Denisa Livingston, M.P.H., M.L.S.

is an unapologetic Diné Indigenous food justice organizer, Indigenous public health systems consultant, multi-epistemic researcher, heirloom food grower and Native seed steward. Denisa is a graduate from the University of Oklahoma, College of Law, Indigenous Peoples Law program. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). She completed a 2023-2024 Tribal Data Champion Fellowship at the University of New Mexico. She served five years as an elected Slow Food International Indigenous Councilor of the Global North from 2017-2022 and four years as a member of the advisory board of the Slow Food Indigenous Peoples international network - Indigenous Terra Madre.

She is committed to addressing food apartheid and nutritional trauma in Indigenous communities while addressing the invisibility of Indigenous Peoples by reclaiming Native truth and bringing awareness to the disparities and inequities in Indian Country caused by colonization, systemic racism, patriarchal oppression, and perpetual injustices.

Denisa has been a legislative speaker and community health advocate for the Diné Community Advocacy Alliance (DCAA) for over a decade. DCAA have been globally recognized for the successful passage of several laws, the first of its kind: Elimination of Tax on Healthy Foods with an emphasis on Indigenous foods, the Healthy Diné Nation Act of 2014 or Unhealthy Foods Tax, and a tax revenue allocation for Community Wellness Projects for all 110 Navajo Chapters. Denisa also teaches how to prepare and cook heirloom Indigenous foods for the students at the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative Youth Summit at the University of Arkansas School of Law. She is a contributor of the “Recipes from Turtle Island”, the book "The Slow Lane: Why Quick Fixes Fail And How To Achieve Real Change", a contributor of the award-winning anthology "Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Cultural Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health" and of the book "Unfinished conversations: On democracy, race, the economy, and a path forward".

The work and efforts of Denisa focus on servant leadership, taste education, growing traditional Indigenous foods, gastronomy, creating new roles for society, and bridging community members to purpose and innovation. Follow DCAA and Denisa @DineAdvocacy and @PrincesseDenisa