Hill-Kelley, Jennifer
Jennifer Hill-Kelley
Jennifer Hill-Kelley is an enrolled citizen of the Oneida Nation and is also Kiowa and Comanche. She was a Judge for the Court of Appeals for the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. Previously, she served on the Environmental Leadership Program Board of Trustees. She was the Environmental Quality Director for the Oneida Nation. She served on the Fox River/Green Bay Natural Resource Trustee Council, EPA Region 5 Regional Tribal Operations Committee, and the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC). She also held positions supporting the tribal legislature and administration. She previously served the Oneida community in elected and appointed positions on the Trust and Enrollment Committee, the Seven Generations Corporation, the Oneida Utilities Commission, and the Oneida Arts Board. She serves on the Wisconsin Historical Society Foundation Board of Directors, the Bay Area Community Council, the Woodland Indian Arts, and as an Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO) Ambassador. Presently, she runs her consulting firm, which focuses on promoting equality in the workplace, and is a coach for Achieving the Dream.
“Have confidence in the fact that you have the right to be there and that you have something to say.” Jennifer Hill- Kelley, 2005.
Hill-Kelley, J., 2006. Restoring the Reservation, Sustaining Oneida. Nat. Resources & Env’t, 21, p.21.
Fladd, L., Heacock, L., Hill-Kelley, J., Lawton, J., Pechac, S., Shamah, D. and Woodruff, A., 2021. Knowing Our Students: Understanding & Designing for Success. A Guidebook for Institutional Leaders. Achieving the Dream.
Hill-Kelley, J., 2007. Tribal Environmental Performance Measures: An Approach for the Future (Doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay).
Jennifer Hill-Kelley was born on May 9, 1968, to Mary and Jerry, a housewife and an economic developer for American Indian tribes, respectively. Hill-Kelley grew up in Oklahoma and Wisconsin with her older sister and two younger brothers. While growing up, Hill-Kelley spent a lot of time in rural settings. As a result, she developed a deep respect for the natural world. Not surprisingly, a career in the environmental field was a perfect fit for her.
Hill-Kelley earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oklahoma with a microbiology major and a chemistry minor. She also completed a Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Administration at the University of Wisconsin in Green Bay in 2006.
As an undergraduate, Hill-Kelley was interested in working in the health field. Thus, she obtained a position as a laboratory technician working in a blood bank. However, she soon learned this was not what she wanted to do and returned home to study chemistry and work in a chemistry lab researching environmental contaminants. Because of her determination, technical experience, and adaptation, Hill-Kelley became the Environmental Quality Director of the Oneida Environmental Health and Safety Department. In this position, she protected tribal natural resources by assessing the potential impact of projects and monitoring the compliance of these projects with tribal and federal laws. Hill-Kelley acknowledges that throughout her career, she has always been fully aware of being the only American Indian in her workplace; however, she reminds herself and others to “have confidence in the fact that you have the right to be there and you have something to say.”
In discussing the highlights and most significant achievements of her career, Hill-Kelley cited the
recognition of her professionalism by state agencies as they asked her to assist them in building credibility and expertise. She is proud not only of her proficiency but also of her abilities to formulate ideas, utilize local resources, recognize and resolve conflicts, engage the community, and assist individuals in pushing for positive environmental change. These skills have helped her achieve her current level of success.
Hill-Kelley’s career is full of positive experiences, but she has experienced challenges and low points. In 1998 the Oneida Elected Council signed a Memorandum of Agreement for Natural Resource Regulation on the Reservation. Members of the Council felt they had no other choice. The agreement contained language that Hill-Kelley felt was contrary to federal Indian policy and environmental regulatory jurisdiction on the reservation. Since then, she has worked hard to educate herself to be a resource for the tribe, building relationships with elected leadership and other governmental agencies, and exploring nonregulatory alternatives to reach resource protection goals.
Throughout her career, Hill-Kelley has had the support of the community. She knows that it is what she was meant to do. Hill-Kelley has found her calling. This confidence has allowed her to stick with a career in the environmental field.
Aside from running her consulting firm, she also serves as a coach to Achieving the Dream. In this role, she assists colleges in improving the student experience by intentionally developing scalable and comprehensive support services. Hill-Kelley has an extensive background in data coaching and coaching in support of Tribal Colleges and Universities.
As Hill-Kelley has progressed throughout her life and career, she has looked to her eight aunts and Tom Goldtooth for advice and guidance. Her aunts are very civic-minded and have extensive backgrounds in education. They always stressed the importance of recognizing one’s abilities and using them. Tom Goldtooth is the Executive Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network. He involved her in the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. He demonstrated to her that it is possible to have a voice for your people, incorporate your culture, and encourage change.
Hill-Kelley has also been an Environmental Leadership Program fellow. This program nurtures the next generation of environmental leaders by providing training, networking, and self-assessment opportunities. It is a program that strives to maintain diversity. She served on the Board of Trustees and as a Senior Fellow.
When thinking about what advice to give to minorities in the environmental field, Hill-Kelley states that one never knows enough. It is essential to engage the community in one’s endeavors. Thus, it will serve one well to get to know the community: who they are, their stories, and what they are about. By working as a team with the community, one can find a solution to most environmental concerns.
Environmental Leadership Program. 2001. Jennifer Hill-Kelley. Retrieved June 23, 2023, from https://elpnet.org/senior-fellows/id/36954.
Taylor, Dorceta (Ed.). 2005. The Paths We Thread: Profiles of the Careers of Minority Environmental Professionals. Minority Environmental Leadership Development Initiative, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.