LEADERSHIP HONOREES
Naat'áanii
Council Delegate
Carl R. Slater
Elected to the 24th Navajo Nation Council in 2019, Council Delegate Carl Slater represents the communities of Lukachukai, Rock Point, Round Rock, Tsaile/Wheatfields and Tsé Ch’izhí.
Although born and schooled in Washington, D.C., Delegate Slater spent a lot of his childhood in Round Rock, Arizona, with his grandparents, Bob and Ruth Roessel. He graduated from Colorado College and within a year he was hired at the Navajo Department of Transportation as a senior public information officer, manager of the airplane department, and the communications director for Speaker Seth Damon.
Delegate Slater is the vice chairman of the Health, Education, and Human Services Committee and continues to be an outspoken advocate for our Diné youth, the elderly, and our most vulnerable families across the Navajo Nation.
Community Leader
Josie Raphaelito
Josie Raphaelito is a passionate advocate for tribal public health. She has ten years of experience building relationships with tribal nations and citizens through community engagement strategies and tools to elevate those perspectives of local strengths and challenges into local, regional and national discussions for change.
Mrs. Raphaelito is German and Swedish, born for the Meadow People Clan, her maternal grandfather is German, her paternal grandfather’s clan is of the Salt Water Clan, this is how she is Diné, Navajo. She was raised in Pine Hill, New Mexico, on the Ramah Navajo Reservation. After graduating from Pine Hill High School, she studied Athletic Training at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, where she completed a summer fellowship on health policy at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mrs. Raphaelito continued her public health path in Washington, DC at the George Washington University where she earned a Master of Public Health degree in 2011.
While in graduate school, she interned at both the National Congress of American Indians and the National Indian Health Board. Her education and passion for suicide prevention and health promotion made her a great fit to join the policy program founded by U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (ret.) – the Center for Native American Youth (CNAY) at the Aspen Institute. Josie shaped the development of the program during her six years at CNAY, including in her roles as Program Coordinator, Program Associate, Senior Program Associate, and Senior Program Manager. She led CNAY in program development, evaluation, grant proposal and report writing, event planning, and served as an expert on issues of suicide prevention, Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ people, and youth engagement, speaking at conferences and engaging in other outreach and educational activities in tribal communities nationwide.
Mrs. Raphaelito’s contributions to Indian Country have been acknowledged by her peers at the National Council of Urban Indian Health with the National Impact Award, and she is a recipient of the 40 Under 40 Award from the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development.
Josie moved to Buffalo, NY in 2017 with her wife to serve as an independent consultant supporting prevention efforts in Indian Country. It was through this work that she was invited to serve as a Senior Fellow with Western States Center to develop the Indigenizing Love: A Toolkit for Native American Youth to Build Inclusion. Josie continues to serve as a Senior Fellow to further support work around the toolkit implementation. In 2018, Josie joined the Seneca Nation Health System as a Health Planner to support grants management and policy development efforts across divisions. Today, Josie serves as the Research Project Coordinator for the new Center for Indigenous Cancer Research at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. This new research center aims to honor the values of Indigenous Knowledge, sovereignty, and respect for the environment through community-driven partnerships, collaborative research, and education to reduce the impact of cancer on Indigenous communities, regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Pride Youth Director
Geronimo Louie
Francis Geronimo Louie is Chiricahua Apache born for Diné. Serving over three years as the Dine Pridé Youth Director, he is an inspiring fashion designer who was published in Vogue for his ribbon skirt creations.
Geronimo is known for his social media presence on Instagram and TikTok where he utilizes the social media platforms to provide a deeper understanding of Indigenous people, their struggles and history, and respect for the sacredness of Native culture.
His work has been acknowledged and featured on Vice News, Brut America, Instagram, BCC World, Indian Country Today, the Gallup Independent, and many more. In addition to his social media work, Geronimo works to bring greater Indigenous representation through brand partnerships with Target, Our Place, and more. The 2022 TikTok LGBTQ+ Trail Blazer, his leadership was recognized for bringing a louder voice to Native LGBTQIA+ issues.
Geronimo is working to finish his Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts from the University of New Mexico in Gallup, New Mexico, this summer.
Community Leader
Curtis Berry
Curtis Berry is a young professional who has served with local and tribal governments for the last 8 years. He is a social media trendsetter, a respected political advisor and community organizer, and a beloved grassroots leader that is creating change across the Navajo Nation.
This is his 4th year serving on the Diné Pride Board of Directors overseeing operations for the largest Indigenous LGBTQ+ Pride in the country.
Community Leader
Sister Navi Ho
Eddie George Jr., also known as Sister Navi Ho, was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He is of the Many Goats Clan (T Å‚ 'ízí lání), born for the Coyote Path People Clan (Ma'ii Deeshgiizhinii). Originally from Tuba City and White Cone, Arizona, he graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s in Psychology.
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Self-identifying as a two-spirit gay person who embraces his tradition and cultural way of life, Eddie found his purpose as a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence in January 2010. This is the year Navi Ho was born, then she fully professed to be a Grand Canyon Sister in February 2011.
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A renowned LGBTQIA+ community leader for Arizona's Tribal Nations, Navi Ho became the first Native American Empress of Arizona for the Imperial Court of Arizona, Miss DeMeanor, Empress 9. During her reign as Empress of Arizona, she expanded her passion to fundraising, advocating, and empowering others in a new and glamorous way.
Look out for this fierce two-spirit gay man, nun, drag queen, and advocate who is reaching for the stars.
