Department of Finance and Administration
Tom Clifford is the Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration. He was appointed to the cabinet post in August 2011 by Governor Susana Martinez and serves as the governor’s top budget advisor.
As the chief executive at DFA, Clifford leads a staff of 173 employees. His agency performs a range of financial services by crafting the state budget, processing payroll for 22,000 state employees, managing the state’s two main bond finance programs and conducting oversight of state agencies and local governments.
Clifford received a doctorate in economics in 1984 from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he also earned a master's degree. He has a bachelor's degree in economics from San Jose State University.
After completing his education, Clifford worked 10 years in Washington in various roles for the United States Congress. Clifford and his family moved to New Mexico in 1994.
Earlier in his state government career, Clifford was chief economist and deputy secretary at DFA. He has supervised the Tax Research Office at the Taxation and Revenue Department, served as research director for the New Mexico Tax Research Institute and worked as the chief economist for the Legislative Finance Committee.
Before being named DFA Secretary, Clifford spent the first eight months of the Martinez Administration at the Taxation and Revenue Department as tax policy and research director.