Rep. Javier Martínez, Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives
Javier Martínez is the 31st Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives. He has represented Albuquerque’s House District 11 since 2015 and previously served as the Majority Floor Leader and Chairman of the House Taxation & Revenue Committee.
As the son of immigrants who spent his early life along the southern border, he is committed to helping working families and New Americans create brighter futures for themselves and their children.
A respected legislator and community leader, Speaker Martínez has been at the helm of some of New Mexico’s biggest policy wins for New Mexico families. His landmark achievement was recently establishing New Mexico as the first state to constitutionally guarantee the right to early childhood education for all, backed by millions in sustained funding. He also successfully fought to ensure access to vital healthcare for undocumented immigrants, and to make the state’s tax system more fair, including implementing one of the most generous Child Income Tax credits in the nation.
A friendly but firm collaborator known for reaching across the aisle, Speaker Martínez is the Speaker for all of New Mexico’s diverse communities. He is passionate about making sure working families, immigrants, people of color, and our youngest New Mexicans have their voices heard in the legislative process.
Speaker Martínez graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Law with honors in International and Comparative Law and the Southwest Indian Law Clinic. Since then, he has continued his dedicated advocacy on behalf of New Mexico’s most vulnerable families at the local, state, national, and international levels.
Dr. Manuel Serrano, Research & Development Engineer, U.S. Department of Energy/Sandia National Labs, NMSU CAMP Graduate
Dr. Manuel “Manny” Serrano is a native of Hatch Valley, NM. His family originates from Emiliano Zapata, Zacatecas, Mexico, where they have a rich history of cattle ranching and farming. As a child, he worked alongside his grandfather, Don Manuel “Manny” Serrano Sr., in the fields of Doña Ana, Luna, and Sierra Counties, where they planted and harvested crops of onions and Chile. This experience fostered a strong work ethic in him and a deep appreciation for higher education. His aspiration to become an engineer began at the age of 11 when he attended a summer engineering program at New Mexico State University.
Dr. Serrano completed his early education in public schools in Hatch, participating in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program for 4 years. He graduated with honors from Hatch Valley High School and was a first-generation college student. He earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from New Mexico State University in 2018, followed by a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2020, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2023, all from the same institution. During his college years, he was actively involved in student organizations such as the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), the Mexican American Engineering Society (MAES), the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and the New Mexico Alliance for Minority Participation (NM AMP). Dr. Serrano was part of the 12th NMSU College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) cohort.
From 2018 to 2022, Dr. Serrano served as a student intern at Los Alamos National Laboratories, later becoming a year-round student fellow from 2022 to 2023. During his tenure at LANL, he collaborated with scientists and engineers to improve legacy hydrodynamic codes and developed novel methods for modeling and designing multifunctional piezoelectric micro-electromechanical systems. In 2023, he joined Sandia National Laboratories as a Senior Member of the Technical Staff.
In his free time, he enjoys staying active by mountain biking, hiking, weightlifting and training in Muay Thai. He is also dedicated to volunteering and teaching STEM subjects to young students from underrepresented communities.
