AISES Announces New Leadership and Members to Its Board of Directors

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AISES Announces New Leadership and Members to Its Board of Directors

The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), the leading nonprofit organization focused on substantially increasing the representation of North America’s Indigenous people – American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, First Nations, Métis, Inuit – in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) studies and careers, is pleased to announce a new board of directors. Joining the board of directors as inaugural members are Dr. Traci L. Morris, Dr. Wendy F. Smythe, and continuing members are Dr. Grace Bulltail, Kristina J. Halona, and Dr. Adrienne Laverdure. The new Board will begin serving at the close of the Annual Board meeting in November 2020 for a three-year term.

The all-volunteer Board of Directors is the governing body of AISES. The board provides strategic direction, sets policy, approves budgets, and monitors the organization’s finances. The Board is comprised of corporate, academic, entrepreneurial, and tribally focused leaders who are strong voices for STEM.

“Members of the AISES Board of Directors collectively bring decades of experience from across a variety of sectors providing the organization critical governance and oversight during these difficult times,” said Chair, Gary Burnette. “It is an honor to be working alongside them as each is deeply committed to bringing STEM opportunity to indigenous people and communities across the U.S. and Canada.”

Members of the 2020-2023 Board of Directors

Chair* - Gary Burnette, IBM Corporation
Vice Chair** – Michael Laverdure, DSGW Architects
Emeritus Chairman – Rick Stephens, Retired Boeing Executive
Secretary** – Amber Finley, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College
Treasurer** – Dr. Grace Bulltail, University of Wisconsin - Madison
General Member* – Deanna Burgart, University of Calgary
General Member* – Andrea Delgado-Olson, AnitaB.org
Associate Member* – Jodi DiLascio, BMM Testlabs
General Member** – Kristina J. Halona, Northrop Grumman
General Member** – Dr. Adrienne Laverdure, Ascension Health
General Member*ⁱ – Dr. Traci L. Morris, Arizona State University
General Member*ⁱ – Dr. Wendy F. Smythe, University of Minnesota Duluth
General Member* – William Tiger, Retired GM Executive

“This international board is ready to achieve the strategic mission during a critical time of intense challenges and enormous change in today’s world” Sarah EchoHawk, AISES CEO said. “During my tenure as Executive Director, I have worked with an impressive group of thought leaders who bring broad experience and passion to the AISES organization. I look forward to accomplishing much more with them through partners, programs, and services that will strengthen and further develop AISES’ future.”

The following outgoing board members will be honored for their service at the closing ceremony at this year’s 2020 AISES National Conference being held from October 15-17.

Barney “B.J.” Enos from the Gila River Tribal community served one term on the board as a general member. BJ worked to develop strategic connections to better align AISES with tribes and tribal partners and to strengthen the pool of talented indigenous leaders in STEM professions and industry across the U.S. He brought a great deal of passion, especially in bringing youth to STEM and helping them to re-imagine their futures.

A member from the Zuni Pueblo, Shaun Tsabetsaye, works at NextEra Energy who served one term on the AISES board. Shaun is an experienced energy expert who brought a strong voice on business strategy. He guided AISES into arenas and partnerships to create new opportunities for success through diversity.

AISES thanks all who submitted nominations and who participated in the election process!

To read more about the current board of directors visit https://www.aises.org/about/board.

*first term, ** second term, ⁱ inaugural member

2020 Elected Board Member Profiles

Dr. Grace Bulltail (Crow)

Dr. Grace Bulltail, P.E. is originally from Crow country in eastern Montana. She is a member of the Crow Tribe and a descendant of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Tribes. Grace is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. Grace received an undergraduate degree in civil and environmental engineering from Stanford University and master’s degree from Montana Tech and Columbia University. Grace received her doctoral degree in the department of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University. Grace has worked as an engineer developing water resources infrastructure projects and continues to work as a consulting engineer. Grace has also served as an engineering instructor at United Tribes Technical College. She is a recipient of the GEM Foundation Fellowship, Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership Fellowship, NSF IGERT Fellowship, and Cornell’s Colman Fellowship in completing her graduate studies. Grace returned to Stanford University as a California Alliance postdoctoral scholar in the department of Earth System Science. She is a professional civil engineer licensed in the state of California. Grace has participated in AISES programming for 25 years and is an AISES Sequoyah Fellow.

Kristina J. Halona (Navajo)

Kristina J. Halona is Navajo from Sawmill, Arizona. She is of the Black Streak Wood People Clan born for the Folded Arms People Clan. The Bitter Water Clan is her maternal grandfather’s clan and the Salt Clan is her paternal grandfather’s clan. Kristina received an Aerospace Engineering degree from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in Engineering Management from George Washington University. Kristina is a Systems Engineering Program Manager at the Antares Rocket Program at Northrop Grumman in Chandler, Arizona. Antares delivers cargo to the International Space Station for NASA. In November 2019, Kristina had the unique opportunity to be the live commentary guest on NASA TV at Johnson Space Center in Houston for the NG-12 Antares Launch. Kristina has been an AISES members since middle school competing in AISES science fairs, which led to AISES scholarships, internships, and leadership opportunities. She served as an AISES National Student Representative. As a professional and a Sequoyah Fellow, she has been part of the AISES Professional Chapters in the Bay Area, Tucson, and Phoenix.

Dr. Adrienne D. Laverdure (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians)

Dr. Adrienne Laverdure is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in North Dakota. She is a board-certified Family Medicine physician at Ascension Health in Wisconsin. She previously served the Lac du Flambeau community for almost 20 years working at the Peter Christensen Health Center. Dr. Laverdure graduated from the Indians Into Medicine (INMED) program at the University of North Dakota in the late 1980’s, where she was an AISES member in the college chapter. Dr. Laverdure helped raise two professionals in the medical field – one is a doctor in Flagstaff, Arizona and the other is a psychologist working for the Minneapolis Indian Health Board. Her daughter recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Dr. Laverdure volunteers at the Native American Center for Health Professionals (NACHIP) program, mentoring and supporting Native students in STEM who are interested in health professions. Dr. Laverdure is a Sequoyah Fellow who gives back to the community by promoting health careers and professions in younger generations.

Dr. Traci L. Morris (Chickasaw Nation)

Dr. Morris, the Director of the American Indian Policy Institute (AIPI) at Arizona State University, is a member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma. Under her leadership, the AIPI has grown and diversified its service to Indian Country by providing policy analysis, tribally driven research, and economic development capacity building working with such Indian Country partners as NAFOA, AISES, and the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative.

Morris’ research and publications on the digital divide is focused on Internet use, digital inclusion, network neutrality, and development of broadband networks in Indian Country. Morris spearheaded the groundbreaking Tribal Technology Assessment: The State of Internet Service on Tribal Lands in 2019. Her book, Native American Voices: A Reader, continues to be a primary teaching tool in colleges throughout the country

Dr. Morris is Affiliated Faculty at ASU's School for the Future of Innovation in Society, an Affiliate of ASU's Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology, President of the Board of the Phoenix Indian Center, and on the Advisory Council of the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums. Formerly, Morris served a two-year appointment (2014-2016 and 2010-2012) to the Federal Communications Commission's Consumer Advisory Committee.

Dr. Wendy F. Smythe (Haida)

Wendy F. Smythe (K’ah Skaahluwaa), Haida of the Eagle moiety and of the Sdast’aas (Fish egg) house, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth with appointments in the Departments of American Indian Studies and Earth Sciences. Prior to joining UMN, she was an American Association for the Advancement of Science ST&P Fellow hosted by the National Science Foundation where she worked across the Directorates for Education & Human Resources and Geoscience. There she created a workshop series providing foundational knowledge around tribal sovereignty and best practices for evaluating Indigenous proposals. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Michigan State University, co-founding the Native American – Alaska Native Institute for increasing representation of Native students, developing curriculum, and building partnerships with tribal communities.

Dr. Smythe is a geoscientist whose research examines microbial ecology in metalliferous groundwater ecosystems, in addition she examines attitudes of geoscience professionals towards diversity. She is an Assistant Editor for the Journal of Geoscience Education. Dr. Smythe founded the Geoscience Education Program in her home community coupling science with Traditional Knowledge, language, and culture. She serves on the board of Directors for Xáadas Kil Kuyáas Foundation – a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization language reclamation program of the Northern Haida language.

View full biographies of the currently serving AISES board members here https://www.aises.org/about/board.

American Indian Science and Engineering Society

4263 Montgomery Blvd NE, Suite 200

Albuquerque, NM 87109

(505) 765-1052 | www.aises.org

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