Michaela Paulette Shirley

5 Plain Questions

Michaela Paulette Shirley (Diné), MCRP, is Water Edge clan, born for Bitter Water clan, her maternal grandpa is Salt clan, and her paternal grandpa is Coyote Pass clan. She is a program manager for the Indigenous Design and Planning Institute at University of New Mexico. Michaela is a PhD student in the UNM American Studies Department. Her areas of expertise include urban planning, community development, and Indigenous planning, with research interests in community-school relationships, biographies of landscape, Diné studies, critical Indigenous studies, critical regional studies, and hemispheric Indigenous comparative studies. Michaela presents at conferences offering keynotes, leading workshops/community engagement activities, conducting content analysis of community engagement work, and serves on conference committees as needed. She has published about Indigenous planning, creative placemaking/PlaceKnowing, and Diné-centered arts management. Michaela’s served 5 years as a School Board Member with the Dził Ditł’ooí School of Empowerment, Action, and Perseverance, a steering committee member of the Planners Network, committee member of the National Tribal Brownfields Networking Group, and co-founder of an artist giving circle, Vital Little Plans. Links: http://idpi.unm.edu/about/people/michaela-shirley.html LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaela-shirley-872760b3