Daniel Vandever (Diné) is an award-winning author and entrepreneur from Haystack, NM. He is the CEO of South of Sunrise Creative, a strategic communications firm that helps advance education initiatives through a community-based approach.

Vandever is a product of Small Wonders Day Care where his experiences as a Ninja Turtle helped shape the creativity behind his debut picture book, Fall in Line, Holden!, a 2018 Honor Book for the American Indian Youth Literature Award. His follow up picture book, Herizon (2021), was self-published and was recognized as the Best Picture Book of 2022 by the American Indian Library Association. Two books authored by Vandever are set for release in 2024: Behind Every Rug and We Weave.

Vandever received his undergraduate degree in Strategic Communications from the University of Missouri and a master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning from the University of New Mexico. He is the grandson of Navajo Code Talker Joe Vandever Sr., USMC.