HUMANIST SPEAKER SERIES: Tina Cordova

Our November speaker tells the compelling story of a decades-long fight to seek justice for the unknowing, unwilling and uncompensated victims of the Trinity atomic bomb test on July 16, 1945, in south-central New Mexico.

Co-founded in 2005 by Tina Cordova, the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium has worked tirelessly to compile data on the cancers and other diseases that plague the communities surrounding the Trinity Test. Then, the group successfully lobbied to amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) so that those who need assistance will receive it.

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) provides a one-time, tax-free lump-sum payment of $100,000 to qualifying "Downwinders" who developed specific internal cancers or leukemia after living near U.S. atmospheric nuclear testing sites.

About Tina Cordova

Tina Cordova is a seventh-generation native New Mexican born and raised in Tularosa. Diagnosed with thyroid cancer when she was 39, Tina has fought for the generations of victims affected by the first aboveground nuclear test and other nuclear testing.  

Tina has testified before the US Senate judiciary Committee, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. In August, she delivered the Keynote Address at a High-Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Tina has a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree from New Mexico Highlands University where she majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry. She is the co-owner and president of Queston Roofing and Construction, founded in 1990 with her partner Russ Steward. Tina has served as a past Chair of the Board of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Past President of the New Mexico 8(a) and Minority Business Association. The Con Alma Health Foundation of New Mexico recognized Tina as the “Hero of Health” for 2022 for her work on behalf of the Downwinders and uranium workers of New Mexico and beyond.