WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – With years of military and homeland security experience in the U.S. Air Force, Sharen Sandoval could work anywhere in the world – and has.
She’s lived and traveled to Asian countries, the border of North and South Korea, and to Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam for anti-terrorism exercises.
Sandoval, 32, said she listened to her intuition, a call to action to return back to the Navajo Nation to serve her people. That came with the opportunity to apply as the new director for the Navajo Department of Emergency Management.
“It’s really the military concept that has helped me with emergency preparedness and response, at all levels you can imagine,” she said. “I’ve developed a love for structure, for organization, for seeing things through, from the very beginning to the very end.”
Sandoval was hired by Division of Public Safety Director Michael Anderson on July 1. He said she is more than qualified to serve as the tribe’s top emergency management official.
“She was selected, interviewed and hired based on all those standards,” Anderson said. “We have high expectations of her to fill a position that has been vacant that nobody else has really wanted to do or wasn’t qualified or found not qualified to do.”
From 2012 to 2015, Rose Whitehair served as the emergency manager when John Billison was the director for the Division of Public Safety. Between 2016 to 2023, interim delegated directors were Harland Cleveland, Lyla Smallcanyon and Commander Rory Atcitty.
Anderson said he appreciates the duties of Whitehair, Cleveland, Smallcanyon and Atcitty for serving in their capacities as the top emergency officer for the Navajo Nation.
Sandoval served in the Air Force for nearly 14 years, with 11 years active-duty and 2.5 years in the reserves. She is a 2022 graduate from Arizona State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in public service and public policy with a focus in Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
Sandoval was raised in Ganado, Ariz. Prior to returning home, she worked in private security in Phoenix. Coming home, she will fill a government role that has been difficult to fill.
The Navajo Nation Department of Emergency Management is responsible to provide reliable fire, police and emergency response and coordinate major emergency response. The position of director went unfilled for three years before Sandoval was hired, filled only by acting directors who chose not to apply for the job.
Despite being properly vetted, she was slammed by local media and social media for being the daughter of OPVP Chief of Staff Patrick Sandoval, who said he tried to dissuade her from applying for just that reason but understood her desire to serve the Navajo people.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said he was happy that a young, college educated woman veteran, with both a degree and experience in emergency management would choose to leave excellent employment in a major metropolitan area to return home to help her people.
Despite assumptions by some, “Ms. Sandoval applied on her own will and accord,” Anderson said. “She was chosen for the job on her own merit, formal education achievements, and almost two decades of stellar military service, among many major contributions to public safety.”
Despite the political views of her hire, Director Anderson said Sandoval’s goal is to improve Navajo DEM’s readiness to emergencies. Right now, she says her small staff does its best with limited resources. She plans to work with the counties, cities, towns and nearby tribes elevate emergency response and preparedness across the Navajo Nation and encourages the Diné public to follow Facebook for emergency updates.
“There are some unimaginable emergencies that happen out there that turn into search and rescue, search and recovery,” Sandoval said. “People can’t get out of their homes. They can’t even get out of their cars. There are some ugly truths to public service. I want to get us out of a rut. We’re no longer reactive. We’re simply proactive.”
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