Across the country, people are asking the same question: why is it so hard to build in America?

From transmission lines to clean energy factories, projects are taking longer, costs are rising, and frustration is growing. But in New Mexico, two cabinet secretaries are trying to show that it doesn’t have to be this way.

Together, Economic Development Secretary Rob Black and Environment Secretary Jim Kenney are helping redefine how state agencies work with industry. Their model blends speed, access, and careful environmental oversight to help companies build more quickly without cutting corners.

Together, they’re using that model to attract billion-dollar fusion and geothermal projects, expand water and infrastructure investments, and deploy the state’s $65 billion sovereign wealth fund directly into advanced energy and deep-tech manufacturing.

In this episode, Stephen Lacey talks with Rob Black and Jim Kenney about how New Mexico is rewriting the rules of economic development, and what their partnership can teach the rest of America about how to make government work again.

This is a partner episode, produced in collaboration with the New Mexico Economic Development Department, which works to expand opportunity through innovation, infrastructure, and investment across the state.