Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-3)

Teresa Leger Fernández is a Democratic U.S. Representative for New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District, serving since January 2021. A 17th-generation Northern New Mexican born July 1, 1959, in Las Vegas, New Mexico, she is an attorney known for advocating tribal sovereignty, voting rights, environmental protection, gun violence prevention, and rural development.

Biography

Teresa Leger Fernández grew up in a rural New Mexican family; her mother pioneered bilingual education, and her father was a state senator and educator who emphasized gun safety. She participated in New Mexico's first Head Start class and has deep roots in the state's Hispanic and Indigenous communities. Before Congress, she ran Leger Law and Strategy, LLC for 30 years, focusing on community development, civil rights, tribal advocacy, and social justice, securing nearly $1 billion for schools, rural health clinics, broadband, housing, and infrastructure. Notable achievements include leading ranked-choice voting implementation in Santa Fe , serving as an acequia commissioner, winning legal battles for voting rights and tribal sovereignty, and holding Clinton and Obama appointee roles as a White House Fellow on housing and Vice Chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. In Congress, she championed the New Mexico Green New Deal, Medicare for All, green energy transitions, immigration reform, and gun violence prevention, including expanded background checks and addressing missing and murdered Indigenous women. She secured $3.95 billion via the Hermit's Peak Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act for fire victims and passed the STOP Act to protect sacred Native items.

Education and Political Experience

• Education: Graduated from Yale University and Stanford Law School.
• Political Experience: Elected to represent New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District in 2020, defeating Republican Alexis Johnson; assumed office January 3, 2021. Serves on House Committees on Natural Resources , Education and Labor, and Administration . Previously chaired Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples ; holds Congressional Hispanic Caucus leadership as Freshman Representative. Voted with President Biden's position 100% in the 117th Congress.