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WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — President-elect Joe Biden has selected Navajo Department of Health Executive Director Dr. Jill Jim to serve on the Biden-Harris COVID-19 Advisory Board.
Jim is a member of the Navajo Nation and has served as a cabinet member for the Nation's Nez-Lizer Administration.
"Dr. Jim's extensive public health experience and expertise (have) been a major benefit for the Navajo Nation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic," said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez in a statement.
"And now she will serve on a much broader level to help fight this modern-day monster throughout the country."
Nez reportedly recommended Jim to be appointed to the President-elect's COVID-19 Advisory Board.
"Our Nation's COVID-19 preventative measures and restrictions put forth by our public health experts have served as a model for other states and entities across the country," Nez said. "I congratulate her and thank her for her dedication and commitment to helping our Navajo people."
Jim has led the Navajo Department of Health since January 2019, when she was appointed to serve by President Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer. She received her Doctorate in Public Health from the University of Utah.
Jim is originally from Navajo Mountain, Utah.
"I am proud to serve as a member of the Biden-Harris Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board," said Jim in a statement. "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, for President-elect Biden to lead with on day one."
The Biden-Harris COVID-19 Advisory Board is chaired by former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. David Kessler, former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and Yale University Dean Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a professor of internal medicine and a health equity researcher.
