▸ Honors, Accolades, and Milestones
Ecologist and author Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer has been named a MacArthur Fellow and awarded a five-year, $800,000 “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation. Dr. Kimmerer is a distinguished teaching professor at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and the director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. Her second book is the bestseller Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants. Dr. Kimmerer received the AISES Ely S. Parker Award in 2016.
Linda Marie Arredondo, chief information officer at Express Employment International, earned a place on the Staffing Industry Analysts 2022 Global Power 150—Women in Staffing. She has served as treasurer in the Shkodedeajek AISES Tribal Chapter of the Potowatomie Nation.
Danilo Caron, a doctoral candidate in civil engineering at the University of British Columbia, is the first Indigenous and Black Engineering and Technology (IBET) fellow at the school. The IBET PhD Project is a Canada-wide initiative with 15 participating institutions that provides financial and other support for underserved doctoral students. Caron was instrumental in helping to restart the AISES College Chapter at UBC Vancouver.
Dr. Otakuye Conroy-Ben was recognized with a 2022 SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science) Distinguished Award for her outstanding work as a scientist, educator, and mentor. In 2019, Dr. Conroy-Ben won the AISES Technical Excellence Professional Award. She is an assistant professor of environmental engineering at the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University.
Brook M. Thompson wrote a winning proposal in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Rewilding the Colorado River contest, which focused on reengineering the Glen Canyon Dam to reconnect the river through Glen and Grand Canyons. A PhD student at UC Santa Cruz, she earned her MS in environmental engineering at Stanford and her BS in civil engineering and political science at Portland State University Honors College.
Photos: Courtesy of the Macarthur Foundation (Kimmerer); David Cournoyer (Conroy-Ben); Courtesy image (Thompson)
The College Chapter at Colorado State University celebrated Native American Heritage Month with the school’s 38th annual AISES Pow Wow, featuring drum groups, food vendors, and dancers.
The new California Professional Chapter held its inaugural general meeting in December. Thirteen members and prospective members gathered over Zoom to discuss their hopes for the chapter and the impact it could have on Indian Country in the state. Interim chapter president Panda Alex Armendariz facilitated the meeting along with interim officers Lauren Denson, vice president, and Desiree Brazeau, treasurer.
The benefits of joining the newly revitalized college chapter at North Carolina State University — and the many ways the chapter benefits the campus community — were covered by McKenzie Cummings, chapter president, in an interview in the school publication Technician.
As part of its observance of Native American Heritage Month, the University of Arkansas College Chapter hosted a panel discussion on “The Importance of Native American Representation in STEM.”
The College Chapter at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke was a sponsor of the second annual Native American Heritage Month cultural event held in Lumberton, N.C., on the campus of Robeson Community College.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison College Chapter participated in planning and coordinating the school’s annual celebration of Native November. Observances included feasts, workshops, speakers, and dances.
Members of the College Chapter at South Dakota State University participated in an Autumn Star Party at Pipestone National Monument in Pipestone, Minn., last September.
Pow Wow image by Miya Chavez, Colorado State University
The AISES Circle of Support Program acknowledges the generous investment of partners whose support is integral to the AISES mission. Circle Partners are organizations that established a multiprogram partnership with AISES in 2022. We wish to thank each of our Circle Partners for their continued efforts to serve AISES student and professional members.