Think New Mexico, a results-oriented think tank serving New Mexicans, is pleased to announce that  former New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Judith K. Nakamura has joined its Board of Directors.

Judith retired in December 2020 after a 22 -year career in the New Mexico judiciary. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1989 and spent a decade practicing law in both the public and private sectors. In 1998, Judith successfully ran for a position on the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, where she served for fifteen years, including eleven years as the court's Chief Judge. During her tenure on the court, she was named Judge of the Year by the Albuquerque Bar Association, received the University of New Mexico's Zia Award recognizing distinguished alumni, and was the recipient of the National Mothers Against Drunk Driving President's Award for her efforts to reduce DWI.

In 2013, Judith was appointed to the Bernalillo County District Court, where she presided over criminal cases until December 2015, when she was appointed to the Supreme Court of New Mexico. Her appointment gave the Court its first female majority. She was elected to serve as Chief Justice by her colleagues and was sworn in on June 7, 2017, becoming only the fourth woman to serve as Chief Justice in the Court's 108-year history.

Judith obtained her hot air balloon private pilot license in 2005 and her commercial license in 2014.  She currently flies a Cameron O-84 named “Bounce.” She is a part owner and pilot of the “Spirit of Fiesta” balloon and is one of the volunteer pilots of Smokey Bear.  She is also rated to fly gas balloons. Elected to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta’s Board of Directors in 2011, she now serves at the Board’s Vice-President. Judith also serves on the Board of the National Courts and Sciences Institute, and is a member of the American Law Institute. 

Judith joins a distinguished board of New Mexico statesmen and stateswomen, including Garrey Carruthers, former Governor of New Mexico; Paul Bardacke, former Attorney General of New Mexico; Roberta Cooper Ramo, the first woman elected President of the American Bar Association and American Law Institute; LaDonna Harris, founder of Americans for Indian Opportunity; Clara Apodaca, former  President and CEO of the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation; Ed Lujan, former CEO of Manuel Lujan Agencies and former chair of the Republican Party of New Mexico; Liddie Martinez, former chair of the board of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation; Notah Begay III, founder of the Notah Begay III Foundation, which works to reduce obesity and diabetes among Native youth; and Jackie Baca, President of Bueno Foods. (Fred Nathan, Founder and Executive Director of Think New Mexico, also serves on the board.)

Think New Mexico is best known for its successful initiatives to make high-quality full-day kindergarten accessible to every child in New Mexico; to repeal the state’s regressive tax on food and defeat multiple efforts to reimpose it; and to redirect millions of dollars a year out of the state lottery’s excessive operating costs and into full-tuition college scholarships. Most recently, Think New Mexico successfully championed the enactment of the New Mexico Work and Save Act, which will make it easier for New Mexicans working in the private sector to save for their retirement. Think New Mexico is currently working to end predatory lending by reducing the maximum annual interest rate for small loans from 175% to 36% and to make personal finance education a high school graduation requirement.

For more information, visit Think New Mexico’s website at: www.thinknewmexico.org.