Senator Carlyle W. Begay was born on the Navajo Nation and he is Tó’tsohnii (Big Water), born for Kinyaa’áanii (Towering House) clans. His maternal grandparents are Tl'izi lani (Many Goats clan). His paternal grandparents are also of the Tl'izi lani (Many Goats clan). Senator Begay is a lifetime resident of Arizona and grew up on the Navajo Nation near Black Mesa and was raised under the teachings of his ancestry, instilling in him the importance of remembering the story of his people and carrying it on to his descendants.

Senator Begay graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology and was a student in the Minority Medical Education Program at the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine. After graduation, he continued his education and attended the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. He also attended the Arizona International College’s Natural Sciences and Mathematics program in Tucson, Arziona; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Heath’s Winter Institute, in Baltimore, Maryland; and the Harvard School of Public Health’s Public Health Studies program in Boston, Massachusetts.

Through these experiences Senator Begay accrued a tremendous acumen and passion for health and education policy and business. He has experience in the management of health care organizations, managed care, health care market structure, and health care delivery. Senator Begay has also devoted much of his career to improving education for all and ensuring, regardless of location or race, every person receives the first-rate education they deserve. He got involved in education early while a student teacher at the U of A with a program called Collaboration for the Advancement of Teaching Technology and Science (CATTS), which was a K-12 program based at the University of Arizona that partnered with local under-served school districts to improve science, mathematics and technology learning. Even today Senator Begay continues to work with organizations that seek to have more American Indians preparing for health professions to improve the quality of care provided for and by American Indians in Arizona. Furthermore, Senator Begay currently serves as Chair of the Community Advisory Board to the Partnership for the Center of American Indian Resiliency (CAIR) at Northern Arizona University and the U of A. The project integrates comprehensive research, training and outreach to decrease health disparities found in Native American populations.

As a former State Senator he had worked to give a voice to rural and Native American communities and his constituents as a whole. He served on the Senate committees of Education; Health and Human Services; Transportation; and Commerce & Workforce Development. Additionally, he served as co-chair of the Native American Caucus, and Chair of the Senator Ad-Hoc Committee on Indian Affairs.