University of New Mexico School of Law
Which school did Michelle Lujan Grisham go to from 1983 to 1987?
Michelle Lujan Grisham Michelle Lynn Lujan Grisham ( ; born October 24 , 1959 ) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 32nd governor of New Mexico since 2019 . A member of the Democratic Party , Lujan Grisham previously served as the U.S . Representative for New Mexicos 1st congressional district from 2013 to 2019 . On November 6 , 2018 , she became the first Democratic woman elected governor of New Mexico , as well as the first Democratic Hispanic woman elected state governor in U.S . history . Lujan Grisham served as Secretary of Health of New Mexico from 2004 to 2007 and as Bernalillo County Commissioner from 2010 to 2012 . She was elected to the U.S . House of Representatives in 2012 , defeating Janice Arnold-Jones . In 2016 , Lujan Grisham was selected as the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus . She won the Democratic nomination for governor of New Mexico in 2018 and defeated Republican Steve Pearce on November 6 , 2018 . Early life and education . Michelle Lujan was born in Los Alamos , New Mexico , and grew up in Santa Fe . Her father , Llewellyn Buddy Lujan , practiced dentistry into his 80s until he died in March 2011 . Her mother , Sonja , was a homemaker . Michelles sister Kimberly was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of two and died at 21 . Lujan Grisham says that her ancestors have inhabited New Mexico for 12 generations . She is part of the prominent Lujan political family in New Mexico , many of whose members have served in elected and appointed positions in government . Lujan graduated from St . Michaels High School . She received a Bachelor of Arts in university studies from the University of New Mexico in 1981 , where she was a work study student in the engineering department and a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority . In 1982 , she married Gregory Alan Grisham . She also worked as a technical writing intern for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation . In 1987 , Lujan Grisham earned a Juris Doctor from the University of New Mexico School of Law . Early political career . Lujan Grisham served as director of the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department under Bruce King , Gary Johnson , and Bill Richardson . During Richardsons tenure , the position was elevated to the state cabinet level . In 2004 , he named Lujan Grisham as New Mexico Secretary of Health and she served in the position until 2007 . Lujan Grisham was later elected to the Bernalillo County Commission , serving from 2010 to 2012 . U.S . House of Representatives . Elections . - 2008 Lujan Grisham resigned as Secretary of Health in order to run for the United States House of Representatives in the 2008 elections , losing in the Democratic primary to Martin Heinrich , who won with 44% of the vote . New Mexico Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron ranked second with 25% and Michelle Lujan-Grisham ranked third with 24% . - 2012 Lujan Grisham sought the Democratic nomination for the House again in 2012 after Heinrich decided to run for the United States Senate . She won the nomination , defeating Marty Chavez and Eric Griego . She defeated Janice Arnold-Jones , a former member of the New Mexico House of Representatives , in the November general election , 59%–41% . - 2014 Lujan Grisham defeated Republican Mike Frese in the 2014 elections , 59% to 41% . - 2016 In 2016 , Lujan Grisham defeated Republican Richard Priem , receiving 179,380 votes ( 65.1% ) to Priems 96,061 ( 34.9% ) . Tenure . Lujan Grisham was sworn in as a member of Congress on January 3 , 2013 . In 2016 , she was one of nine members of Congress who took a trip to Baku that was later found to have been secretly funded by the government of Azerbaijan ; she had to turn over gifts the country gave her to the House Clerk after an ethics investigation . Both the Office of Congressional Ethics and House Ethics Committee found lawmakers and aides had no way of knowing the trip was being funded improperly . Also in 2016 , Lujan Grisham was selected as the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus . Lujan Grisham resigned her House seat as of December 31 , 2018 to assume the governorship of New Mexico the following day . Committee assignments . - Committee on Agriculture - United States House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition - United States House Agriculture Subcommittee on Biotechnology , Horticulture , and Research ( Ranking Member ) - Committee on the Budget Caucuses . - Congressional Hispanic Caucus ( Chair ) - Congressional Native American Caucus - Congressional Caucus for Womens Issues Governor of New Mexico . Election . On December 13 , 2016 , one week after Tom Udall announced he would not run for governor of New Mexico , Lujan Grisham became the first person to announce her candidacy to succeed Susana Martinez , who was prohibited from running because of term limits . On June 5 , 2018 , she won the Democratic primary to become the partys nominee . On November 6 , she was elected governor , defeating the Republican nominee , U.S . Representative Steve Pearce , with 56.9% of the vote . Tenure . Lujan Grisham was sworn in on January 1 , 2019 . In September 2019 , she announced a plan to make public universities in New Mexico tuition-free to state residents . On September 5 , 2020 , Lujan Grisham was named a co-chair of the Biden-Harris Transition Team , which is planning Joe Bidens presidential transition . In November , Lujan Grisham was named a candidate for United States Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Biden Administration . On December 3 , 2020 , she was elected chair of the Democratic Governors Association for 2021 , having served as vice chair in 2020 . Political positions . Abortion . In 1969 , the New Mexico Legislature passed a law that made it a felony for someone to provide a woman with an abortion unless it was needed to save a womans life , or because her pregnancy was a result of rape or incest . The U.S . Supreme Courts decision in 1973s Roe v . Wade barred states from regulating abortion in the first trimester ; consequently , New Mexicos 1969 abortion law became unenforceable . In her 2019 State of the State address , Lujan Grisham stated her support for a repeal of the 1969 law ; she said , The old criminal abortion law of this state , only one of nine left in the entire country , must go . Bring me that bill and I will sign it . Lujan Grisham published an op-ed in support of repeal on March 3 , 2019 . Repeal legislation passed the New Mexico House of Representatives ; however , that legislation was defeated in the Democratic-led State Senate on March 14 , 2019 by a vote of 24–18 . Following the Senate vote , Lujan Grisham said , This old , outdated statute criminalizing health care providers is an embarrassment . That removing it was even a debate , much less a difficult vote for some senators , is inexplicable to me . Environment . On January 29 , 2019 , Lujan Grisham signed an executive order calling for New Mexico to join the United States Climate Alliance and to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45% below 2005 levels by 2030 . This executive order also called for the state to develop comprehensive regulations to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector , and for state agencies to work with the legislature to increase the states renewable portfolio standard . In March 2019 , Lujan Grisham signed New Mexicos Energy Transition Act . The legislation transitions the states electricity sector away from coal and natural gas and toward a renewable economy , requiring New Mexicos electricity to be 50% renewable by 2030 and 100% from zero-carbon sources by 2045 . She called the legislation a promise to future generations of New Mexicans . Marijuana legalization . In 2019 , after recreational marijuana legalization passed the New Mexico House but not the Senate , Lujan Grisham announced that she would add the issue to the legislative agenda for the upcoming year . She also announced the formation of a working group to determine the best path forward for legalization during the 2020 session . In 2021 , after the legislature failed to legalize cannabis during the regular session , Lujan Grisham called a special session so that lawmakers could pass a legalization bill . She signed the bill into law on April 12 , 2021 . Guns . Lujan Grisham was a co-sponsor of the 2015 Assault Weapon Ban H . R . 4269 Bill that was introduced on December 12 , 2015 . Minimum wage . In 2015 , Lujan Grisham co-sponsored legislation that would raise the minimum wage to $12/hour . Israel . Lujan Grisham is a strong supporter of Israel . She condemned the United Nations Security Councils criticism of Israels settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories . Personal life . Lujan Grishams husband , Gregory , died of a brain aneurysm in 2004 . The couple had two daughters . Lujan Grisham filed a wrongful death suit against her husbands physician , but the lawsuit was dropped . Legal issues . From November 2020 to March 2021 Lujan Grishams gubernatorial campaign made five monthly payments of $12,500 each ( totaling $62,500 ) to settle a sexual harassment complaint made by her former campaign spokesperson , James Hallinan . Hallinan accused Lujan Grisham of pouring a bottle of water on his crotch and then grabbing his crotch through his clothes while she laughed . The incident allegedly occurred in the presence of other campaign staffers . The campaign denied the accusations .