Gov. Susana Martinez has named a Taos native to head the state Tourism Department at a time when the agency could be about to undergo changes.

Monique Jacobson, a graduate of Sandia Prep in Albuquerque and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, will lead the department if confirmed by the state Senate.

Jacobson, who lives in Chicago, since 2002 has worked at PepsiCo, where her work has included serving as general manager and marketing director for the Quaker Breakfast Business Unit and the senior marketing manager for Gatorade. She will earn $125,000 in her new post with the state.

Her mother is Sally Mayer, a former Republican Albuquerque city councilor who is the ex-wife of Jean Mayer, owner of the Hotel St. Bernard in the Taos Ski Valley and technical director of the Ernie Blake Ski School. The family is credited with helping to make the ski resort a well-known destination.

When the Senate takes up Jacobson's nomination, the discussion is likely to include the future of the department charged with promoting the state as a tourist destination. Among other things, the department runs New Mexico Magazine and works to promote the state as a leisure destination.

Martinez has said she supports consolidating the Tourism and Cultural Affairs departments, and that is a recommendation she has made in her budget proposal. The governor's appointee as Cultural Affairs secretary, Veronica Gonzales of Albuquerque, has been serving as acting secretary of the Tourism Department.

One measure already introduced this session, HB 29, would combine the Tourism Department with the Economic Development and Workforce Solutions departments and create a new agency known as the Commerce Department. Rep. Patricia Lundstrom, D-Gallup, and Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa, are carrying the measure. A Government Restructuring Task Force recommended the move, which could eliminate 44 jobs and save $3.2 million over three years.

The Tourism Department once was a division of the Economic Development Department, but now has its own budget of about $9 million in general fund money.

Martinez in a statement praised Jacobson. "New Mexico's rich history and natural beauty are treasures that we will continue to share with visitors from near and far. A healthy tourism sector is critical to a vibrant economy. Ms. Jacobson's extensive background as a marketing professional makes her an ideal candidate to lead the charge in promoting everything that our state has to offer."

Jacobson in a statement said she's looking forward to jump-starting the state's tourism sector: "I welcome the opportunity to promote New Mexico's natural treasures and storied past to visitors across the country and around the world."

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.