CO-CHAIR

Lorelei Cloud is a member of the Southern Ute Tribe. She has been a council member for the Southern Ute Tribal Council for five years and currently serves as the Vice-Chairman. Lorelei previously worked as the Land Assistant Supervisor for the Southern Ute Growth Fund’s Red Willow Production Company and has served on several committees and working groups over the years. She is passionate about helping the Southern Ute youth, women, and elders and a strong advocate for Indigenous language, traditions, and culture.

CO-CHAIR

Nora McDowell is a member of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe. She serves as the Project Manager for the AhaMakav Cultural Society, a division of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe. Nora was the former Chairperson of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe for over 25 years and has extensive experience working in tribal government and with nonprofit organizations. Nora is passionate about the protection of all natural resources, cultural, religious, spiritual and environmental sites along the Colorado River.

CO-CHAIR

Darnella Melancon is an enrolled member of the Quechan Indian Tribe located partially in California and Arizona bordering the Colorado River and Baja California, Mexico. She has served two terms as a council member for the Quechan Tribe and is currently nearing 21 years in state law enforcement service with specialized experience in organizational development, public trust, and equal employment opportunities. Darnella is a veteran of the US Army after serving as a combat medic. She previously coordinated the victim services program where she managed a Stop Violence Against Indian Women grant. Darnella is a longtime peer support member with training and certification in stress management and crisis intervention. She is a member of the National Center for Crisis Management and the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. She continues to serve as a community advocate for individual wellness, as well as environmental wellness.

CO-CHAIR

Gwendena Lee-Gatewood is a White Mountain Apache tribal member.

Gwendena is Community President for McNary Hondah Community Board, a volunteer position working with numerous volunteers and is actively working to help the community in various ways.

Gwendena is the first female ever elected to the highest office for her Tribe, serving as Tribal Chairwoman from 2018-2022. As Chairwoman, she was active on many platforms to improve the way of life for her people, especially doing so during the challenging time period of the Covid 19 pandemic.

In her spare time, she loves spending time with her family, writing, taking daily walks to enjoy nature, hunting, photography, finding opportunities to ride horses, she has a passion for horses.

Gwendena has been invited to speak at various events that focuses on Indigenous women, and what she encourages most is for these young women to know their self- worth and make an impact on their homelands and beyond, to express themselves by advocating for things they are passionate about, and to advocate for their peers, learn, and become more actively involved in issues that affect our communities. Believe in yourselves, don’t let circumstances dictate your future, and most of all stay close to the Creator, through prayer - after all you were made to succeed not to fail, and each challenge is a stepping stone, embrace it as a reflection of your ancestors planting their seeds of hope to be harvested in our day is something to behold.

PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Tahlia Bear is a member of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and Navajo originally from Arizona. Currently, she is the Indigenous Peoples Engagement Manager for Western Resources Advocates, an advocacy organization that fights climate change and its impacts in the West. Tahlia has spent over a decade working in the nonprofit space for a variety of conservation and scientific organizations such as the National Wildlife Federation, the National Council for Science and the Environment, and the Geological Society of America. She holds her BA from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a MA from the George Washington University. In her free time, Tahlia enjoys long distance running, alpine hiking, and reading.

PROGRAM ASSISTANT

Mira Barney grew up in Iowa and received a B.A. from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. Mira is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. She has worked in the environmental non-profit space for the past 3-4 years, in organizations such as Big City Mountaineers and The Nature Conservancy. She has found energy in the intersectionality between environmentalism, healing, truth-telling and justice. In her free time, Mira enjoys hiking, rock-climbing and practicing her accordion.

PAST CO-CHAIR

Crystal Tulley-Cordova, PhD, MWR is a Principal Hydrologist in the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources - Water Management Branch. She is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. She has worked collaboratively with Navajo Nation partners on water-related research since 2013. Her research interests include learning more about the Navajo Nation water budget, namely the interactions of precipitation, surface, and ground waters, and the nexus with Navajo communities.

PAST CO-CHAIR

Bidtah Becker has dedicated her career to the Navajo Nation and its natural resources. She served as Deputy Secretary for Environmental Justice, Tribal Affairs and Border Relations with California EPA in 2022 until returning to work for the Nation as the Director of the Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources, which she led from 2013 to 2019. Bidtah has also worked as Associate Attorney for the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, after having served 11 years in the Navajo Nation Dept. of Justice focusing on water rights and natural resources issues. She serves on the Leadership Team for the Water and Tribes Initiative in the Colorado River Basin and is honored to serve as a Commissioner on the NM Interstate Stream Commission and on the Navajo Nation Water Rights Commission. Bidtah is equally passionate about supporting artists and serves as a President Obama appointed Trustee for the Institute of American Indian Arts and Culture. Bidtah is a member of the Nation and lives on the Navajo Nation in Fort Defiance with her husband and two school age children.

PAST COORDINATOR

Heather Tanana, JD/MPH, is a research assistant professor at the S.J. Quinney College of Law - University of Utah and associate faculty at the Center for American Indian Health - Johns Hopkins University. Heather is a member of the Navajo Nation. One of her primary research interests include exploring the overlay between environmental and health policy in Indian country. Her current work focuses on overcoming barriers to achieving water security.