Dr. Crystal Cavalier-Keck

Dr. Crystal Cavalier-Keck is a citizen of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, and she has dedicated the past 5+ years to defending her homelands against the Mountain Valley Pipeline/Southgate Extension. She is leading a campaign to bring Rights of Nature laws to NC to protect the waterways and communities in the path of the pipeline. Crystal is the co-founder of 7 Directions of Service with her husband. Crystal completed her Doctorate at the University of Dayton, focusing on the social justice crisis of Missing Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) tied to gas/oil pipelines. 

This led her to launch the Missing Murdered Indigenous Women Coalition of NC. Crystal was a co-author of NC House Bill 795, the Rights of Nature/Rights of the Haw River,prioritizing environmentally impacted communities around the Haw River watershed.  Crystal serves on the boards of Movement Rights, The Haw River Assembly, and is the Policy Director at Toxic Free, NC.