NIEA Board of Directors & General Board

Board meeting minutes

The NIEA Board of Directors is made up of twelve American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians from across the country. General Board Members serve a four-year term, Student Board Members serve two-year terms. New board members are elected by popular vote by NIEA membership during NIEA’s Annual Convention.

To learn more about the Board of Directors election process or to find information on running for a position, please visit the Board of Directors Elections page.

Board of Directors

Kerry Bird
SISSETON WAHPETON OYATE/LUMBEE
President

Kerry is an enrolled citizen of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota and of Lumbee tribal heritage. He was born and raised in Robeson County. He graduated with a BA in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and holds a Masters of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Mr. Bird is the inaugural director of the North Carolina American Indian Heritage Commission within the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. He was recently appointed to the board of the North Carolina Humanities and is the past president of Triangle Native American Society and a former president of the National Indian Education Association in Washington, DC, the oldest and largest organization that works to advance culturally relevant educational opportunities for American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students. He is a member of the Dix Park community committee, local advisory board for the Ackland Art Museum, N.C. Botanical Garden Foundation board, and the UNC World View Council of Advisors which equips developing global educators. He currently serves on the UNC Alumni Committee for Racial and Ethnic Diversity (ACRED) and co-chairs the ACRED American Indian subcommittee, and formerly served on the Board of Visitors for UNC Chapel Hill.

Kerry is a former Kellogg Fellow with Americans for Indian Opportunity of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Dr. Hugh Burnam
Mohawk
First Vice-President

Hugh Burnam, Ph.D. is Mohawk, Wolf Clan from the Onondaga Nation. He is currently a Postdoc Research Affiliate in the Department for Indigenous Cancer Health at Roswell Park, where he researches health disparities and supports educational programming related to cancer in Indigenous communities. Hugh’s research focuses broadly on social justice issues and experiences of Native students in the education system, including K-12 and higher education. His doctoral work examined the experiences and perceptions of Haudenosaunee men in higher education, which focused on Indigenous sovereignty, cultural responsibilities, and building community relationships on and off campus. Hugh also volunteers his time with the Native American Indian Education Association of New York State (NAIEA/NY), where he works alongside Native communities in NYS to support and advocate for Indigenous education broadly. In published and forthcoming work, Dr. Burnam uses an interdisciplinary lens to research topics related to Indigenous methodologies, student experiences, Indigenous identity, and persistence in STEAM-related fields. Hugh received his doctorate from the Cultural Foundations of Education program at Syracuse University, his master’s degree in Adult Education from Buffalo State University, and his bachelor’s degree in Individualized Studies (Ethnic and Minority Studies) from Buffalo State University. Hugh is an avid hiker and a former lacrosse player and coach— and loves spending time with his family, especially his two sons, the inspiration for his work.

Dr. Sylvia Hussey
Native Hawaiian
Second Vice-President

Dr. Hussey brings over 40 years of progressive experiences and leadership roles in:

1) strategic planning, governance, Board engagement, systems, community, coalition work, policy and advocacy, and reorganization and change management;2) education administration, operations and accreditation; 3) corporate finance operations and organization; 4) support services and operations, including project management; 5) consulting, process re-engineering and e-engineering activities; 6) system requirements definition, selection, design and implementation; 7) human resources management.

An owner of her own consulting business since 2014, Dr. Hussey has served in: 1) Financial leadership roles at KPMG LLP, U.S. Souvenir, Inc., Honolulu Board of Realtors, KPMG Consulting, LLC, and Candon Consulting Group, LLC; 2) Education leadership roles at Kamehameha Schools, and the Native Hawaiian Education Council; and 3) Executive leadership roles at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer), and is the current Chief of Staff for Papa Ola Lōkahi, the Native Hawaiian Health Board.

Dr. Hussey received a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Brigham Young University, a masters degree in Education Foundations and a doctorate of education from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She is also a member of the American Educational Research Association, the American Evaluation Association, and their state counterparts, among other cultural and community affiliations.

Dr. Hussey was a NIEA Board member from 2015 to 2017, Board Treasurer 2015 and 2016, Board Vice President 2017; and 2019 to 2021, Board Treasurer 2019. In addition, she has served as a Fiscal Committee member from 2020 to present.

Alicia Begolin
White MOuntain Apache
Secretary

Dagot’ee! 

 My name is Alicia Begolin.  I am a proud member of the White Mountain Apache tribe.  I was born and raised in Whiteriver, AZ.  My clans are Tugain’ (White water people) and born for the Tachiinii (Red Running into the water people). 

Growing up in a single mother household wasn’t the easiest.  I have 6 sisters and 2 brothers. I guess you can say that I grew up in a big family.  In our family, my mother was our mother and father figure.  She provided us a roof over our heads, food on the table and clothing to wear.  In this very moment, I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without the wisdom and knowledge of Being the 3rd oldest. With that I had a lot of responsibility of helping my mother take care of my younger siblings by making sure they had their homework done, attending their Parent Teacher conferences and parent advisory meetings on behalf of my mother.  If it wasn’t because of those very moments I wouldn’t be standing in this position before you today.  

As I grew older, I begin to realize that I can no longer void the feeling of knowing where I belong. You see, I come from a family of teachers.  I avoided that because I wasn’t sure who I wanted to be.  It wasn’t until I applied with our tribal education department in 2015, I knew from that very moment that this is what I wanted my career in.  I started my path in education as a JOM Specialist for the past 7 years and now as of May of this year I currently am the Office of Higher Education Program Coordinator. While still working , I kept attending our local school PAC meetings, although I wasn’t a parent, I felt that it was important to have a family / community member at these meetings to speak on behalf of the students.  Since then, I have then expanded my knowledge and experience into the National Indian Education Association membership committee.   Through these committees I have served on various capacities such as a secretary through building my way up the ladder of becoming a president.  

My experience has given me an eye-opener and wisdom for wanting to better our community and schools. I have gained knowledge of board rules, policies, and procedures. Experience in the development, implementation, and evaluation of strategic program rules, polices, long and short-range goals and plans. And experience in working with multiple parties to collaborate. My lifetime goal is to continue to advocate and to stand by our students for the next seven generations to come.  

Let’s continue the good fight.  
Ashoog (Thank you!)

Sonya Skan
Ketchikan Indian Community Treasurer

Xáa Tooch Sonya Skan is Tlingit Kaagwaantaan and Cree from Canada. She has lived in Ketchikan, Alaska for 42 years where she and her husband Norm have raised five sons together. Sonya has worked with youth for over 30 years.

When her son was five years old, she brought him to Tlingit language classes and witnessed the significant impact that culture influenced her child’s self-esteem. Sonya then looked for volunteer positions in the community where she could support young people in their quest to learn about their culture and discover the strength that comes with cultural identity.

Sonya began working with Ketchikan Indian Community in 2010 as the Tribal Youth Liaison. She now serves as the Director of Education & Training Department, overseeing initiatives like Workforce Development, Educational Programs like Tribal Scholars (tribal high school), Tribal Youth Program, and Language Program. In addition, Sonya has also served as the Board Chair for Women in Safe Homes, and as a board member for the Ketchikan Youth Court. Further, she was President of the Arts Humanity Council where she helped start a Diversity Task Force which focuses on finding pathways for youth to become more empowered in the arts community. Through her work with the Tribal Youth and Tribal Scholars Program, she has helped to implement a program, “Learning Who They Are”, in which elders and culture bearers work with youth to create family trees. Furthermore, Sonya has served on the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School Board where she worked to start a Native Education Committee. She has also served on the UAS Ketchikan Advisory Board and has sat as co-chair of the Advocacy Committee for the National Indian Education Association.

Kimberly Daingkau-Begay
Kiowa, Caddo, and Pawnee
Parliamentarian

Kimberly Daingkau-Begay is of the Kiowa, Caddo, and Pawnee Nations born and raised in southwest Oklahoma. She received her bachelor's degree in Political Science with a minor in Pre-Law from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado and has also studied at the University of Arizona in the American Indian Studies Graduate Program. As an undergraduate, she was instrumental in establishing a nation-wide student symposium of the American Indian Studies that started as a collaboration with the University of Oklahoma in 2008. She also received professional training in Media to assist in the development of the Native American & Indigenous Studies media curriculum at Fort Lewis College. Kimberly’s background work includes several aspects within tribal entities, government and education. Her professional career includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. Currently, she serves as the District Coordinator of Native American Education for the Amphitheater Public Schools in Tucson, Arizona. She also serves as the President, Arizona Indian Education Association; Region 1 Representative, National Johnson O’Malley Association; Advisory Board Member, Center for the Futures of Native Peoples at Dickinson College; and has formally served several years on the Arizona Office of Indian Education’s Indian Education Advisory Council. Kimberly and her husband have two amazing children. She has presented and spoken at numerous events of her Native culture, federal Indian law & treaties, and cultural storytelling. She was inspired by her parents and grandfather to continue in our tribal tradition and heritage.

Dr. Lori V. Quigley
Seneca Nation, wolf clan
Ombudsperson

Dr. Lori V. Quigley (Seneca Nation, wolf clan) is semi-retired after a career in education that ranges from achieving the rank of tenured full professor, to serving as an academic dean and provost. She earned her bachelor of arts in Journalism and Mass Communication from St. Bonaventure University, and a master of arts in Public Communication and Ph.D. in Language, Learning and Literacy from Fordham University. 

Lori’s academic leadership roles have involved articulating a vision for the future and building a culture of intellectual excitement to shape centers of excellence and distinction by establishing a diversified portfolio of programs. Lori established community partnerships, as well as demonstrated relationships with funders and major donors who committed to supporting several programs she initiated. In her work, Lori has focused a great deal of energy on the development and sustainability of programs that are socially just, culturally responsive, and aggressively seek to serve all students. 

Lori’s research interests include multigenerational trauma and culturally relevant pedagogy. Lori was awarded the prestigious State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Research and Scholarship; she received the Hackman Residency Award from the NYS Archives, enabling her to research the history and sociological impact of Native American residential boarding schools. She served as an advisor for the documentary Unseen Tears: The Impact of Native American Residential Boarding Schools, and has published journal articles on the history on the Thomas Indian School. Other accolades include being named “Woman in Leadership” by NYS Women, Inc., the Buffalo State President’s Award for Excellence in Equity and Campus Diversity, and the Community Leader Award by the National Federation of Just Communities. Buffalo’s Business First recently listed her as #91 out of the 200 most powerful women professionals in WNY. 

Committed to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and giving back to community, Lori received a U.S. Presidential appointment to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education and completed a two-term gubernatorial appointment on the NYS Minority Health Council. Currently, she serves on the boards of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA), the YWCA of WNY, and the Seneca Gaming Corporation as Chairwoman of the Board.

She grew up on the Allegany territory of the Seneca Nation of Indians; currently, she lives in Grand Island, NY, with her husband Don and their goldendoodle, Clancy. 

General Board

Dr. Twyla Baker
MANDAN HIDATSA ARIKARA NATION
2nd Vice President

Dr. Twyla Baker is an enrolled citizen of the Mandan Hidatsa & Arikara Nation and was born and raised on the rural Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in northwest North Dakota. Baker currently serves as the President of Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College, the college chartered by her Tribal Nation. Her work is highly focused on improving quality of life and access to education for Indigenous people across the U.S. She writes and has published her research, opinion, thought pieces, and creative works in scholarly journals and other publications.

Mischa Jackson
Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska
At-Large Regional Board MEmber

Mischa Jackson, Chookangee Tláa, is a dedicated Lingít educator and member of the Shangukeidí (Thunderbird) Clan, from the House Lowered from the Sun. Residing in Juneau, Alaska, she is an enrolled member of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and currently serves as the Tribal Education Compact Liaison. Her extensive experience spans work with non-profits, public schools, tribal programs, and universities, where she made impactful contributions as an Indigenous educator and mentor.

A graduate of UC Santa Cruz with master’s degrees from Temple University and the University of Alaska Southeast, Mischa is a respected educator and advocate within Southeast Alaska’s Indigenous education community. She has a strong background in secondary teaching, curriculum design, and Indigenous educational leadership, dedicating her career to creating educational opportunities that are both academically rigorous and culturally grounded for Alaska Native students.

As a mentor, Mischa has played a pivotal role in guiding future Indigenous educators at both the secondary and university levels, emphasizing the importance of culture-based curricula, community engagement, and language revitalization. She has worked tirelessly for over 15 years to support Alaska Native students and teachers across tribal, public school, and university settings.

Most recently, Mischa has been instrumental in negotiating with the state of Alaska to establish systems to support tribally compacted public schools, advocating for systemic change that strengthens educational sovereignty for Indigenous communities. Her work exemplifies her deep commitment to the future of Indigenous education and her unwavering dedication to creating meaningful and lasting change.

Rachel Watson
Citizen Potawatomi Nation
At-Large Regional Board Member

Rachel Watson is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and serves as their tribe’s Director of Education. They began working at CPN in 2021, and after attending NIEA that October, joined four committees: Advocacy, Native Education Systems, Governance, and Finance. In the last two years, they’ve served as the member co-chair first for NES, and now for Governance.

Watson is highly invested in improving Native education across the country due to their own experiences with public education and programming for Native students; with the support of their school district’s Native American Student Services, they were able to apply for and win the Gates Millenium scholarship, which covered the cost of their BA in History from the University of Central Oklahoma and their MSEd in Education, Culture and Society from the University of Pennsylvania.

Their work at Citizen Potawatomi Nation has focused on making scholarship information more widely known and accessible to Natives of all tribes, supporting Title VI and Johnson O’Malley programs in Oklahoma, and the creation of college-level Potawatomi Language courses that are offered for credit at several different universities. They’ve also made a point of supporting and collaborating with other tribes in Oklahoma, working with the Sac and Fox and Seminole Nation to host a tribal education summit, a space for tribal education leaders to convene and discuss ongoing issues in Indian Education. They look forward to any and every opportunity to support educational equity for Native and Indigenous peoples across the United States.

Tracy Peterson
Diné
At-Large Regional Board MEmber

Tracy R. Peterson is a citizen of the Diné (Navajo) Nation, of the Zuni Clan of the Edgewater People and born for the Bitter Water People. His paternal grandfather’s clan is the Towering House People, and his maternal grandfather’s clan is the Big Water People. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Iowa. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Student Affairs Administration and Leadership at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse.

Tracy serves as Director of Student Transitions and Pre-College Programs in the College of Engineering at Penn State University. In this role, he provides strategic leadership for initiatives that support student engagement, academic success, and retention of underrepresented students in STEM, including change-of-campus students, veterans, first-generation students, and students from low-income backgrounds. He oversees programs that enhance college readiness, leadership development, and career preparation, while also directing pre-college STEM outreach and youth programs across the Commonwealth.

Previously, Tracy held leadership roles at the University of Iowa, University of Minnesota Morris, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Dickinson State University, and Cornell University, where he advanced equity, built partnerships with Native Nations, and expanded access to higher education.

Recognized with the 2022 Penn State Engineering Alumni Society Equity and Inclusion Award and the 2018 University of Iowa Diversity Catalyst Award, Tracy continues to champion inclusive excellence, Indigenous representation, and systemic change in education.

Lydia Ruth Mansfield
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
Two-Year Student Board Member

Lydia Mansfield is a senior at the University of North at Pembroke majoring in American Indian Studies and minoring in Theatre Arts. She is a member of the Lumbee Tribe and has resided in Pembroke, NC for the majority of her life. Mansfield owns Moonflower Designs where she tries to make her artwork as colorful as she is. Lydia is also the proud dog mom of a rescue yorkie named Freya Mansfield.

In high school, Lydia served on the executive board for the North Carolina Native American Youth Organization and represented as Miss NCNAYO 2021-2022. In college, Lydia has become a sister of Alpha Pi Omega Sorority, Inc., the first and largest Native American greek-lettered organization, whose philanthropy is the National Indian Education Association. Mansfield also serves as the president of Hok Nosai Council, the president of All Greek Council and the treasurer of the Native American Student Organization. She is currently working to re-establish the North Carolina Native American Council of Higher Education.

Lydia currently serves as the marketing intern for Southeast American Indian Studies at UNCP where she assists the American Indian Studies Department, the Museum of Southeast American Indian Studies and the Curt and Catherine Locklear American Indian Heritage Center. Lydia’s favorite part about her job on campus is that she gets to spend every day in the Dr. Ben Hardin Student Commons. Dr. Ben Hardin was Lydia’s grandfather who helped instill in her a love for education.