DFA Secretary Deborah Romero to retire after nearly 50 years in state government

SANTA FE – The Office of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday announced that Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Deborah Romero will retire at the end of the year after serving 48 years in New Mexico state government. Romero has led the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) since 2020, previously serving as DFA Deputy Secretary and director of the department’s state budget division. A career public servant in New Mexico state government, Romero has worked for nine different gubernatorial administrations and participated in over 40 legislative sessions. She has worked in budgeting and finance across a wide variety of fields, with the majority of her career spent at DFA. Throughout her time at the department, she established the infrastructure capital outlay process for local governments, created the state’s capital outlay tracking system, and launched the state Infrastructure Finance Conference, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. She also previously served as Chief Financial Officer for the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, as well as the Director of