Presenters' Bios
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Iris PrettyPaint, PhD
Dr. PrettyPaint (Blackfeet/Crow Nations) has more than 40 years of experience as an educator, facilitator, researcher, evaluator, and communicator. She is a leading authority on Native student achievement and recognition; cultural resilience; Indigenous evaluation, community and family engagement and prevention with tribal and urban AI/AN communities. She has served both Tribal and other institutions of higher education as Academic Dean, Professor, Senior Fellow, and Co-Director for Research Opportunities in Science for Native Students. Dr. PrettyPaint guided development of the Family Education Model, which integrates family-centered strategies for evaluation, networking, cultural activities, counseling, life skills, and mentoring. She has an extensive, positive history of working with government agencies including the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), National Comprehensive Center/Indian Education, the NW Regional Education Lab, the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) to support tribal communities across 11 western states. Dr. PrettyPaint holds her Doctorate in Social Work with a focus on administration and evaluation from the University of Minnesota and her Master's of Social Work degree from the University of Kansas.
Audra Waite, MTE
Audra Waite is an educator with experience across a wide variety of ages and disciplines. She holds a BA in Multidisciplinary Studies and a MTE (Master of Teacher Education) with emphases in Elementary Education, English to Speakers of Other Languages, and Spanish from Eastern Oregon University. Waite has taught in Preschool, Elementary, Middle School, and Adult Education classrooms. In her current role as an English Language Learner (ELL) Instructional Coach at Billings Public Schools she trains and supports middle and high school teachers as they strive to meet the needs of ELLs.
Jacie L. Jeffers, M.Ed.
I earned a Broadfield Social Science Secondary Education B.S. and a M.Ed. Curriculum and Instruction.I am in my 20th year of teaching. I have taught elementary, middle school and high school. I am fascinated by human behavior and the workings of society. I am a member of the Little Shell tribe of Montana. My grandmother raised me to be proud of being Indian. She taught me to embrace the teachings of my ancestors while learning to walk in this colonized world. I am currently teaching high school remotely and am the Indian Education Curriculum Coach for 6th-12th grade teachers. My responsibilities include helping teachers find and implement materials in all subject areas. I received the Theressa Veltkamp Indian Education for All Advocacy Award in 2020, and my consulting work has been featured in NEA today. I love what I do and am always eager to share knowledge and learn from others.
Sarah Pierce, M.Ed., NBCT
Sarah Pierce is a manager in the Center for Strengthening Education Systems at Education Northwest and co-leads the REL Northwest partnership, Tribal Educators Alliance. She focuses on ensuring all students have access to a quality education through system-wide supports. System supports includes a foundation of culturally relevant practices and equity-minded social emotional supports. As a National Board Certified educator, she promotes a strong and integrated literacy focus across all areas of content and contexts. Her background in school turnaround includes instructional coaching and leadership development.
Have a question? Contact us. For registration questions: nancy.hystad@montana.edu For conference questions: carjuzaa@montana.edu For technology issues: kayce.williams@montana.edu
Content on this archived page is no longer maintained.
This page is made available by the Center for Bilingual and Multicultural Education.