Arvin Trujillo is the Manager for Government Relations at the Four Corners Power Plant and has held this position since 2010. Four Corners, which is owned and managed by Arizona Public Service Co. (APS), is a 1,540 MW coal-fired electric generation station located in Fruitland, NM. The Government Relations team works closely with Federal, State (both New Mexico and Arizona), local and tribal governments and their associated agencies. The team is also focused on community outreach with both tribal and non-tribal communities, organizations and industry partners.
Mr. Trujillo’s career started as a coal lab technician for Utah International, Navajo Mine. Following further education at Penn State University, Mr. Trujillo started his career as a mining engineer for Mobil Coal Producing, Inc. in Gillette, WY and later for BHP Billiton in Farmington, NM. In 1999, Mr. Trujillo joined President Kelsey Begaye’s Administration of the Navajo Nation as the Executive Director for the Navajo Division of Natural Resources. Mr. Trujillo also held an interim position as the Chief of Staff for President Begaye. Following two more terms with the Joe Shirley, Jr. Administration as the head of the Division of Natural Resources, Mr. Trujillo then joined APS.
Mr. Trujillo was a graduate of Kirtland Central High School in Kirtland, NM, just west of Farmington, NM. Mr. Trujillo did his undergraduate studies in Bio-chemistry from the Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK, and did his graduate studies at the Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA in Mineral Engineering (Mineral Processing and Mining Engineering).
Some of the awards and recognition Mr. Trujillo has received include: 1) Northwest NM Council of Government’s San Juan County Regional Champion, 2) AZ American Indian Excellence in Leadership Award, 3) APS Chairman’s Award, 4) Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT) Mary G. Ross Award, 5) USDA Cooperator of the Year for initiating the Ag Census on the Navajo Nation, and 6) Letters of Commendation from the US Bureau of Reclamation, NM Governor Bill Richardson, President Kelsey Begaye and President Joe Shirley, Jr. of the Navajo Nation and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.