▸ Honors, Accolades, and Milestones
Courtesy photoTaylor Brown, front row, second from left, and her teammates from the Arizona State University Concrete Solutions team took home a trophy from this year’s Associated Schools of Construction Regions 6 and 7 Student Competition and Construction Management Conference. Brown, who was a student trainee with the Army Corps of Engineers, is joining the Corps with her new degree in concrete engineering as a Department of the Army intern. An AISES member since high school, Brown learned about opportunities with the Corps at the 2021 National Conference in Phoenix.
The Center for Native American Youth has selected Gabriella Nakai as a 2023 Champion for Change. Those selected for this honor reflect values like advocacy for tribal and food sovereignty and sacred sites, civic engagement, and programs for young people.
Montana State University student Andrea Storer has won one of only 55 prestigious Udall scholarships nationwide. She is a student in the cell biology and neuroscience program in the College of Agriculture.
Dr. Otakuye Conroy-Ben has been awarded tenure and promoted to assistant professor of engineering at Arizona State University. Dr. Conroy-Ben was the recipient of the 2019 AISES Technical Excellence Professional Award.
Sequoyah member Dr. Robert K. Whitman, emeritus teaching professor at the University of Denver, was the recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering, at the University of New Mexico, from which he obtained his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He was cited as the first Navajo to receive a doctoral degree in engineering and the first to be appointed as an assistant professor of electrical engineering at the University of New Mexico. In 2010 Dr. Whitman was also the recipient of the highest AISES honor, the Ely S. Parker Award.
The photography of Montoya Whiteman was nominated and selected for recognition in the online magazine Shoutout Colorado, which highlights entrepreneurs and artists. Shoutout Colorado published an interview with Whiteman, director of editorial and special projects at AISES, about her award-winning creative work and the inspiration behind it. Her photo taken at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge is shown above. Read the article here.
Cheavaun Toulouse was a shortlisted nominee for the eighth annual Barbara Laronde Emerging Artist Award by Native Women in the Arts, a leading arts organization for Indigenous women in Canada.
Dr. Bret Benally Thompson has been named one of Wisconsin’s 33 Most Influential Native American Leaders for 2023. An associate clinical professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and a palliative care physician at UW Health, Dr. Benally Thompson is a member of the AISES Council of Elders.
John Desjarlais Jr. was named a Fellow of Engineers Canada and a Fellow of Geoscientists Canada Honorary at the annual award banquet of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan. Now the executive director of the Indigenous Resource Network, Desjarlais was profiled in the Fall 2022 issue of Winds of Change.
Brooke Bighorse has been named valedictorian of the Sequoyah High School class of 2023. She is heading to the University of Oklahoma, where she plans to major in health, medicine, and society to prepare for a career in rural medicine.
Courtesy images
courtesy of LCOOU AISES The Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University College Chapter welcomed about 100 attendees as the chapter hosted its first Regional Conference. AISES Managing Director of Engagement and Advocacy Lisa Paz attended this Region 5 gathering in April, as did former AISES Board of Directors Chair Dr. Mark Bellcourt, who presented a session titled “Ethical Research on Tribal Lands.” Read local coverage about the conference here.
The College Chapter at Robeson Community College hosted the Region 7 conference and free “AISES Fest,” complete with a powwow and a drone and robotics show. In addition to keynote speakers and breakout sessions, food vendors and arts and crafts makers helped make this a memorable event.
The Wichita State University College Chapter was cited in a story on NPR station KMUW titled “Indigenous Students at WSU Organizing for More Representation.” Chapter president Casey Henderson explained the group’s goals and the AISES mission.
The College Chapter at the University of Oklahoma participated in events marking Indigenous Awareness Month in April.
The College Chapter at South Dakota State University participated in the school’s annual Wacipi celebration with an Indian taco sale. The two-day event celebrates the state’s Indigenous culture, including music, dances, and food, with a theme of healing through education.
Congratulations to the College Chapter at Central New Mexico Community College, which has been newly reinvigorated after a pandemic hiatus.
The research presentations by members of the University of Winnipeg College Chapter at the AISES in Canada National Gathering were covered by the University of Winnipeg News. Presenters were Simon DePasquale, M. Howell-Favell, and Gracie Grift.
In observance of Women’s History Month in March, the Region 3 Conference hosted by the College Chapter at New Mexico Tech included the third annual Voices of Women panel. Discussing the topic “Pathways to Resilience in Promoting Indigenous Success” was panel of Indigenous women scientists from around the country, including Dr. Kristina Gonzales-Wartz, an assistant research scientist at the Center for Personalized Diagnostics, Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University. Their co-sponsor was the Socorro chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). For more on Dr. Gonzales-Wartz, see the Fall 2020 issue of Winds of Change.
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.