Christina C. Bell Andrews J.D., M.P.H, M.B.A., M.A. was appointed to Executive Director of the Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American Health, under the College of Medicine, at the University of Arizona, on June 1, 2023. The Wassaja Center is an Indigenous-led framework to empower and heal Indigenous families using a culturally appropriate holistic approach. Indigenous knowledge and data will be protected through law and policy. It envisions engagement and understanding between European Centric and Indigenous systems to advance health and social justice outcomes for Indigenous peoples.
Andrews is Hia-Ced O'odham (‘Sand People’) and a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation (‘Desert People’). Her professional experience has been in government, health and human services, and education at the Tribal, state, federal, and international levels. Andrews was a former tribal leader for the Tohono O’odham Nation, whose reservation consists of 2.8 million acres and whose 75-miles borders Mexico.
Andrews was a Participant Ambassador for the All of Us Research Program under the National Institute of Health (NIH). The All of Us Research Program’s mission is to accelerate health and medical breakthroughs, enabling individualized prevention, treatment, and care. The project aims to collect genetic and health data from one million volunteers across the United States.
Additionally, Andrews served on the University of Arizona Community Action Council Committee of the American Indian Research Center for Health, where she served to ensure that Tribal and urban AI/AN (American Indian/Alaskan Native) people have meaningful participation in the development of relevant programs and priorities. This does not supplant the government-to- government consultation that the University of Arizona undertakes. Additionally, Andrews was a Site Manager for the Child Welfare and Juvenile Law Tribal-State Justice Partnerships program to build on the exceptional 85-year history of improving courts and systems’ practice and promoting national policies that improve the lives of our nation’s children and families, at the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ). In this role, she worked primarily with Tribes/Tribal Courts but also with other types of courts (e.g., dependency, delinquency, juvenile drug courts, dual status).
Andrews is knowledgeable and supports Tribal Sovereignty and humble cultural engagement. She is a graduate from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University where she received her J.D. and her certificate in federal Indian law. Andrews attended the University of Arizona, where she received a B.A. in Spanish and Portuguese, an M.A. in English, and an M.P.H. in policy and management. She also holds an M.B.A. in international business.
