Born on the Navajo Nation in Tuba City and raised in Mesa, Ginger Sykes Torres is Diné (Navajo), Tódich’ii’nii (Bitter Water Clan) born for Bilagáana. As a high school student, Ginger became the first female to win a world title at the Heard Museum’s World Championship Hoop Dance Contest in 1997. Ginger’s groundbreaking hoop dance style was the first to incorporate modern dance and gymnastics elements into the hoop dance, and her victory paved the way for female hoop dancers of all ages. Ginger went on to graduate from Stanford University with a degree in the Earth Systems Science Program. She is now a certified environmental consultant on tribal and environmental issues, such as renewable energy and climate change. She currently serves as Vice Chair for the City of Phoenix Environmental Quality and Sustainability Commission, Chair of the Urban Heat Island Subcommittee, and is a member of the Mayor’s Rio Salado Advisory Committee which aims to make the city an epicenter of sustainable development. Ginger is actively involved in Arizona’s leading non-profit community and arts organizations. Ginger is the youngest trustee at the Heard Museum. Ginger was instrumental in the creation of Ballet Arizona’s Tribal Nations Advisory Council which aims to explore ways to engage local Native communities in Native dance and ballet. She is also a Girl Scout Troop Leader. Ginger recently co-founded the grassroots COVID relief group PPE for Navajo First Responders and was recently named to Valley Leadership’s Ready Together Program to help find innovative ways to make an impact in Arizona’s response to COVID-19. Ginger and her husband, Javier Torres, live in Phoenix. They have three small kids, two small dogs, and one small cat.