About Doreen Garlid

Doreen Garlid was elected to the Tempe City Council in 2020 and re-elected in March of 2024.  On July 1, 2024, at her swearing-in ceremony, her peers elected her Vice Mayor.  As a member of the Navajo Nation, she made history as the first Native American elected to the Tempe City Council.

Doreen Garlid was elected to the Tempe City Council in 2020 and re-elected in March of 2024. On July 1, 2024, at her swearing in ceremony, her peers elected her as Vice Mayor. As a member of the Navajo Nation, she made history as the first Native American elected to the city council.

Doreen’s grand uncle was a World War II Navajo Code Talker in the U.S. Marines, and her great grandfather was a Navajo Medicine Man. For 45 years, Doreen and her mother have offered free, educational, community presentations about Navajo culture and family life, for which she was recognized in 2020 with the City of Tempe MLK Diversity Award.

Doreen believes it is important to support our military members and their families as she comes from a military family. Her early years were spent on multiple military bases as her father was a career Navy man who retired after 21 years of service to our country. Her brother, David, is a retired Lt. Colonel in the Army and her nephew is currently serving in the Army as a First Lieutenant and Infantry Officer.

Since joining the Council, she has been committed to improving the city’s capacity to meet the needs of residents with special attention on human services, housing, community safety and the quality of life in our neighborhoods. She was instrumental in the city’s efforts to restoring the Park Ranger Program, creating a Tobacco License registry, raising the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products to 21, creating the Sober Living Task Force, developing the city’s Mental Health Roadmap, and achieving our city’s designation as an Age-Friendly Community by the American Association of Retired Persons.

In the three decades prior to her election, she became involved in local schools, nonprofits, and service organizations. Doreen loves serving others locally and internationally. Her international service has taken her on 15 medical mission trips to 12 of the poorest countries in the world. 

Doreen loves listening to books on tape (easier because of her Dyslexia), spending time outdoors, researching family history, and being a grandmother.

Doreen, and her husband Scott (Executive Director of the Arizona Wildlife Federation), raised their four children for a few years in Costa Rica and then in Tempe.

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Representing Tempe Locally, Regionally and Nationally

  • Human Service and Community Safety Committee, Co-Chair
  • City of Tempe Audit Committee
  • Maricopa Association of Governments Transportation Committee
  • Maricopa Association of Governments Human Services Committee
  • League of Arizona Cities and Towns, Neighborhood Sustainability and Quality of Life Committee
  • National League of Cities Board of Directors
  • National League of Cities Membership Committee
  • National League of Cities University Community Council
  • National League of Cities Local Indigenous Leaders, Leadership Circle

Current Community Service and Memberships

  • For Our City (since 2023)
  • Tempe Impacts Education (TIE) Foundation (since 2019)
  • Tempe Coalition (since 2021)
  • Tempe Historical Society (since 2020)
  • Kiwanis Club of Tempe (since 2019)
  • Tempe Woman’s Club (since 2022)
  • South Tempe Rotary (since 2023)
  • Tempe Dementia Friendly Champion (since 2017)
  • Tempe Sister Cities (since 2013)
  • Mobile Medical (since 2010).  On this team she has served over 10,000 people in impoverished countries all over the world

Past Community Service and Memberships

  • Tempe’s Neighborhood Advisory Commission, Chair (2019)
  • Buena Vista Ranchos Homeowners Association, President (2017-2020)
  • Buena Vista Ranchos, Board of Directors (2000-2005)
  • Newtown Community Development Corporation, Board of Directors (2017-20)
  • National Charity League, Inc. East Valley, President (2011-12)
  • National Charity League, Inc. East Valley, Board of Directors (2008-2011)
  • Waggoner Elementary School PTO, President (2003-05)
  • Kyrene Middle School PTO, President (2006-07)
  • Seton Catholic Preparatory School PTO, Vice President (2012)
  • Tempe South Little League, Umpire Chair and Secretary (2004-06)
  • Girl Scout Leader (2000-06)
  • Developing Workers, Board of Directors (2018-19)