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➜ Sequoyah Fellow Georgia Madrid, equal opportunity specialist for NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Research in Boulder, Colo., was tapped by the NOAA Legends Project to tell her story as part of the agency’s observance of its 50th anniversary. The project spotlights staff members of color who were “firsts in science, service, and stewardship.” During her career at NOAA Madrid has launched initiatives to connect the agency with Indigenous communities, and especially tribal colleges, including spearheading an agency-wide tribal relations seminar.
➜ Dr. Twyla Baker, president of Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish (tribal) College in North Dakota and former chair of the AISES Board of Directors, was interviewed in April on the newscast of Indian Country Today. She responded to questions from Executive Producer Patty Talahongva about how the pandemic is affecting tribal colleges, among other topics. In a separate segment, Talahongva interviewed Dr. John Herrington, former NASA astronaut and former member of the AISES Board of Directors. She asked him to draw on his experience of 14 days at the International Space Station and talk about how to thrive in isolation.
➜ Council of Elders charter member Dr. Henrietta Mann participated in a Facebook Live presentation of traditional storytelling for young people. The weeklong event in March was hosted by the Yellow Bird Life Ways Center in Lame Deer, Mont.
➜ Tori Hemstreet, a student at Greyhills Academy High School in Tuba City, Ariz., qualified to present her science project at the Arizona Junior Science and Humanities Symposium at Arizona State University, where she earned fifth place.
➜ The 2020 Leadership Summit marked the first time that high school students were able to participate. One of them, Lincoln End of Horn, spoke about his experience before the Aberdeen (S.D.) Public School Board as well as at a meeting of the American Indian Parent Advisory Committee. Lincoln is a senior at Aberdeen Central High School. For more about Lincoln, click here.
➜ AISES CEO Sarah EchoHawk was interviewed by Wilma Noah on episode 56 of the Hoporenkv Podcast produced by the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Native Learning Center. The subject of the discussion was the AISES Together Towards Tomorrow (T3) emergency student relief fund. EchoHawk was also interviewed on Colorado Public Radio about her efforts to encourage companies to offer virtual internship experiences to college students.
➜ The AISES College Chapter at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities was cited as a factor in the school’s success in advancing its multidisciplinary approach and culturally sensitive environment, which, among other factors, have resulted in a doubling of the school’s retention of Native students.
➜ The launch of the AISES College Chapter at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at SUNY Buffalo (pictured below) has been cited as a contributing factor in the school’s recognition as a national leader in diversity by the American Society of Engineering Education.
