Passing the Torch at the ACLU of New Mexico

It has been my honor and pleasure to serve as the executive director of the ACLU of New Mexico. When I began in 2000, we were a small but determined staff of three–none of whom were lawyers. Today, the organization employs more than 30 policy, legal, communications, and administrative staff. The ACLU-NM’s name is known and respected in the courts, the legislature, and in communities throughout the state. Some of our greatest victories have fundamentally altered the contours of civil rights in New Mexico, making our state a freer, more just place to live. We did this together. Your partnership gave me the confidence, the resources, and the wisdom to build the ACLU-NM into the powerhouse organization it is today. 

After 24 years in this role, the time has come for me to step down from executive leadership at the ACLU of New Mexico. For the next three months, I will serve in an advisory capacity to the new interim executive director, Leon Howard. At the end of the year, I will retire from the ACLU of New Mexico.  

This is an exciting transition. Having served as both staff attorney and our legal director, Leon understands our mission and the legal underpinnings of our work better than anyone. For the last two years, he served in a deputy director role designed to help him build the skills and knowledge to one day become an executive director.  

Leon is a compassionate and visionary leader who has a unique skill for bringing people together in a common cause. He is courageous and he is deeply committed to justice. I have no doubts that he will lead the ACLU of New Mexico to yet greater heights than I was able to achieve. While the ACLU of New Mexico Board of Directors must conduct a formal search to name a permanent director, he has my unconditional support.  

This is a bittersweet moment for me. I am excited about what the next chapter of my life will bring. For years, I have been developing my writing talents with an ambition to publish a novel or two. I long to spend more time with my wife and with old friends. I want to hike and bike more. 

But I will always cherish the memories of the victories we shared. 

• Winning the freedom to marry for same-sex couples.  
• Ending “policing for profit” in our state.  
• Ridding our laws of a draconian abortion ban that Dobbs would have reactivated.  
• Holding the Albuquerque Police Department to account for its pattern and practice of excessive force. 
• Stopping rogue vigilante groups from terrorizing immigrant families on our southern border.  
• Passing the New Mexico Civil Rights Act. 

And I will cherish the conversations we had over the years. The advice and insights you gave me. Your moral support. Your generosity. 

Thank you for the honor to serve as your executive director. It has been the job of a lifetime.