Lori Byron, MD
Lori G Byron, MD, MS of Hardin MT, practiced pediatrics for 27 years on the Crow Indian Reservation. Now retired from Indian Health Service, she continues to work as a Pediatric Hospitalist at St. Vincent’s in Billings MT and works largely on environmental issues.
She co-chairs the Citizen’s Climate Lobby Health Team and the Montana Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate with her husband. She is on the Children’s Health Advisory Committee to the EPA and the Executive Committee of the Environmental Health Council at the American Academy of Pediatrics. She helps lead a grassroots effort with pediatrician climate advocates in all 59 AAP chapters. She recently earned a Masters of Science in Energy Policy and Climate from Johns Hopkins.
Caleb Minthorn
Caleb Minthorn is the Office of Air Quality technician for the Umatilla Tribes Department of Natural Resources Energy and Environmental Sciences Program. He has been with the tribe’s Office of Air Quality since 2016. Caleb has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Caleb has worked with Umatilla Tribes in various capacities dating back to the late 1990s when he joined tribal summer youth employment programs the tribe sponsors. Current Air Quality work includes Burn Program Management, Air Quality Policy change, and deployment. Past Work experience includes performing fish population surveys, wildlife plant surveying/noxious weed monitoring, call center agent retail client support, and Human Resources specialist.
Shaina Oliver
Shaina Oliver, a tribal member of the Navajo Nation from Shiprock, New Mexico, is an advocate for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights. In 2015, after the EPA’s toxic mine spill affecting the Animas and San Juan Rivers, which supply water to the Navajo Nation, Shaina became more aware that the environmental disasters that happen in Colorado—where she now lives with her husband and four boys—also impact her tribe’s well-being and future. Shaina began to feel her responsibility to do her part as a mother, aunt, sister, descendant, and survivor of genocide.
Living in northeast Denver, Shaina is just south of the Suncor refinery. Sometimes she and her family can’t step outside for a breath of fresh air. On very cold days, her asthma flares, and she must be cautious and stay indoors. She worries about her youngest son, who has more allergies than his older brothers—allergies that may be asthma-related. Testifying with Moms Clean Air Force at EPA hearings and in support of environmental bills at the US Capitol is one important way Shaina lives up to her responsibility to protect all living beings and secure a future for all children. Shaina’s advocacy has been featured in ABC News, Colorado Public Radio, the Colorado Sun, Indian Country Times, The Tyee, and the Denver Post.
Learn more about Shaina’s work in Colorado here.