to lead the New Mexico Corrections Department. She brings more than 25 years of public service experience, having begun her career in corrections as a classification officer at the Penitentiary of New Mexico. Throughout her career, she has served in numerous roles, including as a probation and parole officer, unit manager, deputy warden, and warden.

Secretary Tafoya Lucero holds a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, both from the University of New Mexico.

Since her appointment, Secretary Tafoya Lucero has made reentry the cornerstone of the department's public safety mission. Under her leadership, the department established a dedicated Reentry Division, expanded educational opportunities, introduced a wide range of vocational training programs, significantly reduced Hepatitis C infections, established meaningful pay equity changes across the department, and transitioned three privately operated prisons to state management. These initiatives have contributed to a significant reduction in recidivism and strengthened the department's focus on preparing incarcerated individuals for successful reentry into their communities.

Secretary Tafoya Lucero serves as chair of the Correctional Leaders Association’s Healthcare Committee, where she helps advance national discussions on correctional healthcare, institutional case management, release planning, continuity of care, substance use treatment, mental health services, and implementing best practices with limited resources.

Outside of her public service, Secretary Tafoya Lucero is an avid rancher who helps her family care for horses in La Cienega and cattle in Tierra Amarilla. She is a proud mother and has been married to her husband for more than two decades.