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Veronica Krupnick is a Youth & Tribal Advocate and Leader (Hopi/Jemez/Navajo) within the local, state and national child welfare community. After serving for 4 years as the Mentorship, Advocacy and Peer Support Program Coordinator at CASA First (Court-Appointed Special Advocates, First Judicial District), Veronica now serves as the Vice President of the organization’s Board of Directors. In the of Fall 2022, Veronica began her venture into the New Mexico Legislature, first serving as a campaign assistant, then the Senate Liaison, and now as the Majority Leadership Analyst for the New Mexico House of Representatives Majority Office.
Veronica returned home to New Mexico, after graduating from Fort Lewis College in 2017, to follow her passion for supporting and working alongside young people involved and impacted by the child welfare system. Having been through the child welfare system herself, Veronica is passionate about preventative services, lived experience voice, and advocating for the holistic well-being of children, youth, and families. Her current child welfare advocacy includes serving as a senior member of the National Foster Youth and Alumni Policy Council, a member of the National Child Welfare and Racial Equity Collaborative, and as Co-Chair of the Training Committee for the New Mexico Partners.
Veronica’s previous accomplishments include serving as a Co-chair of the Family Reunification Sub-Committee for the New Mexico House Joint Memorial 10 Task Force, Youth Action Board Member and Internal Review Board Member for the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project, Youth Engagement Team Member for the Administration for Children and Families, and as part of the inaugural cohort for the Building Indigenous Communities of Hope Fellowship with the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute. She was also selected to represent the State of New Mexico as a delegate at the National Foster Youth Institute’s 2021 Congressional Convening, as well as received an invitation to attend, as a Young Tribal Leader, the White House Tribal Nations Summit hosted by the Department of the Interior. Veronica has been recognized for her advocacy by FosterClub as an Outstanding Young Leader in 2019, by United Way of New Mexico and the Governor of New Mexico as a Champion of Change in 2022, and honored as a “Local Hero” by Performance Santa Fe in 2023. In the last year, she also provided keynote addresses at the 3rd Annual New Mexico Indian Child Welfare Summit, the National Indian Child Welfare Rally, and provided personal testimony to the U.S. House Natural Resources Committees Democrats in support of upholding the federal Indian Child Welfare Act.
Veronica aspires to be a role model, a supportive and positive mentor, and a fierce and dedicated voice for other children, youth and young adults impacted by the child welfare system, especially those from tribal communities.