Malyssa joined the ACLU of Utah in early October as our San Juan County Voter Protection Organizer, dedicated to protecting the rights of Indigenous and rural voters in southeastern Utah. Malyssa's continued commitment with the ACLU of Utah is as the Indigenous Justice Coordinator, leading an exploratory project to understand the opportunities and challenges Indigenous Utahns face in exercising their constitutional rights and liberties.

A native of South Dakota, Malyssa has spent over a decade working with tribal, state, federal, and private grants and programs throughout the northern Navajo Nation and San Juan County, Utah. Slaying the financial crisis dragon, Malyssa diversified her portfolio and chose to invest in cultural, human, and social capital. Malyssa finds value in contributions to community, including as an emergency first responder, a planning and zoning commissioner, and as an active member of both Navajo Nation Community Partnership for Health Equity, and Water Is K'e Community Advisory Group.

Malyssa completed a bachelors degree in Psychology and Native American Studies at the University of South Dakota and a masters in Rural Sociology with an emphasis in Native American Community Development from South Dakota State University. Malyssa acknowledges that these expensive pieces of paper are not the only way to show competency and believes real credentials will never show up on paper.

Malyssa is fascinated by the plant kingdom and concepts of food sovereignty. She enjoys the desert's petrichor, the brilliant night sky, syncopated rhythm, and judging high school speech and debate.