Cliff W. Gilmore

I could not bid goodbye to 2021 without acknowledging the impact my friend and colleague Cliff W. Gilmore had on my life this past year.

At the top of 2021, like many people here in America and around the world, I was looking for a career opportunity as the world was opening up. I applied to the Children Youth and Family Department of New Mexico to serve as a Digital Video Producer.

Cliff saw something in my past work and eventually extended a job offer to me. That job translated into months of valuable direct experience working with Cliff and a vital opportunity to provide support to my loved ones when they needed it the most. For Cliff’s belief in me, and this career opportunity, I will forever be grateful.

This work experience did not end as expected for either of us and that is well documented in newspapers here in New Mexico and websites available around the world. But this is not the time and place to reflect on that part of our lives.

Through it all, I have been proud to call Cliff a friend, mentor, and colleague. A year has passed, we spent that time reflecting on that chapter of our lives that saw us in Afghanistan – he as a Marine Corp Public Information Officer in Helmand, and myself working at Tolo TV in Kabul – and we wept together when the Taliban brought an end to a chapter in the American and Afghan story.

We exchanged notes on Dungeons & Dragons, shared a byline in the Albuquerque Journal highlighting the important shortcomings that we feel need to be redressed urgently at the CYFD and I had the opportunity to invite Cliff to join me as a guest co-host on my podcast The Ask.

This year would have been very different for me, absent his friendship. And I am thankful that I am heading into the New Year with someone I know will be a lifelong friend. Thank you Cliff. <3