Cailinn Allen

Stanford University | Ilíiaitchik: Indigenous Correspondents Program (ICP)

Major / Minor: Earth Systems

Graduation Year: 2028

Cailinn Allen is a rising Junior at Stanford University majoring in Earth Systems with a minor in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. Cailinn was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and is a member of the Gila River Indian Community. Through her upbringing and mixed identity, she is passionate about traditional ecological knowledge, climate resiliency, policy and environmental justice in the context of the Sonoran Desert. Cailinn has shared these passions through the Arizona PBS documentary, “What Happened in AZ? A River of Resilience: Gila River and the Akimel O’odham”, and speaking to the Biden Administration's Council on Environmental Quality through climate advocacy group Greenlations. Through Stanford’s community ecology lab, she has presented research at the Ecological Society of America on the priority effects between nectar microbes during heatwaves. Cailinn is currently interning at Oregon’s Deschutes Land Trust in the high desert and leads the Stanford Advancing Indigenous Science and Engineering Society (AISES).

After attending graduate school, she aspires to work towards the revitalization of the lower Gila River and the continued stewardship of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. Ultimately, she hopes to bring strength to her communities and build spaces that nurture intellectual curiosity and joy. Outside of academics, Cailinn can be found making ceramics, planning the Stanford Powwow 5K, reading, and hiking.