Office of the Chair

Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo)

Chair, National Endowment for the Humanities

Photo caption

Chair Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo) -- Photo by Cheriss May, for National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)

Download NEH Chair Lowe’s official photo (above)

Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo) is Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Lowe is a citizen of the Navajo Nation and grew up on the Navajo Reservation in Ganado, Arizona. From 2015 to 2022 she served as a member of the National Council on the Humanities, the 26-member advisory body to NEH, an appointment she received from President Obama. Lowe’s career in higher education has included roles as Executive Director of the Harvard University Native American Program, Assistant Dean in the Yale College Dean’s Office, and Director of the Native American Cultural Center at Yale University. Prior to these positions, she spent six years as the Graduate Education Program Facilitator for the American Indian Studies Programs at the University of Arizona.

Lowe has served in a variety of leadership roles nationally, most recently as a member of the University of Arizona Alumni Association Governing Board and of the Challenge Leadership Group for the MIT Solve Indigenous Communities Fellowship. She has served on the board of the National Indian Education Association and as a trustee on the board for the National Museum of the American Indian.

Lowe holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, a Master of Arts in American Indian Studies, and has completed doctoral coursework in Higher Education from the University of Arizona.

Follow Chair Lowe on Twitter: @NEHchair 

Please send all speaking and event requests for Chair Shelly Lowe to @email. We kindly ask that you include your event and organization details; engagement date, time, and location (virtual or in person); and contact information in your email.

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