Lujan Grisham names new head of aging department
Governor appointed Katrina Hotrum-Lopez, the director of behavioral health services for Bernalillo County
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday she has appointed Katrina HotrumLopez, director of behavioral health services at Bernalillo County, as the new Cabinet secretary of the state Aging and Long-Term Services Department.
Hotrum-Lopez, a former deputy secretary of the state Department of Health, will replace Alice Liu McCoy, who was hired in late July to serve as the executive director of the state Developmental Disabilities Planning Council. McCoy is an attorney who has represented and advocated for people with disabilities, according to a news release from the Governor’s Office.
“Alice has fought for marginalized and disadvantaged New Mexicans her entire career,” Lujan Grisham said in the statement, “and I’m incredibly excited she will have an opportunity to continue that work within our administration, delivering meaningful guardianship reform. We have
got to get that right.”
Hotrum-Lopez, who has been Bernalillo County’s behavioral health director since 2016, previously served as the county’s director of substance abuse programs, the news release says.
She worked in the state Health Department for several years, serving as deputy secretary from 2007-10. Before that, she spent six years in the Aging and Long-Term Services Department, serving as an ombudsman and as director of the Elder Rights Division.
“I’m honored to have the chance to join the team of experienced and thoughtful leaders in the governor’s Cabinet,” HotrumLopez said in the statement. “Our focus will continue to be reforming the services and oversight we provide to make them the very best in the country. New Mexicans deserve no less.”