bILL

O’NEiLL

About Bill

Senator Bill O’Neill’s passion is criminal justice reform and a fair, more equitable judicial system. In 2005, Governor Bill Richardson appointed Bill as the Executive Director of the NM Juvenile Parole Board. He held this position until 2008, working closely with New Mexico's incarcerated youth, until he was elected to the New Mexico State Legislature and began his term in 2009 representing District 15. In 2012, Bill moved on to the Senate, where he still serves today.

Named an Emerging Leader by the University of Virginia' s Darden School in 2016, Bill continues to serve on both the Senate's Judiciary Committee and also on the Senate Education Committee. He also has interim assignments to the Criminal Justice Reform Subcommittee, the Behavioral Health Subcommittee, and other regular committees such as Legislative Health and Human Services, Science and Technology, Courts and Corrections, and Land Grant Committees.

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Bill is one of the co-founders of Dismas House New Mexico -- a highly successful residential facility for male and female parolees. He remains active on many charitable boards, such as the award-winning Mission Achievement Success charter school that serves high-risk youth. He is also a published poet and novelist. His recently published novel Panoramic Diaries received critical acclaim, and his second poetry collection and a new novel are scheduled for publication in 2021.