Employees of the State Land Office celebrate receiving the 2026 USA Today National Top Workplaces Award. Courtesy/NMSLO
STATE News:
SANTA FE — For the third year in a row, the New Mexico State Land Office is a recipient of the 2026 USA Today National Top Workplaces Award, Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard announced today. Only 924 organizations with fewer than 500 employees will be recognized in this year’s USA Today publication. The State Land Office ranked in the top 100, placing at #67, and were one of only seven government entities to win a USA Today National Top Workplaces Award.
The awards are presented by human resources company Energage. The Top Workplaces and Culture Excellence Awards are based solely on employee feedback to an anonymous survey that measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization, including alignment, execution and connection.
“Year after year we prove that this is one of the best places to work in all of New Mexico, and that’s also being recognized as being true nationally” Commissioner Garcia Richard said. “Our excellent workplace culture wouldn’t be possible without excellent employees. We have taken proactive steps over the last several years to improve work-life balance and the overall work experience for staff. This includes ensuring employees are paid properly for their education and experience levels and instituting policies that help employees juggle all of their personal responsibilities outside of work. Our employees feel appreciated and feel like the work they do matters, and this has produced great results, including record revenue for our public institutions. This has been the best job of my life, and I’m thankful to every employee who has made working here so special.”
The State Land Office finished in the top 1% within the public sector for Work-Life Flexibility and employees’ willingness to refer others to work for at the agency.
The State Land Office finished in the top 5% in the following categories:
- Work Life Balance: Employees have the flexibility they need to balance their work and personal life.
- Company Direction: Employees believe New Mexico State Land Office is going in the right direction.
- Employee Appreciation: Employees feel genuinely appreciated at New Mexico State Land Office.
- Innovation: Employees believe new ideas are encouraged at New Mexico State Land Office.
- Leaders In-The-Know: Employees believe senior managers know what is really happening at New Mexico State Land Office.
- Meaningful Work: Employees jobs make them feel like they are part of something meaningful.
- Strong Values: Employees believe that New Mexico State Land Office operates by strong values.
- Open Minded: Employees believe New Mexico State Land Office encourages different points of view.
The State Land Office previously won a Top Workplaces award from the Albuquerque Journal in 2025, ranking 3rd among midsize employers (organizations with between 150-499 employees). It marks the third consecutive year the State Land Office has been named a Top Workplace, after ranking 1st in 2023.
The State Land Office won the Top Workplaces Women-Led Award from Business Wire in October 2025, for the third year. The Woman-Led Top Workplaces award celebrates outstanding organizations whose most senior leader is a woman who has fostered and built stand-out, people-first workplace cultures. The agency also received awards in the categories of: Employee Appreciation; Employee Well-Being; and Professional Development.
Over the past several years, Commissioner Garcia Richard has instituted agency-wide policies that invest in employees and promote fairness, including correcting pay equity disparities, hiring and promoting diverse candidates to leadership positions, offering remote work up to three days a week, and much more. The State Land Office’s mission is to earn money for schools and other public institutions by responsibly leasing state lands for energy production, commercial development, and agriculture, among other uses. The State Land Office has continued to earn historic revenue, earning $2.56 billion last year alone, as these cultural changes were implemented.