New Mexico Indian Affairs’ cabinet secretary leaving the job

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Indian Affairs Department’s cabinet secretary will be leaving her job at the end of this month.

Lynn Trujillo was appointed to the position by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in January 2019.

“Lynn has been an essential part of our efforts to better support, partner with, and invest in tribal communities across the state,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement Thursday announcing Trujillo’s upcoming departure.

The governor’s office said it is conducting a search for Trujillo’s replacement.

As cabinet secretary, Trujillo worked with tribal leadership, advocates and legislators on passage and enactment of aid legislation that provided additional funding to school districts in Native American communities.

She also led New Mexico’s first Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Task Force, which led to the creation of a state response plan to address the issue.

During Trujillo’s tenure, the Lujan Grisham administration also provided life-saving resources to tribal communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.