Greetings to all!  Thank you for checking out my page here.  I'm Doreen McPaul. I was born and raised on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona and I am very proud to be Navajo and Irish.  I'm also honored to serve as a new member of the Irish Cultural & Learning Foundation (ICLF) Board of Trustees!  

If you don't know already, the Irish Cultural Center in Arizona is a place where Irish culture and values are shared and celebrated.  It is a space where people can connect to all things Ireland. This includes many programs and activities – everything from art, music, dance, literature, movies, books, history, food, tea, sports, kids’ programs, and more.  The Irish Cultural Center helps to builds community by serving as a place where people can meet and network in Arizona and beyond.  If you have not been to the Irish Cultural Center -- seriously, a castle in uptown Phoenix -- you must check it out! 

I had the privilege of serving as the Navajo Nation Attorney General from January 2019 to January 2023.  This was during the COVID-19 pandemic which severely impacted the Navajo Nation.  (The Navajo Nation has a land base that is comparable in size to Ireland).  I was tasked to oversee donations coming to the Navajo Nation government for for COVID-19 response and recovery.  One of the highlights of those donation efforts included a hugely successful collaboration with the Irish Cultural Center that generated much needed supplies to assist the Navajo Nation at the peak of the pandemic.  At that time, there was also global coverage of Irish efforts to ‘pay forward’ a famine donation made by the Choctaw Nation.  This coincided with a flood of Irish donations for relief efforts and an increased awareness of the shared history between Ireland and tribal Nations.  The Irish response to the Navajo Nation during COVID was personally meaningful to me due to my own heritage, and doubly so due to my official role with the Navajo Nation government at the time.  As if that were not rewarding enough, in 2021 I was nominated and selected for a Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad in the category of charitable works.  I got to travel to Dublin to receive the award from President Michael D. Higgins in December 2021.  It was an incredible experience that I will never forget. Serving on the ICLF Board of Trustees is a way of giving back, but also feels like I'm completing a circle and returning to a new beginning.  

I cannot share enough positive feedback about the Irish Cultural Center.  The folks I have been fortunate to connect to and the programs I have been able to attend have all been nothing short of amazing.  I look forward to working alongside some truly good humans and to advance a worthy mission that is also personally meaningful.   I hope you will consider helping me to reach my fundraising goals to support the Irish Cultural Center. 

Ahehee'!