Biography
Jerilyn a member of the Dine Nation. She is Maii’deeshgiizhnii (coyote pass), born for Tobaahi (water edge clan), her maternal grandfather are Totsohnii (big Water), her paternal grandfather are Bitaanii (within his cover clan). Jerilyn is from Lukachukai, AZ where she was raised all her life. She joined the Center for Indigenous Health in August of 2024. Jerilyn is a Research Program Assistant with the Dine Household Water Survey team. She will be out in the community taking surveys with randomly selected household on their water access. She will also be preforming water quality testing in various communities in the Central Agency. She is excited to go out into the field to get to know the people in the communities and learn more about how water is access throughout the Agency.
Prior to joining the Center, Jerilyn worked at Lukachukai Community School as a paraprofessional and Music Teacher. She has been in the educational field for about ten years working with kindergarten to eighth grade students. She also dedicated her time to coach elementary cross country and elementary girls basketball. Promoting good health, communication, teamwork, sportsmanship, determination and dedication to these young athletes. Jerilyn has a BA degree in Elementary Education from Arizona State University, and two AA degrees from Dine College in Liberal Arts and Elementary Education. She plans to continue her education in graduate school in the future.
Jerilyn loves to be outdoors hiking, nature walking, trail running. She also loves to travel with her family to varies places. Exploring the rez and possibly the world. She loves to read novels and short stories. Jerilyn likes to volunteer with pageants within the schools and the agency. She is a former Miss Tsaile Jr. High Princess, former Miss Dine College, and a former Miss Central Navajo. Through pageants, Jerilyn learned a lot about her Navajo language, culture and community involvement.