This week on New Mexico in Focus, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visits Hózhó Academy, a conservative charter school in Gallup. Correspondent Antonia Gonzales was one of a few journalists invited to cover the event.

Despite the invitation, Kennedy and his staff did not provide time for questions after he spoke to students and faculty. As for why Kennedy chose Hózhó Academy, Gonzales spoke with the school's principal, who shared why she thinks the school's philosophy will benefit children in Gallup.

In collaboration with New Mexico In Depth, Indigenous affairs reporter Bella Davis talks to two Indigenous climate organizers about building community and the importance of traditional ecological knowledge in conversations about the climate crisis

Veronica Garcia, NM's first public education secretary and current interim superintendent at Santa Fe Public Schools, talks to correspondent Russell Contreras about the where things stand in New Mexico's classrooms.

NMIF revisits an interview from November that highlights a solutions-oriented program meant to help New Mexico children. According to the state Health Department, young people in New Mexico are subjected to the highest rates of adverse childhood experiences in the nation. These experiences, known as ACEs, can add up and have devastating effects on children.

Senior Producer Lou DiVizio sits down with Dr. Evalyn Plumb, a clinical psychologist with UNM's Project ECHO, to talk about a program focused on counteracting the impacts of ACEs in an effort to head off several chronic conditions in childhood.

Two student journalists from the UNM Daily Lobo describe their work on transparency issues with the University of New Mexico Police Department. Executive Producer Jeff Proctor asks the pair why UNMPD believed it was exempt from a state law requiring all New Mexico cops to wear body cameras. Then, Lobo Editor in Chief Lily Alexander catches us up on the lawsuit she filed last year to try and pry loose UNMPD's weapons inventory.

NMiF airs on NMPBS 5.1 (KNME HD) on Friday, April 11, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 13 at 7 a.m. and streaming on the PBS video app. ​   

​Host
Lou DiVizio 

NMiF Segments

HHS Secretary RFK Jr. Visits Gallup Charter School
Correspondent
Antonia Gonzales

Guests
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Juliane Hillock, Principal, Hózhó Academy

Indigenously Positive: Building Community in a Climate Crisis
Correspondent/Host  
Bella Davis (Yurok)

Director
Benjamin C Yazza (Diné)

Camera
Joey Dunn (Diné)

Guests
Reyes DeVore (Jemez Pueblo) Program Director, Pueblo Action Alliance
Cheyenne Antonio (Diné) Energy Organizer, Dine C.A.R.E.

NM's First Public Education Secretary on Improving Outcomes for Kids
Correspondent
Russell Contreras

Guest
Veronica Garcia, Interim Superintendent, Santa Fe Public Schools

UNM’s Project ECHO Helps Young Patients with Adverse Childhood Experiences  
Correspondent
Lou DiVizio  

Guest
Dr. Evelyn Plumb, Clinical Psychologist   

Daily Lobo Spotlights Transparency Issues at UNMPD
Correspondent
Jeff Proctor

Guests
Lily Alexander, Editor in Chief, Daily Lobo
Lauren Lifke, Managing Editor, Daily Lobo 

Student Journalist Sues UNM for Public Records
Correspondent
Jeff Proctor

Guest
Lily Alexander, Editor in Chief, Daily Lobo 

New Mexico in Focus is the New Mexico PBS prime-time news magazine show covering the events, issues, and people shaping life in New Mexico and the Southwest. NMiF takes a multi-layered look at social, political, economic health, education, and art issues and explores them in-depth with a critical eye to give them context beyond the "news of the moment."

NMPBS Executive Producer, Public Affairs, is Jeff Proctor. New Mexico in Focus's senior producer for public affairs is Lou DiVizio. “Our Land” Senior Producer is Laura Paskus. The producer of New Mexico in Focus is Antonio Sanchez, and co-producer is Kathy Wimmer.

Funding for New Mexico in Focus is provided by the McCune Charitable Foundation and Viewers Like You.

Funding for the Your New Mexico Government Project comes from the Thornburg Foundation and New Mexico Local News Fund.

The Neeper Natural History Programming Fund for KNME-TV provides funding for Our Land: New Mexico’s Environmental Past, Present & Future.