Dr. Patricia Trujillo joined the New Mexico Higher Education Department as Deputy Secretary in November of 2020. She formerly served as founding director of the Office of Equity and Diversity at Northern New Mexico College since 2013, where she oversaw programming to address access and inclusion for historically underrepresented populations in higher education. Key initiatives included leading development of co-curricular assessment and student learning outcomes for cultural sustainability, creation of student support groups such as the Hermanas Juntas and Black and African American Student Organization, and oversight of the ¡Sostenga! farm.

Born and raised in the Española Valley, Trujillo has dedicated her career to improving social engagement via critical education, social justice, and community-building. She has served on multiple commissions and boards, including the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, Tewa Women United, NewMexicoWomen.Org, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation. Trujillo also has more than 15 years of experience in higher education, and is a tenured professor at Northern New Mexico College.  She has taught in the areas of Chicana/Chicano studies, Southwest literature, Indigenous history, and New Mexico history, and has published work in multiple academic books and journals.

She has a Ph.D. in U.S. Latina/Latino Literature from the University of Texas San Antonio, an M.A. in English from the University of Nebraska, and a B.A. in English with a supplemental major in Law and Society from New Mexico State University.