ABQ Times

Aliza Organick, a professor at The University of New Mexico (UNM) School of Law, has been appointed director of the Law and Indigenous Peoples Program, effective June 1. Dean Camille Carey expressed confidence in Organick's leadership abilities, stating, "Professor Organick brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, leadership, and grace to the position. I have the utmost confidence that Professor Organick will do an amazing job leading this important program and ensuring its future success."

Organick succeeds Professor John P. Lavelle, who retired at the end of the Spring 2024 semester. Reflecting on her new role, Organick said, “I’m incredibly honored and excited to be in this role and I look forward to standing on the shoulders of the people who came before me - those who had this original vision and those who have cultivated this extraordinary program.”

The Law and Indigenous Peoples Program supports students interested in Federal Indian Law and administers several initiatives including the Certificate in Indian Law, Southwest Indian Law Clinic, Tribal Law Journal, and Native American Law Students Association.

A graduate of UNM School of Law ('96), Organick taught at Washburn University School of Law from 2004 to 2012 where she founded Washburn’s Tribal and State Court Practice clinic section. She returned to UNM in 2012 to teach in the UNM Clinical Law Program.

UNM School of Law is noted for its unique position as New Mexico's only law school serving 19 Pueblos, three Apache tribes, and the Navajo Nation. The school was among the first to offer clinical education and a certificate in Indian law.

Organick emphasized the program's impact on alumni: “Our alumni represent their tribes as prosecutors and defense attorneys. We have others working in state and Federal government. Even if they don’t want to practice law, they have insight they can use to be leaders in their communities.”

Throughout her career, Organick has drawn inspiration from faculty members like Professors Emerita Christine Zuni-Cruz and Gloria Valencia-Weber. She highlighted their visionary contributions to making UNM a leading institution for indigenous law education.

“This program is really an innovator," she noted. "The program took on the vision and insight of deans and faculty who really understood that the School of Law was in a unique position to create something new here."