August 30, 2024

It is with a mix of celebration, sadness and heartfelt gratitude that we announce that NM Voices for Children icon Bill Jordan is retiring. Working primarily as our chief lobbyist on behalf of children and their families, Bill dedicated the last 26 years at NM Voices to making New Mexico a better place to be and raise a child.

Bill joined NM Voices in 1998 and led our legislative advocacy efforts in Santa Fe and Washington, D.C., working primarily with lawmakers on issues such as creating a state-level Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, expanding access to health care, increasing funding for early childhood care and education, raising the minimum wage, ending predatory lending, passing the child helmet safety law, and the like. (For a longer list of the amazing work Bill has led, see the Our Impact page on our website.) Bill has long been relied upon by countless legislators for data and information relating to the legislation they were crafting or voting on.

Originally from Kentucky, Bill has a Master of Arts in Religious Studies from The Athenaeum of Ohio (1980). He came to Albuquerque in 1987 to work as Executive Director of the Center for Action and Contemplation. In 1991 he was named Executive Director of the HIV Coordinating Council of New Mexico, where he successfully shepherded the needle exchange bill through the state Legislature.

Bill has been appointed to serve on numerous task forces, including the Governor’s Task Force on HIV/AIDS under both Governors Bruce King and Gary Johnson, Gov. Johnson’s Medicaid Managed Long-Term Care Task Force, and Gov. Bill Richardson’s Equal Pay Task Force and Budget Balancing Task Force. For many years at NM Voices he convened the state Medicaid Coalition, which was instrumental in expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and eliminating wait lists for those on developmental disabilities (DD) waivers.

Over the years at NM Voices, he has served as Project Director, Deputy Director, and Senior Policy Director, as well as Interim Co-Executive Director on several occasions. To say that Bill has been an integral part of the team at NM Voices and the work we do is an understatement. Bill has been a force of nature. His hard word, dedication, enthusiasm, and constant flow of unique and bright ideas have made a difference for countless children across the state.

Please Help Support Our Continued Work

Although it will be impossible to replace Bill, we will be hiring a new chief lobbyist to oversee our advocacy work at the Legislature. That is where you come in.

While our research, analysis, and education work is paid for in large part by funding from private foundations, our lobbying – the kind of work Bill did so well – must be paid for out of donations from generous individuals like you. Please go to our Donate page and make a one-time or monthly donation to help us continue this vital work. You can even honor Bill with your donation. Simply click on "This gift is in honor, memory, or support of someone" and add "Bill Jordan" to the "optional" note box. We’ll let him know how many donations we receive in his honor (and we’ll ensure that there are tissues at hand).

As Bill moves into this next phase of his life, we will miss him, his cheerful demeanor, and his extraordinary contribution to our work. We wish him the best with this new chapter.