Paulson Chaco, the director of the Navajo Division of Transportation, will be honored at the White House on Wednesday as a "Champion of Change."

Chaco, a member of the Navajo Nation, was selected for his work to improve infrastructure on the reservation. The tribe is benefiting from funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“These American heroes are creating jobs today by investing in tomorrow -- putting men and women back to work rebuilding America’s infrastructure,” said Tansportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We appreciate their extraordinary efforts to connect people who need their jobs back with the jobs that our communities and economy need done.”

Chaco will be among 11 people who will be a part of a ceremony at 1:30pm on Wednesday. The event will be webcast at http://www.whitehouse.gov/live.

The full White House information follows:

Paulson Chaco is the Director of the Navajo Division of Transportation occupying a cabinet level position to the President of the Navajo Nation. He is a member of the Navajo Nation and is assigned the responsibility for all major aspects of planning, development, advocacy, and implementation of roads and transportation programs and services on the Navajo Nation. He communicates fluently in the Navajo language with grass roots communities listening to concerns and suggestions to be integrated into an organization responsive to needs of the people and the Navajo Nation. This $31 million dollar investment will improve safety on US-491 in New Mexico by expanding its width over a corridor length of approximately 69 miles and constructing two new lanes. This project addresses safety concerns on this heavily-traveled road that previously had fatality rates more than 3 times the national average.