Melinda O’Daniel
Melinda is, Is’ Ton’ Aiyeh’ (San Carlos Apache) born for Kin łichíí’nii (Diné). Melinda is a child at heart. As a child she often visited her Father’s homelands in the Lukachukai, Round Rock and Chuska Mountian region of the Navajo Nation. As a young girl she became attached to the land and chose to nurture her family among her relatives in Round Rock, Arizona. Melinda started her career working at a geotechnical environmental engineering firm, later worked as a Transportation Planner with the Denver Regional Council of Governments. Here she was introduced to the water quality program which led her to a career with the Navajo Nation EPA – Water Quality/NPDES Program implementing the Federal and Navajo Nation Clean Water Acts for the past 20 years. Through these experiences Melinda has learned that honoring and protecting our water is vital to our existence. She is dedicated to planting the rain, restoring our land and caring for our eldest relative, the Earth.