The Closing Ceremony of the National Conference provides an opportunity to recognize and thank outgoing members of the AISES Board of Directors, and to welcome incoming members. This year, Rick Stephens completed his term as chair, having served two consecutive terms on the board as well as having served as a member of the Executive Committee and on the board of AISES Publishing. He provided invaluable leadership to AISES over the course of several critical years in the organization’s history, and CEO Sarah EchoHawk expressed appreciation to him for his generosity and service on behalf of the entire AISES family. Another retiring member who provided invaluable support and leadership is Bill Black, who was responsible for providing a grant to AISES to produce its two public service announcements, as well as pro bono airtime to help bring more visibility to AISES. Over his six years on the board, Dr. John Herrington was unfailingly generous with his time, stepping up as a vigorous advocate for AISES and STEM education and bringing increased visibility to the organization and its mission.
Bringing their own fresh energy and enthusiasm to the board are the following new members and re-elected board member Michael Laverdure:
DEANNA BURGART, Fond du Lac First Nation, Saskatchewan, Canada, brings more than 20 years of experience in providing solutions in the energy industry in Canada, as well as her talent as a speaker, trainer, and mentor, to her position on the board.
ANDREA DELGADO-OLSON, Ione Band of Miwok Indians, switched careers after 17 years as a teacher to do computer science outreach in Native communities. She is founder and chair of Native American Women in Computing and program manager for Systers and GHC Communities at AnitaB.org.
JODI DILASCIO has more than three decades of experience in the gaming industry and serves on the boards of the National Indian Gaming Association and the Tribal Gaming Protection Network. She leads the team at BMM Testlabs that supports tribal regulators and operators and helps ensure the integrity of their games.
WILLIAM TIGER, Miccosukee Indians of Florida, retired this year from General Motors after a career that took him from project engineer and assembly superintendent to engineering manager, assistant plant manager, and plant manager.
