Meet Deb
Deb Haaland is a 35th-generation New Mexican, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna, a small businesswoman, a working mother who’s lived paycheck to paycheck, a former congresswoman, and for the past four years, the United States Secretary of the Interior.
Deb Haaland is of and for New Mexico
Like many New Mexicans, Deb has faced challenges, like homelessness and financial insecurity. Deb helped pay for her child’s preschool by volunteering at the school for discounted tuition. She relied on food stamps to put food on the table and Planned Parenthood for essential care. But like so many New Mexicans, struggle made her fierce. Deb’s resilience enabled her to achieve over three decades of sobriety and build a remarkable career in public service.
Delivering for New Mexico Working Families
As Secretary, she led over 70,000 federal employees and worked tirelessly for New Mexicans, securing thousands of New Mexico jobs, historic local clean energy development, and overseeing billions of dollars of investments in the state.
Deb was confirmed as Secretary of the Interior with strong bipartisan support and is the first Native American cabinet secretary in our nation’s history. As Secretary, she led over 70,000 federal employees and worked tirelessly for New Mexicans, securing thousands of New Mexico jobs, historic local clean energy development, and overseeing billions of dollars of investments in the state. She played a pivotal role in protecting 13.5 million acres of land in New Mexico and nationwide, partnering with rural communities and Tribal Nations to preserve our natural resources for fishing, ranching, recreation, and more. And as someone who grew up in a rural community, Deb partnered with New Mexico’s rural towns and villages to secure their water and address their biggest challenges.
In Congress, Deb prioritized issues important to New Mexicans, including creating local clean energy jobs, securing billions for small businesses and restaurants during the pandemic, expanding access to broadband, addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and protecting thousands of acres of New Mexico’s land. She was known for working across the aisle to deliver for New Mexico, securing more bipartisan cosponsors for her legislation than all House freshmen in 2019, and introducing seven bills signed into law by President Donald Trump—among the most of any member of the House that Congress.
While raising her child, Somah, as a single mom, Deb picked up catering gigs and ran her own small business producing and canning salsa. As a tribal administrator at San Felipe Pueblo and member of the Laguna Development Corporation Board of Directors, Deb successfully advocated for changes that supported small businesses while protecting our land and water. She wanted to make a difference for working New Mexicans like her and started to get involved in registering people to vote. In 2018, Deb made history as one of the first Native American women elected to Congress.
Growing up in a military family, Deb attended 13 public schools before graduating from Highland High School in Albuquerque. At age 28, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of New Mexico and later a J.D. from UNM Law School.
