Jamie, a proud Diné scientist, from Rock Point, Arizona is currently pursuing her M.S. in Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University, where she is leading research that supports the Navajo Nation’s desert bighorn sheep recovery efforts. Jamie is a graduate of Diné College, the first tribally controlled and accredited institution of higher education in the U.S., and a former field technician for the Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife. Her experience ranges from pseudoscorpion and mule deer research to wildlife disease testing, aerial surveys and hunter check stations across Navajo lands. As the inaugural Indigenous Bighorn Fellowship with the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, Jamie’s work explores disease risk, movement ecology and habitat use among bighorn sheep populations, particularly focusing on interactions with domestic sheep. Her research combines rigorous field science deploying GPS collars and testing for respiratory pathogens like Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae with deep community engagement. By working directly with Navajo families who graze domestic sheep, she bridges science and tradition to better understand and mitigate disease transmission risks.
