Newsroom Archive

Mellor Willie

Executive Director, National American Indian Housing Council

Mellor C. Willie is the Executive Director of the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC). He directs the non-profit organization's operations and programming, as well as publicly promotes and advances the American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian housing policy agenda in Washington, D.C. and abroad.

Mellor is a member of the Navajo Nation, born and raised in Window Rock, Arizona. He was born into the Yei Dine' Tachii'nii clan and born for the Tsenahabilnii clan. In 1998, he received his bachelor's degree in political science from Southern Utah University. As a 1998 Udall intern, Mellor worked for former Congressman Jim Kolbe (R-AZ). In May 2009, he graduated from The George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management, being the first American Indian to graduate from the program.

Before NAIHC, Mellor served as director of development for the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) headquartered in Washington, D.C. As the chief fundraising executive, he directed the fundraising efforts for NCAI. Mellor served on the faculty advisory board for the Harvard University Native American Program and as a former alumnus, he continues to serve on the advisory board for the Washington Internships for Native Students at American University.