Maybe it's because Tarin is the daughter of public school teachers or the fact that she spent her summers as a youth leader leading retreats and rebuilding homes but there is no doubt in her commitment to public service. Over the last decade, Tarin has given her time and expertise to organizations like Habitat for Humanity, the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, Indigenous Women Rising and Santa Fe S.A.F.E.

Tarin’s belief in good government, public service, and advocacy started at a young age and has never wavered. Tarin was a part of Howard Dean’s 50 State Partnership Project and helped organize Democrats in the reddest state in the country, Wyoming. Her efforts led to the last major win for Wyoming Democrats since 2008. After that, Tarin criss-crossed the country working to research and elect Democrats up and down the ballot. In 2012, Tarin came out to northern New Mexico to take over Stephanie Garcia Richard’s house race in a seat held by Republicans for 30 years. Not only was she successful in delivering that win for Garcia Richard in 2012, she was the only New Mexico consultant to win a campaign in a swing seat in 2014. Tarin’s efforts politically through her company, Voter Research, have led to national awards, including 40 under 40. Along with helping elect New Mexicans in every part of the state, Tarin has served as the New Mexico Young Democrat, the CD Vice Chair for the New Mexico Democratic Party and an alternate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Tarin knows that good government comes from electing leaders, not politicians. Politicians politicize personal decisions and divide communities. As a journalist for the Valley Daily Post, Tarin gave voice to organizations fighting local governments’ shortsighted actions. For years, Tarin worked legislative sessions and helped ensure good public policy passed. As Deputy Commissioner at the New Mexico State Land Office, Tarin helped build the dream team that led to cutting red tape, streamlining business services, building tribal relationships, growing our renewable energy footprint sixfold, protecting wildlife, and guaranteeing transparency.

‍Tarin is no stranger to challenging the status quo. Tarin marched on the front lines in 2004 at the March for Women’s Lives. Her activism continued throughout college and inspired cartoons after receiving national attention over the Vagina Monologues. During her Masters, she worked with Texas Association Against Sexual Assault to pass critical legislation and school policy to protect victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Early in her career, Tarin led field programs for organizations like the Santa Fe County Living Wage Campaign, Democratic Congressional Committee Campaign (DCCC), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) that held Democrats and counties to a higher standard. When a mayoral candidate in Santa Fe lied to access taxpayer-funded public campaign financing, Tarin never hesitated to do what was right. Even though it meant getting smeared by the local newspaper, Tarin’s political courage helped change the law in future elections.

Tarin Nix holds a Masters in Social Work with specializations in public policy and nonprofit management from The University of Texas and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Alabama. Along with serving as Deputy Commissioner at the New Mexico State Land Office, Tarin owns Voter Research, a nationally award-winning firm that specializes in crisis management, field, and communications. Tarin lives in the La Madera neighborhood with her two dogs, Kit and Moxi, and serves as Treasurer of the Santa Fe Habitat HOA.