Carmen Lopez will be speaking during the lunch 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm on Thursday, May 9  in the University of Oregon’s EMU Ballroom.

Carmen Lopez is a citizen of the Navajo Nation, from the Forest Lake area of Black Mesa, Arizona and she also grew up in Farmington, NM. Carmen is Executive Director of College Horizons Inc., a national educational non-profit based on the Santa Ana Pueblo near Bernalillo, New Mexico. College Horizons supports the higher education of Native American students by providing pre-college (College Horizons), a first year to college success/retention initiative (Scholars Program) and pre-graduate programs (Graduate Horizons) open to American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian high school and college students from across the nation. Prior to College Horizons, Carmen served as the Executive Director of the Harvard University Native American Program and began her career in education as a high school history teacher. She received her A.B. from Dartmouth College and an Ed.M. from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Carmen volunteers her time on the board of the Center for Civic Policy and at the primary schools that her children attend.

Alayna Eagle Shield will be speaking during the welcome session and lunch 12:15 pm – 2:00 pm on Friday, May 10 in the University of Oregon’s EMU Ballroom.

Alayna Eagle Shield is Lakȟóta Húŋkpapȟa and Arikara and a citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Alayna is currently a Native American Community Academy (NACA) Inspired Schools Network Fellow and consultant. Her previous professional work includes the SRST Health Education Director, a Lakota Language instructor at the Lakota Language Immersion Nest and as the Language Specialist for the Language & Culture Institute. Alayna serves on multiple boards and committees. Alayna earned her B.S. from the University of Mary (2014), Eminent Scholar to teach Lakota from Sitting Bull College (2013), and Master of Public Health from NDSU (2017). Alayna offers multiple types of workshops including: Self Healing, Life Coaching, Powwow Dancing and Culture Sharing, and Cultural Sustaining Training.  Her facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/alaynaeagleshield/