Biden has nominated Deb Haaland for the Secretary of Interior.
If confirmed, she will be the first Native American person in a Cabinet role.
Deb Haaland was born in Winslow, Arizona in 1960.
She is a member of the Laguna Pueblo Native American tribe.
She is currently serving as a New Mexico congresswoman, being one of the first two Native American women ever to be elected to Congress.
Deb Haaland is known as a steward of the lands, an environmentalist.
Haaland’s hobbies also include marathon running and gourmet cooking.
After graduating from Highland High School in Albuquerque, Haaland worked at a local bakery.
At age 28, she enrolled at the University of New Mexico, where she earned her Bachelor degree in 1994.
Four days after graduating, she gave birth to her daughter.
As a single mother, Haaland started a salsa company to support herself and her daughter.
At times during this period, she did not earn enough money to afford housing and had to rely on food stamps and friends for shelter.
She earned her Juris Doctor in Indian law from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2006.
She then began working in her community and running for various local offices and finally all the way up to Congress.