ANN MARIE CHISCHILLY, ESQ.

Ms. Chischilly is the Executive Director at the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP). She is responsible for managing ITEP’s work with Northern Arizona University, state and federal agencies, tribes and Alaska Native villages. In 2017, ITEP celebrated 25 years serving over 95% of all the 574 Tribes and Alaskan Native Villages nationwide.

Ms. Chischilly currently serves on two federal advisory committees (FACs): 1) Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC); and 2) EPA’s National Advisory Committee (NAC). Ms. Chischilly also completed her service to two FACs: 1) Department of Interior’s Advisory on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science (ACCNRS) and 2) the Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment (ACSNCA) which transitioned to the Independent Advisory Committee for Applied Climate Assessment.

Ms. Chischilly speaks both nationally and internationally on topics of Indian Law, Environmental Law, Climate Change, Traditional Knowledges, Water Law and Tribes/Indigenous Peoples. She works with the United Nations on issues of the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and co-wrote, “Guidelines for the Use of Traditional Knowledge in Climate Change Initiatives” and “Evaluating Knowledge to Support Climate Action: A Framework for Sustained Assessment”.

Before coming to ITEP, she served for over ten years as Senior Assistant General Counsel to the Gila River Indian Community (Community), where she assisted the Community in implementing the historic “Arizona Water Settlement Act” and founded the Community’s Renewable Energy Team. Ms. Chischilly is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation (Diné). She earned her Juris Doctorate degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law and a Masters in Environmental Law (LL.M) from Vermont Law School. She is licensed in Arizona and has practiced in state, district, and federal courts. She is also a member of the International Bar Association.