Local Girl Scouts can now earn their Tempe City Patch through my office.

National League of Cities - Ending Homeless: A Guide for Local Government

About Doreen Garlid

Doreen Garlid was elected to the Tempe City Council in 2020 and re-elected in March 2024. At her swearing-in on July 1, 2024, her peers selected her to serve as Vice Mayor. A proud member of the Navajo Nation, she made history as the first Native American elected to the Tempe City Council.

Doreen’s family legacy is deeply rooted in service. Her grand uncle was a World War II Navajo Code Talker in the U.S. Marine Corps, and her great-grandfather was a Navajo Medicine Man. For 45 years, Doreen and her mother have offered free community presentations on Navajo culture and family life, work that earned her the City of Tempe MLK Diversity Award in 2020.

Before her election, Doreen spent more than three decades engaged in local schools, nonprofits, and service organizations. She is passionate about serving others locally and globally. Her international service includes 15 medical mission trips to 12 of the world’s poorest countries, where she helped provide care to more than 10,000 patients.

Since joining the Council, Doreen has championed efforts that strengthen human services, housing, community safety, and quality of life in Tempe’s neighborhoods. She played key roles in restoring the Park Ranger Program, establishing a tobacco licensing registry, raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21, creating the Sober Living Task Force, developing Tempe’s Mental Health Roadmap, and helping the city achieve its designation as an Age-Friendly Community by AARP.

Doreen serves on numerous local, regional, and national boards and committees, including the National League of Cities Board of Directors as Second Vice President and the NLC’s Local Indigenous Leaders Constituency Group. Locally, she serves on the Maricopa Association of Governments Transportation Policy Committee and chairs MAG’s Community Initiatives Coordinating Committee. She also leads the Tempe Council Subcommittees on Aging and on Community Engagement and Connection.

Doreen and her husband, Scott, raised their four children in Tempe. They now enjoy time with their grandchildren, Beau (3) and Lainey (14 months), who live just around the corner.

Representing Tempe Locally, Regionally and Nationally

• Maricopa Association of Governments, Transportation Policy Committee
• Maricopa Association of Governments, Community Initiatives Coordinating Committee
• League of Arizona Cities and Towns, Neighborhood Sustainability and Quality of Life Committee
• National League of Cities, Second Vice President, Board of Directors
• National League of Cities, Legislative Action Committee
• 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

• National League of Cities/Councilmember, University Community Council
• City of Tempe/Councilmember, Human Service and Community Safety Committee, Co-Chair
• City of Tempe/Councilmember, Audit Committee
• 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)