Phefelia Nez
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United States
Phefelia Nez | |
|---|---|
| First Lady of the Navajo Nation | |
| In office January 15, 2019 – January 10, 2023 | |
| President | Jonathan Nez |
| Preceded by | Martha Shelly (2015) |
| Succeeded by | Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren |
| Personal details | |
| Citizenship | Navajo Nation United States |
| Spouse | Jonathan Nez |
| Education | Northern Arizona University |
Phefelia Nez is a Navajo leader and advocate who served as the first lady of the Navajo Nation. Her tenure was characterized by initiatives focused on the preservation of the Navajo language and culture, animal welfare reform, and her service on a New Mexico task force addressing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).
Nez collaborated with the Biden administration on tribal sovereignty and the COVID-19 response, which led to her 2022 appointment to the board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Following her time in office, she has continued her work as a public speaker and co-owner of a consulting firm based in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Nez was raised on Hopi Partition Land in Big Mountain, Arizona.[1] She experienced a traditional upbringing, living in a Hogan without electricity and participating in Navajo ceremonies with her parents, who were ranchers.[1] Her father challenged her to "walk in two worlds," balancing her traditional upbringing with the modern Western world.[1] Due to the lack of electricity in her childhood home, she developed an interest in various fields of learning through reading books.[1]
Nez attended Northern Arizona University (NAU), where she earned undergraduate degrees in political science and criminal justice.[1] In May 2022, she completed a Master of Public Administration degree program at NAU.[2] She has also been awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from the university.[1]