Profile

Nadine Padilla is Navajo and Pueblo (Isleta/Laguna) from Bluewater Lake, NM.  Nadine is a UNM School of Law alum and graduated with the Natural Resources and Environmental Law Certificate and Clinical Honors. Prior to joining the UNMSOL faculty, Nadine served in an appointed position as the Deputy Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department. Nadine practiced environmental law with a non-profit environmental law firm in Santa Fe and brings over a decade of experience working with tribes and environmental justice communities throughout our state. 
Prior to law school, Nadine worked with grassroots organizations to protect sacred sites, including Mt. Taylor in western New Mexico, a mountain sacred to tribes throughout the southwest. During law school, Nadine was the Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Natural Resources Journal, a writing tutor for first year law students, a volunteer with Native American Law Student Association, and was a Teaching Assistant for the Pre-Law Summer Institute program.  Nadine received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.