Katherine Belzowski currently serves as the Assistant Attorney General for the Economic Community Development Unit (ECDU). She received a B.A. from Cornell University, a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School, and a L.L.M. in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy from the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law. Before working with ECDU Katherine worked for five years as an attorney with the Department of Justice Litigation Unit where she handled a variety of tribal, state, and federal cases. She is licensed to practice law in Arizona, Michigan (inactive), Navajo Nation, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Arizona, New Mexico, the Ninth and Tenth Circuit. Katherine is the mom of three small humans and enjoys running and biking in the high desert surrounding Gallup, New Mexico.

Julianne Begay is a Principal Attorney in the Economic and Community Development Unit of the Navajo Nation Department of Justice. She is Tóhtsóhnii born for Tódich’ii’nii. Her maternal grandfather is Tsènjákiní and her paternal grandfather is Tóhtsóhnii. Julianne is originally from Klagetoh, Arizona, but grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona and currently lives in Bayfield, Colorado. Julianne received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College and her Juris Doctorate from the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Julianne has practiced law for 8 years. Before joining the Navajo Nation Department of Justice, Julianne worked for Colorado Legal Services, a state-wide non-profit that provides free legal services to low-income Colorado residents, where she focused on divorce, custody, and landlord-tenant matters. Prior to that, Julianne worked as an in-house attorney for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and as an associate for Maynes, Bradford Shipps, & Sheftel, LLP. Julianne is licensed to practice law in Arizona, Colorado, and the Navajo Nation. Outside of work, Julianne enjoys Crossfit, rec league soccer, hiking, learning how to mountain bike, DIY home projects, and volunteering in her community.

Lillian L. Schwales originally joined the Department of Justice in 2017 and is a Senior Attorney in the Economic and Community Development Unit. Starting out working on Chapter matters until the creation of the Chapter Unit, she represents the Division of Community Development, Division of Economic Development, Navajo Nation Enterprises and Boards, and assists the Nation with other matters as needed.
Lillian graduated with a B.A. from Miami University; where during school and after graduating, she developed her business career at Top Trumps USA, an international toy and game company. She later received her J.D. from American University.
She has practiced law over six years, and in addition to her work at the Navajo Nation, Lillian has taught clinical law at the American University Community, Economic, and Equity Development Law Clinic, clerked at the Peace Corp Inspector General’s Office, and received the J.D. Distinguished Fellowship to work with the Project on Addressing Prison Rape, where she assisted the federal government with policy development and the creation of training resources concerning the treatment of LGBTQ persons in custody.
Originally from Ohio, she is licensed to practice law in Virginia, New Mexico, on and the Navajo Nation. In her spare time, Lillian enjoys taking her two dogs out for hikes, spending time with her family, and watching professional hockey and soccer.