Maralyn
Budke

A NEED TO DO VERY MANY THINGS

Honored May 2006

Maralyn Budke

In 1967, just 10 years after her graduation from the University of New Mexico with a degree in political science, Maralyn Budke became chief of staff for the state's governor, David Cargo.

It was a remarkable job at a remarkably young age--and was just the first of dozens of similar distinctions to come in her remarkable life.

From the governor's office she moved to the state's important Legislative Finance Committee, which she directed for the next 14 years, training three of her successors in the process. Then in 1982, at the surprisingly young age of 46, she retired. With family wealth supporting her, she just felt a strong need to do many more things.

And do them she did. For years she was on the board of Santa Maria el Mirador, a home for developmentally disabled adults, helping it grow from a $30,000 budget and six clients to a $9 million budget and 200 clients. She was vice president of Sangre de Cristo Animal Protection Inc. She served on the boards of the University of New Mexico Foundation and UNM Hospital, where she was instrumental in developing the cancer and trauma centers.