Deshawna Yazzie (Diné/Navajo) is Program Manager for the Office of Community Engagement at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. Supporting the Associate Dean for Community Engagement, she builds and sustains partnerships between MEZCOPH and communities across Arizona and beyond. She manages outreach programs, coordinates external partnerships, and measures community impact, strengthening the public health ecosystem through authentic, reciprocal relationships. As a public health professional, her work centers Tribal, Indigenous, and community voices, with a commitment to data sovereignty and to culturally responsive practice that communities can both shape and trust.

Over the past six years, she has worked across Tribal, rural, and academic settings, often serving as a liaison between communities and the institutions, agencies, and partners that shape public health policy and programs. Her experience spans community-based evaluation, health equity, and systems-level change, including work on asthma care systems on the Navajo Nation and statewide nutrition and physical activity initiatives.

Deshawna earned her BS in Public Health and her MPH in Health Services Administration at the University of Arizona, where she is now completing a Master of Healthcare Management with a focus on Healthcare Leadership. In 2026, she received the University of Arizona Community Impact Award in recognition of the lived experience and professional expertise she brings to this work.