IDC FELLOWS

HYDROLOGIST, BRAVE HEART SOCIETY

Alexis is Hunkpapa Lakota from the Standing Rocks Sioux Tribe. She works as a Hydrologist at Brave Heart Society, a grandmother-led grassroots organization of the Ihanktonwan. Her work explores watershed dynamics in the Missouri River cultural bioregion to strengthen Indigenous water stewardship. Dr. Archambault’s long-term goal is to strengthen climate resilience in tribal communities by applying Indigenous stewardship approaches that ensure environmental management decisions are informed by and flow through Indigenous knowledge systems.

DIRECTOR, TRADITIONAL PRACTICES FOR WELLNESS PROJECT, FORT PECK COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Samantha "Sam" Azure (D/Lakota, Assiniboine) is an enrolled member of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Fort Peck in northeastern Montana. Sam was born and raised in Poplar on the Fort Peck Reservation and currently lives, works, and raises her family there as well. She is the Director of Fort Peck Community College’s Traditional Practices for Wellness Project.

TEAM LEAD/ EDUCATION PROGRAM MANAGER, BORIKUA TAINO FOUNDATION

Priscilla is a Borikua Taino artist and organizer born in Lenapehoking (Philadelphia, PA). She works with murals, storytelling, and kinship-led technologies to support connection and care for shared knowledge. She leads Yucayekeno Connect, a digital space for learning, oral histories, and resources built around privacy and community control. With over 20 years of community work, she centers living memory, place, and responsibility.

DATA ANALYST, PUYALLUP TRIBE OF INDIANS

Andrea Bob is a enrolled member of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and serves as the Data Analyst in the Tribes Communications Department. She uses data to strengthen outreach, improve communication strategies, and keep Tribal members informed. With a background in communications and community event coordination, she has supported major initiatives such as Canoe Journeys. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Business Analytics at UW Tacoma.

CHR/PREVENTION PROGRAM MANAGER, KEWA FAMILY WELLNESS CENTER

Estefanita L. Calabaza, M.A. (Santo Domingo Pueblo), serves as the CHR & Prevention Program Manager at the Kewa Family Wellness Center. She coordinates culturally-grounded programs and training sessions focused on suicide prevention, mental health, and holistic well-being. Estefanita is dedicated to incorporating holistic healing traditions and Indigenous knowledge systems to foster culturally-relevant support and well-being within the Pueblo community.

Lucille is the founder and CEO of the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project, advancing buffalo conservation, regenerative agriculture, and Indigenous food sovereignty in Texas. A proud Lipan Apache and Mexica descendant, she leads the only known women-led bison ranching operation in the state and is a signatory of the Buffalo Treaty. A University of Colorado Boulder arts graduate and James Beard Fellow, she blends creative, academic, and hands-on expertise with self-taught IT skills to strengthen her work. An Aztec dancer with Grupo Tlaloc in Denver, Lucille’s leadership has launched programs like “Meat for Mamas” and made her project the only known bison producer to accept EBT while shipping across Turtle Island.

BOARD MEMBER, SACRED HEALING CIRCLE

Jacquelyn Cordova is a communications strategist and Indigenous data practitioner. Her work focuses on building protocol-aligned digital systems that uphold traditional Indigenous data governance structures in support of intergenerational learning and knowledge transfer. As a Board Member of Sacred Healing Circle, she supports community-based programming across the Great Plains region and contributes to geospatial mapping and applied science research efforts that advance ecological sustainability, land and water protection, and environmental stewardship.

ARTIST, BVLBANCHA PUBLIC ACCESS

Hali Dardar is a member of the United Houma Nation and a co-founder of the Houma Language Project and Bvlbancha Public Access. Her work focuses on practical ways to keep intellectual property rights over stories, recordings, and other data through the Uke Contracting System.

FREELANCE INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS & DATA PROJECT SPECIALIST

I am a Hawaiian researcher and cultural practitioner whose work centers Indigenous knowledge systems, wayfinding, and decolonizing approaches to education and leadership. My doctoral research reconstructs classical Hawaiian wayfinding pedagogy through Hawaiian-language archives, while my applied work supports Indigenous data governance, intergenerational learning, and Pacific voyaging networks. I collaborate with community practitioners to strengthen culturally grounded pathways for resilient, sustainable island futures.

TRIBAL STEWARD AND LANGUAGE PROGRAM CO-DIRECTOR, IGIUGIG VILLAGE COUNCIL

April Tan'gerpak Hostetter is Yup'ik from the Lake Iliamna region and currently resides in Igiugig, Alaska. In her work, she advocates for cultural revitalization, environmental stewardship, and Indigenous sovereignty, striving to weave together traditional knowledge with other ways of knowing to uplift and advocate for the people, lands, skies, waters, and other-than-human relatives.

DIRECTOR OF SCHOOL DESIGN & CURRICULUM, THUNDER VALLEY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Čaŋkú Lúta Wiŋ​​ | Shawnta’ Jones is an Oglala Lakota educator, mother, aunty, daughter, and sister. She holds a Bachelor’s from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Master’s in Education from Johns Hopkins University. As Director of School Design & Curriculum at Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, she leads the development of a Lakota Immersion Montessori school. Working alongside Elders and fluent speakers, Shawnta’ centers Lakota ways of knowing, intergenerational learning, and cultural identity to advance educational equity.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OREGON PACIFIC ISLANDER COALITION

Alyshia Macaysa-Feracota is a community power builder and the founding Executive Director of the Oregon Pacific Islander Coalition. Her work has been recognized nationally when she was named a Culture of Health Leader by RWJF and a Distinguished Alumni of UC Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare. In 2023 the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs recognized her historic work on the passage of the Pacific Islander Student Success Act in Oregon.

CEO, POLAR ECOSYSTEMS

Saxon Metzger is the CEO of Polaris Ecosystems, specializing in tribal energy economics and development. A Department of Energy Community Energy Innovation Grand Prize winner and an MIT Solver, his work in the Osage Nation and with the Rappahannock and Upper Mattaponi Tribes of Virginia have helped create innovative planning solutions on the ground. Saxon teaches economics at Wilmington University and sustainable business at NYU-Tulsa, chairing the Energy Institute US Community Board.

ECONOMIST, NAVAJO NATION DIVISION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Dr. Alisha L. Murphy (Diné) is the economist for the Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development, the first Diné person in this role. She earned her Doctorate in Economic Development from New Mexico State University, focusing on tribal economic development and Navajo entrepreneurship. Dr. Murphy also serves as vice-chair of The Global Centre of Indigenomics and works to advance data-informed, community-driven strategies for sustainable Navajo economic growth.

CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER, KANU O KA ʻĀINA LEARNING ʻOHANA

Dr. Noekeonaona Kirby serves as Chief Academic Officer of Kahoʻiwai/KALO and has over 20 years of experience as an educator. Born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, she is a Hawaiian language speaker, holds a PhD in Indigenous Development and Advancement, and an MEd in Educational Leadership. As part of her philosophy, Noe wants students and teachers to understand their responsibility to cultural perpetuation through genealogy and living with our lands.

ENTREPRENEURIAL RESOURCES & STRATEGIC CAPITAL MANAGER, CHANGE LABS

Holly Patterson is an Indigenous economic development leader working at the intersection of entrepreneurship, capital access, and community sovereignty. As the Entrepreneurial Resource and Strategic Capital Manager at Change Labs, she supports Navajo and Hopi entrepreneurs navigating financial systems and data driven decision making. Her work centers Indigenous values, protects community knowledge, and advances systems that strengthen long term economic self determination.

PROGRAM MANAGER; PRESIDENT; DIRECTOR, SAMOAN LANGUAGE COMMISSION OF AMERICAN SAMOA; ASSOCIATION OF SAMOAN LANGUAGE NESTS; SĀMOANA MEDIA

"Niko" (John) Pātū is from Nuʻuuli and Pago Pago in American Samoa and serves as the Program Manager and researcher for the Samoan Language Commission of American Samoa. He is a licensed immersion school teacher and is working to preserve, protect, and revitalize Samoan language in American Samoa and the Samoan communities throughout the U.S.

DIRECTOR OF TRIBAL TRANSPORTATION, AKUTAN TRADITIONAL COUNCIL, UNANGAX COMMUNITIES CONFERENCE

Sarah Kachigax̂ Stepetin is an Indigenist committed to lifestyle medicine. She embraces outdoor activities, values community connections, and believes in lifelong learning. As a dedicated mother and partner, she enjoys hiking, camping, subsistence fishing and foraging with her family. These activities bring her back to her childhood cruising on her dad’s skiff, picking berries, flowers and puchkies in Akutan. Her background in yoga supports her holistic approach to wellness, balance, and longevity.

SENIOR POLICY COORDINATOR, CENTRAL COUNCIL OF THE TLINGIT & HAIDA INDIAN TRIBES OF ALASKA

Aaniin! My name is Karli Tyance Hassell (Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek) and I humbly reside in Dena'ina Ełnena (Anchorage, AK). I serve as a Senior Policy Coordinator in the Indigenous Stewardship Programs Division with the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, where I focus on a variety of ocean/fisheries, policy, and stewardship issues. I support programs, like the Seacoast Indigenous Guardians Network, through the development of data-focused processes and protocols.

COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION ADMINISTRATOR, WISCONSIN NATIVE VOTE

Bozho (hello), I’m a Tribal Member from the Forest County Potawatomi tribe. I work for my community as the Communications Division Administrator and contribute my time as a part-time Tribal Regional Organizer with Wisconsin Native Vote. I take pride in working for our Native American communities and hope to use my professional skills across the state of Wisconsin and beyond.