Sen. Leo Jaramillo at his desk in the Senate in March 2023. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com

BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com

State Sen. Leo Jaramillo is headed to a national seminar for emerging legislators in July at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Majority Leader Sen. Peter Wirth submitted the names of top-performing freshmen – those that are first term senators – to be sent on to the State Legislative Leaders Foundation where their applications were put through a stringent process. Four names were sent from New Mexico and Sen. Jaramillo is one of the two that were selected.

“It is based on what legislation you carried, why you carried it and the impact it would have,” Sen. Jaramillo told the League of Women Voters of Los Alamos Thursday when he appeared on Zoom as the guest speaker for Lunch with a Leader. “I’m proud to say I will be one of 55 legislators in the country coming together the second week of July at the University of Virginia as a cohort to work on how we can start working on legislation on a national level to get to our state senators and representatives that cross party lines that will have an effect on us as Americans.”

He said he will bring back what he learns to the Roundhouse including ideas on how to bridge New Mexicans together “to stop seeing labels and start seeing issues, identify them and find ways to come up with solutions”.

“I am so excited – it’s the first time a Northern New Mexico senator has been brought into this class – the Emerging Leaders Seminar – and I look forward to representing all of us in Virginia,” Sen. Jaramillo said.

State legislators who have recently begun their careers in public service and who “demonstrate the skills and aptitude to attain positions of greater political responsibility” are eligible to participate. Primary criteria for selection include the candidate’s “long-term commitment to public service and keen interest in self development”.

The State Legislative Leaders Foundation (SLLF), http://www.sllf.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, independent national organization committed to providing specialized educational and enrichment programs for the leaders of the nation’s state legislatures – speakers of the house, senate presidents, majority leaders, minority leaders and pro-tempores. It is the only legislative organization dedicated solely to serving all state legislative leaders. State legislators who have recently begun their careers in public service and who “demonstrate the skills and aptitude to attain positions of greater political responsibility” are eligible to participate. Primary criteria for selection include the candidate’s “long-term commitment to public service and keen interest in self development”.