UNM Alumni Association Awards

| Awards | Scholarships |

Dianne Denish-Zimmerman Award

denish Mention Diane Denish and the first thing people say is that she's New Mexico's lieutenant governor. Of course.

The second thing they say is that she's from Hobbs.

All of this is true, but it's just bare bones. For one, she's not only lieutenant governor, she's the state's first woman lieutenant governor. That position of leadership is complemented by her leadership experience in business and community affairs. A former small business owner, Diane has chaired the Democratic Party of New Mexico, New Mexico First, New Mexico Community Foundation, the state's Commission on the Status of Women, and the New Mexico Tech Board of Regents.

That Diane's upbringing in Hobbs comes so quickly to people's minds is significant. Not so much because she grew up in the southeastern corner of our state, but because Hobbs was a town of about 20,000 people when she lived there, and Diane was raised on a small town's ways…

Which would explain one of Diane's defining characteristics: the intimate, straightforward, empathetic way she relates to people—to you, to me, to cabinet secretaries, to volunteers, to strangers. Always, she is looking for common ground.

In small towns you don't talk about numbers and percentages, you talk about individuals. You know people's names. You know where they live, how they live, and what their needs are. Life centers upon the basics. Not the fluff. And the basics begin with family, school, jobs, and healthcare.

So it comes as no surprise that children, education, and health coverage occupy Diane's attention in state government. She has fought to expand pre-kindergarten programs across the state and to strengthen the "educonomy" of our future workforce. She signed into law the bills creating the Children's Cabinet and the Next Generation Fund to support positive after-school activities. She led the Health Coverage for All New Mexicans Committee and is in the midst of the push this legislative session to extend insurance coverage to all our state's uninsured.

And, since small towns are generally comprised of small businesses, it comes as no surprise that Diane has held 25 small business forums throughout the state to connect businesses with public and private programs. She has successfully pushed for programs that provide microloans and other forms of capital to businesses. And she brokered an agreement on new payday lending regulations.

"All of us change over time," Diane's friend Angie says. "Sometimes, much to our chagrin, we change in ways that change our fundamental values. Diane never has. She is a woman of amazing consistency and conviction."

So, Diane, we proudly present to you our Zimmerman Award, because…

You are New Mexico at its best.

Mary Conrad

Back to 2008 Award Recipients