NextFifty Initiative Grant for AISES
The NextFifty Initiative, which supports organizations working to improve the lives of older adults (those in their “second 50 years”) in metropolitan Denver, has given AISES a grant of $98,930. The funds will provide professional development programming to a cohort of Indigenous people in Colorado who are over age 50. The goal is to help participants increase their technical skills for success in today’s job market.
National Recognition for AISES Intel Scholarship
Influential tech site and industry news source ZDNet named the AISES Intel Scholarship to its list of Best Identity-Based Computer Science Scholarships 2021. The article emphasized that 62 percent of students graduate from college with loan debt and encouraged readers to apply for every source of funding they qualify for.
AISES Supports Reconciliation in Place Names Act
The long list of organizations that have endorsed the Reconciliation in Place Names Act includes AISES as well as the NCAI, Geological Society of America, Defenders of Wildlife, several tribes, and many other entities. Originally introduced by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland when she was serving in Congress, the bill would address offensive names of land units and geographic features on federal land. The act would begin the renaming process by establishing the Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names.
Dr. Nancy B. JacksonThe AISES family is saddened by the passing of Dr. Nancy B. Jackson in January. She became the first Indigenous president of the American Chemical Society in 2011, declared to be the Year of Chemistry by the United Nations. A chemical engineer, Dr. Jackson had a long career at Sandia National Laboratories, where she was the founder and manager of the International Chemical Threat Reduction Department in the Global Security Center. She retired in 2017 as a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff. She also served Sandia for two years as tribal government liaison. Dr. Jackson, who received the AISES Professional of the Year Award in 2005, was a strong advocate for science education for underrepresented students, especially at tribal colleges.
Gene A. KelucheGene A. Keluche, Wintun, passed away in February and will be much missed by the AISES family. Throughout his career, he helped Indigenous people in every way he could, spending much of his time promoting economic development in Indian Country. A resort developer in Arizona and Colorado, Keluche was founder and CEO of International Conference Resorts, which provides hospitality and meeting facilities as well as technical and marketing services to the resort industry. He was a great friend of AISES and an early supporter of the Leadership Conference (now the Leadership Summit), which he hosted for a decade at his Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs. Keluche was a former co-chair of the International Founder’s Council of the National Museum of the American Indian. He and his wife, Freita, founded the nonprofit Native American Sports Council (NASC), which has given many young people an opportunity to pursue their dreams of Olympic-level athletic success. Tribes nationwide are benefiting from sports wellness programs modeled by the NASC. Keluche was born in 1933 in Mount Shasta, Calif., and spent his first 12 years in foster care before returning to live with his mother. He worked his way through college at California State University, Chico, graduating with a degree in applied science engineering. After a stint as a Navy pilot during the Korean War, he earned an MBA at Harvard Business School. In addition to his wife, Keluche leaves two sons, Cameron and Colton. The family is planning a memorial service this summer.
AISES Welcomes New Board of Directors Members
Results of the 2021 AISES Board of Directors election, where AISES members voted for a slate of outstanding candidates who represent a range of expertise, are in. Incoming members of the AISES Board of Directors, who will serve a three-year term, are Sequoyah Fellows Gary Burnette and Jonathan Clark. Gary Burnette, Cheroenhaka, was reelected as Board chair. He has served on the Board since 2018 and is a senior executive at IBM with over 30 years’ experience in technology and in leading global teams. Jonathan Clark, San Carlos Apache, has a strong background in information systems and IT management. Currently the project management manager at his tribe’s healthcare corporation, Clark has been involved in AISES since college and is the two-term past president of the Phoenix Professional Chapter. He actively devotes his time to local and national initiatives that further diversity and equality.
Winds of Change Wins Two NAJA Awards
The Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) has recognized Winds of Change with two 2021 National Native Media Awards for Best Feature Story and Best Environmental Coverage in the Print/Online category. Winning stories are “Fighting Fire with Fire,” Spring 2020, and “Sustaining Wildlife — Sustaining Culture,” Fall 2020. Both stories were written by Allison Herrera and Lyndsie Bourgon.
Do you or a member you know have a new academic degree, promotion, or award? Newly published book or paper? Let us share the good news — just email Winds of Change editor Karen English at kenglish@aises.org.