Jolyana Begay-Kroupa

Jolyana Begay-Kroupa is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and is originally from the community of Fort Defiance, AZ. She is Táchii’nii (Red Running into the Water People) and born for Tsinaajinii (Black Streak Wood People). She is the current Chief Executive Officer for the Phoenix Indian Center. She has a Master of Arts in Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education with an emphasis in American Indian Educational Policy. Her passion is in supporting the urban-living American Indian Community and assuring continued service is present to support the needs of her community.

Jolyana honorably served as the 50th Miss Navajo Nation (2001-02) and continues to advocate for language and culture revitalization. She also teaches Navajo language classes at Arizona State University. She has also taught for Stanford, Harvard and Yale University. She continually aims to provide a strong lens for language and culture to always be interwoven and incorporated in all aspects of her work. Jolyana is married and has three beautiful children.