Benny Shendo, Jr., a Native of the Pueblo of Jemez, was appointed by Governor Bill Richardson to Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department on May 3, 2004.  He was confirmed by the New Mexico State Senate by a unanimous vote on March 10, 2005.

Secretary Shendo is the first cabinet secretary to be confirmed for the newly created cabinet position.  New Mexico is the only state in the union that has a cabinet secretary and a department of Indian Affairs.  Benny Shendo, Jr. has served in various capacities of management and leadership, including Senior Manager of Native American Programs for the University of New Mexico and the Assistant Dean of Students and Director of the American Indian and Alaskan Native program at Stanford University.

Secretary Shendo serves as a member of the Statuary Hall Commission, on the Board of Directors of the Pueblo Insurance Agency, the National Institute for Native Leadership in Higher Education, (NINLHE); and the National Dance Institute (NDI).

Secretary Shendo is the father of two children, Eileen and Benjamin.  He is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder with a B. S. in Organizational Management.  In 1998 and 2002, Secretary Shendo served as the 2nd and 1st Lieutenant Governor, respectively, for the Pueblo of Jemez.  He is a Fellow of the W. K. Kellogg National Leadership Program, Group XVI, and 1997-2000.  He was co-founder of the San Diego Riverside School, Inc. (K-8) in Jemez Pueblo, which became the first Charter School on an Indian Reservation in the State of New Mexico.  In September of 2004, he received the prestigious Mary G. Ross award from the Council of Energy Resources Tribes (CERT) for his professional achievements.