Amelia Marchand

Amelia Marchand is a researcher, writer, and strategist with over 27 years of experience in cultural and natural resource management, climate action, and food and water security policy, working alongside Indigenous Peoples in the U.S. and First Nations in Canada. In 2024, she made history as the first woman appointed by President Biden to the Indian Tribe Member Seat on the Advisory Council of Historic Preservation. Now serving as the Executive Director of the Indigenous-led L.I.G.H.T. Foundation, Amelia is leading with vision and determination, spearheading new initiatives that honor the land and culture while inspiring hope for a future rooted in conservation and community.

Amelia’s rich heritage includes Okanogan, Lakes, Moses-Columbia, Palus, Chief Joseph Band of Wal’wama Nimiipuu, Scottish, French, Irish, German, and Dutch ancestry. As a wife, daughter, and granddaughter of U.S. Army veterans—and a descendant of U.S. prisoners of war, the American Indian residential boarding school system, and the relocation program for American Indians—her personal experiences deeply inform her passion for Indigenous rights, environmental justice, and creating equitable solutions for climate adaptation. Her work is dedicated not only to fostering community and reciprocity but also to healing the intergenerational trauma and legacies of colonialism.

The L.I.G.H.T. Foundation was born out of these experiences, serving as a way to honor the memory of the land and ancestors, heal cultural ecologies, uplift our hearts, and support those seeking to do the same. As the salmon swim together against the current for future generations of human, animal, and ecological relatives, Amelia believes that we, too, must unite in resilience to face the climate crises and restore balance.

Amelia also volunteers as a board member for the Center for World Indigenous Studies (CWIS) and serves on several advisory committees. She holds a BA in anthropology from Eastern Washington University and an MA in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School. She is a Public Voices Fellow of the OpEd Project at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, an Associate Scholar of CWIS, and an alumnus of Presidential Classroom and the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program. Amelia is a proud citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, located in north central Washington State.

In L.I.G.H.T., we swim together.