Leadership
Anjelica S. Gallegos
Co-Founder, Director
Anjelica S. Gallegos (Jicarilla Apache Nation | Pueblo of Santa Ana) pushes boundaries of design thought and practice in sensitive environments, including the Southwest, Arctic, and New England coast. Gallegos serves as an architectural designer in the Government Studio at Page Southerland Page.
Anjelica is a co-founder and Director of the Indigenous Society of Architecture, Planning, and Design, with work featured in Architectural Digest, Metropolis Magazine, and more. She is a Fulcrum Fund recipient, the Regional Regranting Program of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and has presented her research at the Society of Architectural Historians International Conference.
Gallegos designs systematic programming that elevates Indigenous history, practices, and knowledge while advancing connection-building and reciprocity in the broader architecture field. Her research and built work focuses on Indigeneity in architecture including site memory, policy and architecture intersections, like the Federal Indian boarding school system, and sustainable design principle application.
Gallegos served as an ambassador of President Obama’s Generation Indigenous Initiative, advocating for Indian and environmental priorities, including at the White House Tribal Nations Summit and United State of Women Summit. Prior, Anjelica served in public relations for the Jicarilla Apache Nation and the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Cum Laude) in Architecture and a minor in Photography from the University of Colorado Denver. Gallegos graduated with her Master of Architecture degree from Yale School of Architecture as the Alpha Rho Chi Medal recipient.
https://anjelicasgallegos.cargo.site/
Anjelica S. Gallegos. Photo by Leanne Nagata.
Charelle Brown
Co-Founder
Charelle Brown is from Kewa Pueblo, in what is currently “New Mexico” and comes from the Frog clan. She is a recent graduate of Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. While at Yale, she co-founded the Indigenous Scholars of Architecture, Design, and Planning (ISAPD) in September 2018. Charelle actively reclaims her body, movement, and wellness through the sport of Olympic weightlifting and trains with the Albuquerque Strength Academy. She maintains sponsorships with Earth Fed Muscle as an Earth Fed Elite Content Creator and Thick Solid Heavy, a lifting-specific clothing brand. Charelle is a Junior Architectural Designer at Suina Design + Architecture, a 100% Native Woman-owned company located in Tiwa Territory in-so called “Albuquerque.” She is also the Community Defence Organizer for Pueblo Action Alliance. Her current and past design and planning work centers Indigenous knowledge, navigation, and futurisms.
Charelle Brown. Photo by Jacob Shije.
Miriam Diddy
Region Director - Deserts & Xeric Shrublands
Miriam is a planner and GIS specialist at Pland Collaborative based in Albuquerque, NM. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Planning and Design from the University of New Mexico (Summa Cum Laude). For the past eight years, she has worked as a design professional on planning, mapping, and community engagement efforts for several tribes across the Southwest. She utilizes the power of data to build capacities and empower stakeholders. Through this data-based planning approach, she facilitates the implementation of long-range planning goals to achieve vitality and sustainability in communities.
Miriam is a member of the Navajo Nation (Diné) from the Táchíí’nii clan and Hopi with additional Ukrainian heritage. Miriam’s work builds upon both the tangible and intangible elements of planning. Her work focuses on bridging the ties between the contemporary built environment and cultural narratives that honor and recognize the resiliency of indigenous people in everyday places. She’s an advocate of sharing ones’ knowledge and expertise with our local communities especially when it comes to reinforcing the power of data collection, management and sovereignty in Indian Country.
Miriam Diddy