James
James Aaron Cadotte is a senior Business Administration (Tribal Management) student at Haskell Indian Nations University. James is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and descendant of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. His bands are Mnicoujou & Hunkpapa Lakota and his hometown is Rapid City, South Dakota.
James’ goals after graduating are to serve his community as a volunteer firefighter, and land a career in the nonprofit, policy, or finance industry. He aims to heavily invest in his community and tribe through donations and volunteer work.
James is currently part of the Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund internship with the nonprofit Grid Alternatives, in which he researches policy for Tribal Energy Sovereignty and grant funding. He was recently invited to attend the 2022 White House Tribal Youth Forum by Dr. Jill Biden.
Chelsie
Chelsie is an enrolled member of the Navajo tribe and is originally from Chilchinbeto, AZ. She is currently attending Northern Arizona University and studying to become an Environmental Engineer. Academically, graduating from NAU is one of her major educational goals in life because she is a first generation college student and is aiming to become a professional in her chosen career field, so that she can offer her assistance to where the need is greatest, such as the Navajo Nation. When she has free time from being a student, she can be found reading, traveling, biking, crocheting, watching movies or shows, engaging in ranch work at home and spending time with her family.
After graduating top of her class from Monument Valley High School at Kayenta, AZ, she was able to attend NAU with a few scholarships that has allowed her to continue on with her studies. Before becoming a TSAF research intern, she was given the chance to work alongside a professor in Environmental Engineering at NAU as a summer intern, where the focus was on lab work for the influence that wetlands have on filtering water. Later on, she also had the opportunity to work with Navajo Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation Department in Shiprock, NM as a summer intern. She was involved in administrating project management, public relations, cost estimating, report writing, field work, surveying and GIS equipment for developing engineering project maps.