Stephanie Russo-Baca

Ms. Russo Baca is the staff attorney and Ombudsman Program Director at the Utton Transboundary Resources Center at the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In both roles that she fulfills, her mission is to support and represent constituents in a fair and unbiased manner. As the Ombudsman Program Director, she guides the activities of the Joe M Stell Ombudsman Program, a statewide program that provides impartial adjudication information and procedural guidance to unrepresented water rights claimants in the State of New Mexico. Ms. Russo Baca also manages the Native American Water Right Settlements E-Repository. She contributes significantly to the Utton Center’s overall mission of providing objective research-based public service to New Mexico’s communities on energy, climate change, ecological conservation, food systems, and international natural resource management issues. Ms. Russo Baca undergraduate degree is in agroecology, and she holds both Indian Law and Natural Resources and Environmental Law Certificates from the UNM School of Law. She has also served on the Tribal Law Journal as a staff member and editor and received the Dean’s Award upon graduation. During the Spring 2024 semester, she taught the inaugural Agricultural Law class at the UNM School of Law. Ms. Russo Baca is currently the Chair of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Board of Directors, holding Position No. 1, At-Large.