New Mexico State Representative Stephanie Garcia Richard is running for the office of New Mexico State Land Commissioner. She is a native New Mexican and lifelong educator who has worked both abroad and in Northern New Mexico. Born in Tucumcari and raised in ...
Read moreNew Mexico State Representative Stephanie Garcia Richard is running for the office of New Mexico State Land Commissioner. She is a native New Mexican and lifelong educator who has worked both abroad and in Northern New Mexico. Born in Tucumcari and raised in Silver City, Stephanie learned at a young age the importance of serving others. Her father, a WWII veteran was a teacher; her mother was active in their church and community.
Stephanie grew up in a family that ranches on the eastern plains and the northern mountains of New Mexico, giving Stephanie a strong connection to the lands of our state. After graduating high school she went to Barnard College at Columbia University in New York and followed in her father’s footsteps in becoming a teacher. Having worked abroad and around the country, she returned home to New Mexico with her husband to raise their family.
Prior to serving as Land Commissioner, she was a curriculum coordinator for Pojoaque schools and served the people of New Mexico for six years in the Legislature and as the Chair of the House Education Committee. As an educator, Stephanie taught at a Bureau of Indian Affairs school, a charter school and within the public school system. She has seen firsthand how public policies and a lack of funding can impact our children and our communities and knows we must transform the State Land Office if we want to make New Mexico better for generations to come.
Stephanie made state history in 2018 when she was elected as New Mexico’s Commissioner of Public Lands. She is the first woman to serve in this role.
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