Intertribal Life Newspaper -

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Navajo leader Dr. Jill Jim has been added to the panel of health and policy experts that are being called on to help the new US presidential administration strategize on COVID-19 responses.

Jim, who has served as executive director of the Navajo Department of Health since 2019, has seen the problem up close as the tribe has seen some of the highest COVID-19 caseloads in the country.

"I look forward to working with fellow members of the advisory board to help prepare an urgent, robust, and professional response to the global public health crisis," Jim said in a statement.

Before joining the Navajo Health Department, Jim was a health care analyst for HealthInsight in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a consultant for Navajo Area Indian Health Service, and an epidemiologist for the Utah Department of Health, according to the office of the Navajo Nation president and vice president.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said that, having seen Jim's leadership efforts this past year through the community's local response to COVID-19, he is excited to see what she will do in her new, national position. Nez said he hopes Jim's involvement on the advisory board gives insight on the health concerns tribes and other communities face.

"People of color have been hit hard because we have a high rate of diabetes, cardiovascular disease," he said. "It's not just about Native Americans, Dr. Jill Jim will be giving advice for but I think overall, those communities (of color)."