Yá’át’ééh relatives. My name is Colleen Cooley and I grew up in the small community of Shą́ą́ʼtóhí, located on the Navajo Nation in northeast Arizona. I am Kinyaa’áanii (Towering House) born for Lók’aa’ Dine’é (Reed People). My maternal grandfather’s clan is Tó’aheedlíinii (Water Flows Together) and my paternal grandfather’s clan is Tł’izi’łání (Manygoats). I am from the communities of Shonto and Blue Gap, Arizona and this is how I identify myself as a Diné (Navajo) woman.
With over 12 years of experience as a facilitator, community organizer, researcher, educator, and advocate, I have collaborated and engaged with varied audiences in the non-profit, academic, governmental, and institutional sectors on a range of critical environmental & climate issues, strategies, and solutions. Some of the organizations and institutions that I have worked with include: First Nations Development Institute, Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, Grand Canyon Trust, Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals, Canyonlands Field Institute, Black Mesa Water Coalition, Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment, International Indian Treaty Council, U.S. Water Alliance, Sierra Club, Doris Duke Conservation Scholars, Southwest Decision Resources and more.
I am currently an External Advisory Council member with the Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science and a Board member with Flowers and Bullets, a non-profit community collective based in Tucson, Arizona working to promote placed-based connections and foster sustainable living practices.
I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Sciences in 2008 and a Professional Master’s in Science in Climate Science & Solutions in 2012, both from Northern Arizona University.
To learn more about my personal interests, feel free to visit my personal website here.