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

TESIA ZIENTEK
CITIZEN POTAWATOMI NATION
president

Tesia Zientek is a proud Bodéwadmi kwe who grew up benefitting from tribal educational programming since elementary school. With help from a Gates Millennium Scholarship and tribal funding, she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame and received her M.A. in Education Policy from Stanford University.

Tesia pays forward those gifts with over a decade of commitment to Indigenous education. In 2015, she established her tribe’s first Department of Education and served as Director through 2023. For ten years, Tesia also served as Potawatomi Leadership Program Advisor, building curriculum for the Harvard Honoring Nations Award-winning internship program. Tesia currently works as Senior Director of Programs for AISES to advance Indigenous people in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In addition to her role at NIEA, she serves as President of the Oklahoma Council for Indian Education. To celebrate her achievements, Tesia has received the Howard Yackus Memorial, NextGen 30 Under 30, NCAIED Native American 40 Under 40, and Oklahoma Magazine 40 Under 40 awards.

Ka’ano’I Walk
NATIVE HAWAIIAN
1st vice president

Ka‘ano‘i Walk serves as the Senior Policy Analyst in the Hiʻialo Group of Kamehameha Schools and advocates for the advancement of Native Hawaiians through the renormalization and proliferation of the ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) and Hawaiian culture-based education throughout Hawaiʻi. He is one of the first students enrolled and educated in Ka Papahana Kaiapuni, the Hawaiian language immersion program, in Hawaiʻi. His family has dedicated their lives to the Hawaiian language revitalization movement and he is now raising his children in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and passing down indigenous ways of knowing and being to the next generation. Following his graduation from Kamehameha Schools at Kapālama (’99), he completed an undergraduate degree in Hawaiian Studies and Political Science at BYU-Hawaiʻi in 2003. Kaʻanoʻi then graduated from the William S. Richardson School of Law in 2008 with a Pacific Asian Legal Studies Certificate with a Specialty in Native Hawaiian Law. After successfully passing the Hawaiʻi State Bar in 2008, Kaʻanoʻi was selected as a Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law Post-Juris Doctor Research Fellow. He has authored and contributed to the following publications: “Officially” What? The Legal Rights and Implications of ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i, 30 HAW. L. REV. 243 (WINTER 2007); “He Waʻa Hou: An Alter-Native Court for Hawaiʻi, ʻOhia: A Periodic Publication of Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law (2012); and Native Hawaiian Law: A Treatise, Kamehameha Publishing (2015). Ka‘ano‘i is a member of NIEA’s Advocacy Committee and serves to support NIEA’s vision and mission through its legislative work.

ʻAʻohe ʻulu e loaʻa i ka pōkole o ka lou. There is no success without preparation.

Alison Black
Citizen of Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, Ponca Tribe, Osage Nation, and Prairie Band Potawatomi
2nd Vice President

Alison Black is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma (Cheyenne) and resides in Red Rock, OK with her family. Her mother is the late Freda Roman Nose-Primeaux and her Cheyenne name is, “Standing” after Roman Nose’s wife who survived the Sand Creek Massacre. Alison’s father is the late Burgess Charles Primeaux, a descendent of the Ponca Tribe, Osage Nation, and Prairie Band Potawatomi people.  

Alison is Past-President of the Board of Directors for the Oklahoma Council for Indian Education (OCIE) of which she founded the Advocacy committee. In February 2022, she was elected as an At-Large board member for the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) Board of Directors and serves on the executive committee as board secretary. Personally, she is an avid athlete dedicated to an active lifestyle and is featured in the Oklahoma Tribal Engagement Partner’s, Diabetes is Not Our Destiny campaign. In 2013 she joined Delta Pi, the professional chapter of Alpha Pi Omega and is a member of Matriarch of Oklahoma. She speaks publicly against the use of Native mascots, regularly educates school districts and others about Title VI, and believes in the power of building community. 

Alison currently serves as a Policy Lead for the National Congress of American Indians, a role she assumed in the fall of 2023. She has earned an AS from Northern Oklahoma College, a BS in Applied Sociology and an MS in Curriculum Studies, both from Oklahoma State University. In 2019 she was selected as 40 Under 40 by the National Center for American Enterprise Development (NCAIED).

The guiding principles of the Oklahoma Council for Indian Education is to promote Indian education at all levels of learning, expand cultural awareness, and collaborate with other organizations to the benefit of Oklahoma Indian students. OCIE is proud to partner with NIEA to serve and support Native American students in the state of Oklahoma. 

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!)

DR. Jolene bowman
stockbridge munsee community
treasurer

Dr. Jolene Bowman’s strong allegiance for equity in Native education is what drives her compassion to work collaboratively at removing barriers and improving the education experience. Her grandparents, mother, and aunts unknowingly served as change agents by supporting active thoughts, ideas, and dreams, which in turn motivated her passion to serve others in the capacity of cultivating academic and career mindsets for a sustainable future from Pre-K through Higher Education. As our ancestors taught us so that we would teach the future, Bowman is committed to service in leadership that encompasses respecting elders and veterans. As such, employing this guidance to build self-awareness within our youth so they can be the future we want to see in the world. She is a citizen of Stockbridge-Munsee Community with over 31 years of tribal work experience including being the Director of Education and Career Services for the past seventeen years. In addition, she is currently serving a second term on the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) Board of Directors while also serving on the Wisconsin Indian Education Association as an alternate for the Central Region, the Wisconsin Tribal Education Directors Association, President Biden appointment as a member of the National Advisory Council on Indian Education (NACIE) with the Department of Education, and WI Gov. Tony Evers appointment as a Public Member of the Wisconsin Women’s Council. In March of 2020, Bowman was featured by Madison 365 as one of Wisconsin’s 38 Most Influential Native Americans in a five-part series. Her former leadership positions include 2018 NIEA President and the 2015-2017 and 2019-2020 Stockbridge-Munsee Vice President. Bowman believes that as a collective voice we can build, support, and believe in the dreams of others to encourage success for a better world.

Patricia Whitefoot
Yakama Nation
Parliamentarian

As a traditional food gatherer, Patsy is a member of the Toppenish Creek Longhouse where tribal practices are sustained. In the perpetuation of her tribe’s inherent rights, Patsy advocates in support of treaty rights and tribal sovereignty through community mobilization, voter registration, health and welfare issues, Missing & Murdered Indigenous People and candidate/institutional education. With a Teacher’s Certificate and BA in Education from Central Washington University and M.Ed from Ft. Wright College in Spokane, WA, she was prepared for a 40 year career in managing and teaching Indian Education from early childhood to adult education. She has served previously with the National Indian Education Association board. Ms. Whitefoot was also appointed by President Obama to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education with the Department of Education. She was appointed by Secretary Sebelius to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Prevention Committee. Patsy has served on the Executive Board of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (56 tribes) and Education Committee Chair for over 25 years.

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
Great Plains Regional Board MEmber

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.

Kerry Bird
SISSETON WAHPETON OYATE/LUMBEE
Southeast Regional Board MEmber

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.

Sedelta Oosahwee
Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation/Three Affiliated Tribes & Cherokee
Northeast Representative

Sedelta Oosahwee is currently a Senior Program/Policy Analyst/Specialist with the National Education Association where she manages the American Indian/Alaska Native portfolio and serves as a lead on racial justice in education. Previously, she served as Senior Advisor and Acting Deputy Director for the Office of Tribal Relation in the US Department of Agriculture; before that she was the Associate Director of the White House Initiative American Indian and Alaskan Native Education.  Before shifting her career focus to the national level, Ms. Oosahwee served the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma as Special Projects Officer and as coordinator for Student Programs in the Center for Tribal Studies at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK. The National Education Association and Ms. Oosahwee have been long time partners and sponsors of NIEA both in their programmatic work and at their annual convention. Ms. Oosahwee is an enrolled citizen of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation.

TERESA SARABIA Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska Alaska representative

Teresa was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska by Helen (Kach Ku Aakw) & Edward Sarabia, Father side: Xunaa Kwaan (Hoonah), T’akdeintaan, Tax’Hit (Snail House). Grandparents Mother side: Marie (Daak’tein) & Willis Peters (HoonYis (sp)), Xunaa Kwan (Hoonah), Kaagwaatan (Wolf) Clan. Father side: Grandmother – Mary T’akdeintaan Clan, Xunaa Kwaan (Hoonah) & John (Kaagwaatan (Wolf) Clan Sarabia. Teresa’s parents were birth speakers of Tlingit; both were great teachers of our culture, values, and traditions. Teresa’s father was a Seine Captain, Hoonah Fleet, fishing was his life. Teresa was raised in a strong cultural home-based Tlingit traditions and values. Teresa has one daughter and three grandchildren, one Great Granddaughter.

Teresa was hired into the Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation (TVR) Project Manager in 2003. The main purpose of the TVR Project – Providing Vocational Rehabilitation Services to Alaska Native/American Indians with Permanent Disabilities to overcome impediments to employment residing in Southeast Alaska (SE/AK).  Transition Youth Services

Teresa worked for ten years with Indian Education Programs in Alaska, Oregon, Washington State.  Working directly with Alaska Native/American Indian Youth in the classroom and created cultural activities.  The programs are designed to address the unique education & culturally related academic needs of Alaska Native & American Indian students (including PK).  Teresa wrote cultural curriculum, Chilkat Weaving using Dr. Anna Brown-Ehlers, Master Weaver, classroom instruction creating rubrics and assessment.  Oregon Native Education Program - provides programs, services, and cultural enrichment opportunities for American Indian and Alaska Native students.

Teresa was enrolled in the Northwest Indian College, Tribal Institute - Award of Completion in TVR Studies.  University of Alaska Southeast, Award of Completion Certificate Business course. 

bernice Gover
Pawnee/Choctaw
Student board member

Ms. Gover is the Indian Education Director for Holbrook Unified School District, located in Holbrook, Arizona. Ms. Gover previously served as a 5th and 6th grade Reading teacher at Indian Wells Elementary School, located on the Navajo reservation. Ms. Gover provided eight years of instruction to IWES, where she taught as a 1st, 5th, and 6th grade teacher, and served as the school’s reading specialist. Ms. Gover has also served as a coach and served as a mentor teacher for student teachers. 

A 2010 graduate of Winslow High School, in Winslow, Arizona, Bernice went on to further her education at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona. Upon her completion, she transferred to Haskell Indian Nations University, located in Lawrence, Kansas. Bernice completed her education at Haskell, earning a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education degree in 2015.  

Bernice graduated from Grand Canyon University in 2019, with a Master of Arts in Reading. During the same time period (2018-2019), Bernice was a part of the Diné Institute for Navajo Nation Educators. While attending, she helped create a culturally relevant curriculum for Indigenous education. 

Bernice is now attending Northern Arizona University’s American Indian School Leadership Program. With an expected graduation date of 2024, Bernice will graduate with an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership. As a third-generation Indian educator, she strongly believes in the advancement of Indian education. Serving as a member of the board has allowed her to utilize her voice to make positive changes in the world of Indigenous academia.  

Morgan Murakami
cherokee
Student board member

Morgan is a Citizen of the Cherokee Nation who was born and raised in the suburbs of Kansas City, Kansas. Beginning her college career at Haskell Indian Nations University in 2012 she later received her AA in Paraprofessional Education in 2015. After graduating with honors with her BS in Elementary Education, she moved to rural, Eastern Montana where she began her teaching career. Morgan has completed 2 years as an educational support specialist, 3 years as a classroom teacher, 1 year working as an American Indian Student Achievement Specialist with a state education agency, and her M.Ed. in Learning and Technology from WGU. Morgan is a Ph.D. student at the University of Kansas in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies where she plans to focus her research on Indigenous Education to impact policy from the local level all the way up to the national level.  Morgan is a dog mom, wife, crafter, reader, and advocate for educational sovereignty.