The 1998 valedictorian of Santa Fe Preparatory School is coming home for good. It was always Kristina Fisher's plan to come back, even as she was packing to head off to Williams College in Massachusetts.

"It was good for me to get away for college and gain some perspective," Fisher wrote in an e-mail. "But it (is) even better to come home."

Fisher came home for a three years to work with Think New Mexico, a local nonprofit that seeks to improve the quality of life for New Mexicans. She got a position as the research director in 2002 after graduating from Williams College.

In 2005, she relocated to Albuquerque to attend The University of New Mexico to earn her law degree, still working with Think New Mexico part-time. By August, she will be back home again, working in her new position as associate director of the group.

There were many things that drew Fisher back to Santa Fe. First, she missed her parents, Lisa and Rick Fisher.

"I missed the unique cultural environment of my home," Fisher said. "I was so homesick for things like the smell of roasting green chile in the fall, piñon smoke in the winter and events like the Farmer's Market and Fiestas that bring everyone together in celebration.

"I can't imagine ever wanting to live anywhere else on Earth."

In her new position, she will be helping with the research and writing of Think New Mexico's policy reports; doing public outreach; lobbying the legislature to get Think New Mexico's policies into law; and she will be running the group's internship program.

"I'm very passionate about opportunities to enhance both sustainablity and social justice," Fisher said. "I believe that there are so many possibilities to do so in New Mexico."

Despite commuting back and forth from Albuquerque and taking on the heavy law-school load, Fisher managed to graduate first in her class at UNM's School of Law.

"It was a challenge balancing the schedule," Fisher said.

During law school, she was the editor-in-chief of the school's Natural Resources Journal, in addition to being involved in community-service activities and being the vice-president of the Environmental Law Society.

She's still doing a balancing act, at least until July, because she is working and studying for her bar exam.

"It's a lot of work," Fisher said. "This is the most intense time — the two months after law school."

But it's worth it for her to work with a group that she loves, she said.

"We are delighted to have Kristina back full-time in this new capacity," said Think New Mexico Executive Director Fred Nathan in a news release. "She is certainly a star."

Fisher decided to go into law because she was interested in public policy since she participated in Model U.N. in high school. She thought a law degree would help her.

"I've been interested public policy for a long time," Fisher said. "Law would give me a good background to more intelligently understand the issues."

Fisher is eager to start her new position.

"It's been such a privilege to be able to make a positive difference in people's lives through my work at the UNM School of Law and Think New Mexico," Fisher said in a news release. "I'm incredibly excited about the opportunity this new position provides me to continue working to protect and sustain the communities and environment of New Mexico, which I care so deeply about."

Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.