Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi is Tł’ízíłání, born for To’aheedlíínii, her maternal grandparents are Áshįįhí, and her paternal grandparents are Bit’ahnii. She is Diné from Goat Springs, Arizona within the better known community of Teec Nos Pos. She is a multi-award-winning freelance writer whose work has appeared in Rolling Stone magazine, The Guardian, USA Today, The New York Times, the Navajo Times, Arizona Highways magazine, and others. Sunnie first became a member of IJA in 2006 as a student and later served as lead mentor for IJA’s high school/college student projects. She also served as sports writer for the Navajo Times for 12 years. More recently, Sunnie earned a Ph.D. in English – Rhetoric and Writing from the University of New Mexico and was awarded the $20,000 Doris O’Donnell Innovations in Investigative Journalism Fellowship from the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University in 2021.