Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
New Mexico’s governor last week tapped a recently retired state Supreme Court justice to run the Children, Youth and Families Department.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Aug. 10 announced Barbara J. Vigil, recently retired senior justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court and longtime advocate for juvenile justice reform, as as the latest addition to the governor’s Cabinet.
Vigil relieves Secretary Brian Blalock, who is stepping down this month to support his wife’s pursuit of new work opportunities in California.
Vigil is scheduled to begin work as secretary on Oct. 1. Mariana Padilla, director of the state Children’s Cabinet, will serve as interim CYFD chief after Blalock’s departure.
“I’m deeply humbled to have this incredible opportunity to continue serving our state,” Vigil stated in a news release. “Throughout my career I have tried to be a passionate advocate for the children and families of New Mexico. There is so much need. And the systems that serve them, as we all know, do not always meet those needs.”
Vigil, 62, has worked as a judge and lawyer in New Mexico for more than three decades. Elected to the New Mexico Supreme Court in 2012, her tenure included a stint as chief justice before her retirement in June.
Before serving on the high court, she was a judge in the 1st Judicial District Court beginning in 2000, playing an instrumental role in the establishment of juvenile justice boards — which serve as a vehicle for the receipt of state and federal resources to create and sustain many critical social programs for at-risk youth. She also presided over Children’s Court for a decade.
Before her time as a judge, Vigil worked in private practice. She earned a degree in accounting from New Mexico State University and her law degree from the University of New Mexico.
“Justice Vigil is a tremendously talented, incisive and well-respected public servant who has a depth and breadth of experience few in our state can match,” Lujan Grisham stated in a news release. “We are lucky to have her, and I’m very grateful to her for her willingness to step back into the arena and take on a challenging opportunity for the benefit of children and families of New Mexico.”