Learn more about our team
New Mexico Technical Assistance Provider
Chelsey Begay, MCRP, is Diné (Navajo) and serves as the BIA-funded NM Technical Assistance Provider, hosted by the University of Oklahoma, for the Navajo/Southwest Region. All BIA coverage regions can be found on the BIA Technical Assistance Provider Directory page. Tribal staff may connect with Chelsey for technical assistance support for natural hazard preparedness and disaster response.
Ya’at’eeh, shi ei Chelsey Begay yiniishye. Ta’neeszahnii nishli, Tl’aashchi’i bashishchiin. Tachii’nii ei dashicheii doo Ashiihi ei daschinali. English translation: Greetings, my name is Chelsey Begay. I am the Tangle Clan born for the Red Streak Bottom Clan. My grandfathers are the Red Running into the Water Clan and the Salt People Clan. I am from the To’Hajiilee Navajo community.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Planning and Design with a Native American Studies minor and a Master of Community and Regional Planning with a concentration in Indigenous Planning from the University of New Mexico, School of Architecture and Planning. In New Mexico she seeks to connect Tribal Nations and their staff with relationships, tools, and opportunities to improve their natural hazard preparedness and disaster response through various community engagement efforts.
At an early age it was instilled in her that to know the land you need to walk the land. She enjoys spending her time at sheep camp herding sheep or working on the garden.
Technical Assistance Provider
Yvette Wiley is a Muscogee citizen and serves as the RYvette Wiley is a Muscogee citizen and serves as a BIA-funded Technical Assistance Provider, hosted at the University of Oklahoma, for the Eastern Oklahoma/Southern Plains Region. All BIA coverage regions can be found on the BIA Technical Assistance Provider Directory page. Tribal staff may connect with Yvette for technical assistance support for natural hazard preparedness and disaster response.
She brings many years of experience working for tribes in the natural resources and environmental sectors. She focuses on building relationships and engaging with Tribal staff to address their natural hazard preparedness and disaster response concerns. She also focuses on the intersection of water, natural hazards, and ecological systems. She earned a M.S. in Environmental Science from Oklahoma State University and her research was on a specific methodology of assessing the quality of riverine wetlands within the Muscogee Nation Reservation in Oklahoma.
Areas of Expertise:
- Communication with Tribal staff working in natural resources and the environmental sector
- Water, wetlands and ecological systems
- Outreach
- Communication design
Yvette loves all animals, especially cats. Outside of work she spends her time with her cats and dogs and advocates for the rights and protection of wildlife. Hobbies include kayaking and hiking, but most evenings she will be walking or roller skating along the Arkansas River Trail.