Heather Tanana

Assistant Research Professor, S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah

Heather Tanana (JD/MPH) is a citizen of the Navajo Nation and an Assistant Research Professor at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. She is also Associate Faculty with the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health. Heather practiced law for several years with Richards Brandt Miller Nelson before completing a clerkship with U.S. District Court Judge David Nuffer and joining the world of academia. Her career has been driven by her personal commitment to serving her people. She chairs the board of the Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake and volunteers her time on other work groups to promote diversity in the legal field, including the Rocky Mineral Law Foundation Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, Association of American Law Schools Section on Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples, and American Bar Association Native American Resources Committee. Heather’s research interests include exploring the overlay between environmental and health policy, promoting better practices in Indian child welfare, and criminal justice in Indian country.