Michelle Montgomery, MA, MPP, PhD (enrolled Haliwa Saponi/descendant Eastern Band Cherokee) | Paul Charlton, MD, MA

Michelle Montgomery, MA, MPP, PhD (enrolled Haliwa Saponi/descendant Eastern Band Cherokee) is an Associate Professor and Chair, Division of Social and Historical studies in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington, Tacoma. She is also the Assistant Director for the Office of Undergraduate Education, the Indigenous Curriculum and Community advisor for the School of Education, Interim Director for Undergraduate Program in the Department of Bioethics and Humanities School of Medicine, and co-coordinator/external Indigenous advisor for the University of Minnesota Morris Sustainability Leadership Program. Dr. Montgomery’s -heart work – focuses on Indigenizing and decolonizing the climate justice narrative through the Indigenous Speaker Series, environmental ethics connected to Indigenous Peoples’ identities, and Eco-critical race theory to eliminate racial and environmental oppression.

Paul Charlton, MD, MA works as an emergency medicine physician at the Gallup Indian Medical Center where he currently serves as the emergency department director. He completed medical school at Dartmouth and his residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington/Harborview. Dr. Charlton also holds a master’s degree from Georgetown University in Conflict Resolution, which drives his motivation to improve health care systems to address issues of quality, equity, and social justice. In addition to his clinical contributions, his academic niche is conflict management and health care, for which he holds academic affiliations with several universities focused on this topic. He lives in Gallup, New Mexico, with his wife and two children, and is an active climber and trail runner.