Veronica Krupnick, New Mexico House of Representatives Veronica Krupnick is a Child Welfare Youth and Tribal Advocate within the state, national, and international child welfare community. She is proudly from the State of New Mexico and is a Hopi tribal member with Jemez Pueblo and Diné lineage. Drawing on her personal experience navigating the child welfare system and her extensive professional background in the field, Veronica passionately advocates for preventative services, lived experience led policy, and for the holistic well-being of children, families, and their communities. Veronica currently serves as the Legislative Director to the House Majority Whip, Representative Dayan Hochman-Vigil, in the New Mexico House of Representatives. Veronica has been instrumental in developing, implementing, and safeguarding lived experience-centered resources, policy, legislation, and trainings throughout the nation, while also providing direct peer support and mentorship to young people of diverse backgrounds. Veronica is the recipient of the 2024 Casey Excellence for Children Alumni Award, a national honor in recognition of her work to strengthen protection of tribal children and families, the Federal Indian Child Welfare Act, and to safely reduce the need for foster care countrywide. She is also the recipient of the 2024 New Mexico Children’s Law Institute’s Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Hope in Action Excellence Award, for her advocacy in her home state. Veronica’s current community roles include serving as the Vice President of the Board of Directors at CASA First and as a member of the New Mexico Partners – a collaborative tribal-led organization centered on the first Indian Child Welfare Court and the Indian Family Protect Act in New Mexico. Veronica aspires to be a role model, a supportive mentor, and a fiercely dedicated voice for those directly impacted by the child welfare system.
Industry partnerships fuel solar energy work on the Navajo Nation Students, alumni, and faculty are working alongside industry partners AES and Marathon Petroleum to bring solar energy to homes on the Navajo Nation. The Village Aid Project Solar Initiative blends student-led design with culturally grounded engagement, advancing energy justice and long-term infrastructure solutions.
Fort Lewis College awarded nearly $1 million grant to advance reconciliation and character education The three-year grant will support the launch and long-term success of a new Reconciliation Center at FLC, and builds on years of reconciliation work at FLC.
FLC names Director of Reconciliation Rosalinda Linares-Gray will lead the new Reconciliation Center at FLC.
From the Met to the Mountains: Art meets science at the Center of Southwest Studies The Met, one of the world’s leading museums, is bringing cutting-edge scientific art-based research to the heart of the Four Corners.
FLC alum Matthew Schaeffer helps lay groundwork for reconciliation From student researcher to reconciliation coordinator, Schaeffer draws on identity and lived experience to shape a more inclusive future at Fort Lewis College.