Hilary Tompkins, the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior, presented a Lunch & Learn lecture to students on April 6 describing her background and career path to her present position. Solicitor Tompkins was named solicitor by former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and currently serves Secretary Sally Jewell.

The Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our federal public lands and natural resources. This includes fostering the wisest use of our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife, preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historic places, and ensuring the federal trust obligation to Native American Nations is met.

As a member of the Navajo Nation, Solicitor Tompkins grew up in New Jersey far from her Navajo roots. She related her experiences from her education at Dartmouth and Stanford Law School, serving as law clerk for the Navajo Nation Supreme Court, as U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, working in private practice, serving as Chief Counsel to former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, and as an adjunct professor at UNM School of Law.

At each juncture, Solicitor Tompkins followed her intuition and challenged herself to build a diverse and compelling set of credentials that led her to the next career opportunity.

The event was hosted by the Law and Indigenous People's Program with the Utton Center and the School of Law's Natural Resources and Environmental Law Program.