WELCOME TO THE FALL 2020 ISSUE OF WINDS OF CHANGE! As we continue to adapt to the ever-changing trajectory of the pandemic, I want you to know that your hard-working staff at AISES has held fast to our mission. We have continued virtually with every program we possibly can, from the National American Indian Science and Engineering Fair to the National Conference. And while I will miss seeing so many of you in Spokane, I am confident that you will still be able to benefit from the learning, reconnecting, and networking that are such an important part of our annual gatherings.
For this 2020 virtual conference, you will experience a distinctly robust platform. The College and Career Fair, especially, has been set up with many exciting features, so be sure to make the most of them as you visit the exhibitors in this largest event of its kind in Indian Country.
Or course, an important part of every National Conference is the presentation of the Professional Awards. You can meet this year’s winners starting here. Also champions — but of a different kind — are the many in the AISES family taking steps to fight the pandemic through community outreach, scientific research, and fundraising. Here we look at a few of these outstanding community members.
In every fall issue we feature our annual roster of Native STEM Enterprises to Watch. Here you can read about the businesses and organizations that earned their place on this year’s list. Also in this edition we continue our series of articles on natural resource management here, this time focusing on wildlife.
For this 2020 virtual conference, you will experience a distinctly robust platform. The College and Career Fair, especially, has been set up with many exciting features.
You’ll also find our regular sections on news of AISES and our chapters and members in AISES Notebook, as well as profiles of STEM opportunities in Career Builder and in Paths in Education. As always, in AISES People you will meet individual members doing amazing things. One is Dr. Kristina Gonzales-Wartz, a biomedical scientist in the Antibody Biology Unit at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where she is working on developing monoclonal antibodies against COVID-19. She says, “I would love to show the Native community that we are making a difference in all STEM fields.”
At AISES, we want to echo that sentiment as we continue our efforts to make a difference in all STEM fields for Native people and Native communities.
Ta’Tura Tsiksu (With Much Respect),
Sarah EchoHawkPawnee Nation of OklahomaAISES Chief Executive Officer