PAGE – Coconino County District 5 Supervisor Lena Fowler has been selected as one of 25 female elected leaders to participate in the Women in Government Leadership Program Class of 2018.

Fowler, who is serving her third term on the Coconino County Board of Supervisors, was selected in September by Governing Institute in Washington, D.C. Her nomination was based on career and educational accomplishments, personal recommendations, and her commitment to actively participate in the yearlong program.

Fowler made history in August 2011 when she became the first Diné chairwoman of the board. She ended her term in April 2012. She was elected again as chair in late February 2016 and ended her term in January 2017.

Fowler presides over District 5, which comprises Coppermine, Fredonia, Inscription House, Jacob Lake, Kaibeto, LeChee, Little Colorado River, Marble Canyon, Navajo Mountain, North Rim, Page, and Tuba City.

“I have learned that in this office a lot of listening,” Fowler has said of District 5, an especially isolated area. “I can’t do my job … without my constituents being so open with me. Things that really matter to them, those are the things I try to work on and address my colleagues and other elected officials.”
As an elected official, Fowler has brought many services to the county, such as the delayed birth certificate service. She has also revived many inactive projects and tackled enormous challenges such as the U.S. Highway 89 landslide incident near Bitter Springs, Arizona, in February 2013.

And now, she has made it her top priority to ease the impact of the shutter of the Navajo Generating Station in LeChee, Arizona.

“I’m very lucky to have a job that I truly enjoy,” added Fowler, who is currently working with the city of Page and the Navajo Nation on ways to diversity and revitalize the Page-Lake Powell economy.

Fowler resides in Tuba City, Arizona. She is originally from Tonalea-Red Lake, Arizona.

She has three children: Raelene Hardeen, Christopher Hardeen, and Shonie Hardeen.

But the women selected to the program are changing the face of politics in America – from council chambers to statehouses – during a tumultuous time in U.S. history, according to Governing.

Their service, courage and commitment to advancing good government is celebrated with their invitation to this national network.

The Women in Government Leadership Program is designed to promote and support elected female leaders from across the country. This program brings together outstanding leaders like Fowler to acknowledge their contributions, provide leadership development and mentor the next generation of female leaders to run for office.

Julia Burrows, director of the Governing Institute, wrote in a statement, “The women in the class of 2018 are subject matter experts, negotiators, civic activist and pioneers. Each year, the program adds to a national network with 25 new members who establish deep friendships, provide consultation and campaign support and recruit future female candidates.”

Burrows added that the common goals of gender parity and advancing good government forge a bond that rises above partisanship and will pay dividends for many generations.