Tesia Zientek

A member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Tesia Zientek is the AISES Senior Director of Programs. In this role, she is responsible for personnel management and high-level administration of a broad portfolio of grant programs at AISES. She will guide collaboration and Indigenous-centered team building efforts, facilitate professional development and pathways for advancement, conduct evaluations and performance reviews, and support staff in program development and implementation with an emphasis on successfully achieving program deliverables.

Tesia graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in English as a Gates Millennium Scholar. After graduating in 2009, Tesia spent two years teaching and managing an afterschool program in Puerto Rico before enrolling at Stanford University where she completed her MA in Education Policy in 2013.

Always wanting to pay forward what she learned as a scholar and teacher, Tesia is firmly committed to the advancement of Indigenous education and social justice. She is president of the National Indian Education Association, president of the Oklahoma Council for Indian Education, and a volunteer Board Member for the ACLU of Oklahoma and the Kwek Society.

She was instrumental in founding the Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s Department of Education where she served as Director for seven years. It was here she also advanced Shkodedeajek (Those Who Carry the Fire in Their Hearts) – an AISES Tribal Chapter. For 10 years, Tesia also served as Potawatomi Leadership Program Advisor, building curriculum for the Harvard Honoring Nations’ award-winning internship program.

Her experience has given her an appreciation for the value of diversity and nurturing cultural heritage. She is recipient of the Howard Yackus Memorial Scholarship. Other awards include the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s “Native American 40 Under 40,” Oklahoma Magazine’s 40 Under 40 2023, and NextGen Under 30 for her outstanding leadership and community contributions.

Tesia resides in Oklahoma City with her partner, Jean Carlo, and their dogs, Spock and Louie. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and thrifting vintage clothing.