NIEA Staff
The NIEA staff remains committed to serving our membership and Native communities. Please contact us with any questions
Ahniwake Rose
,
Cherokee Nation
Executive Director
E-mail: arose@niea.org
As Executive Director of the leading association for advancing excellent education for Native students, Ahniwake Rose oversees all aspects of NIEA including institutional and policy development, fundraising, communications and long-term planning. She joins NIEA after having spent five years as policy director with the National Congress of American Indians, where she led its policymaking efforts on education and health. Previously a consultant to the U.S. Department of Education working on implementation of Executive Order 13336, which aimed to ensure that Native students receive comprehensive, culturally based education, Rose also serves on the Equity and Excellence Commission on addressing achievement gaps convened by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
Dr. Dawn Mackety,
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians
Director of Research, Data and Policy
E-mail: dmackety@niea.org
Dawn's work focuses on furthering NIEA’s mission through effective educational research, data collection, and national policy advancement. She leads NIEA’s research efforts by planning, designing, and collecting essential data about Native students and educators and disseminating reports to policymakers and stakeholders. Prior to joining NIEA, Dawn was a principal researcher at Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) in Colorado. Her research, evaluation, and technical assistance work focused on science education in formal and non-formal educational settings and American Indian education including academic achievement, graduation, dropout prevention, parent and community engagement, student resilience, student mobility, and tribal education departments. Prior to joining McREL, Dawn created and directed the Native American studies department for the Kingman Museum of Natural History in Battle Creek, MI and served as a tribal liaison for the Michigan State University Extension Service. She has a Ph.D. in educational evaluation, measurement, and research and a M.A. in educational leadership.
RiShawn Biddle
Director of Communications
E-mail: rbiddle@niea.org
RiShawn directs NIEA's communications, marketing, and public affairs efforts,
captures stories about the work of bringing high-quality culturally-based education to Native students and communities; and supports the advocacy, research, membership-building, and thought-leadership efforts of NIEA leaders. A longtime communications consultant and journalist, he previously served as Senior Editor and Writer for National PTA, and as Marketing and Creative Services Officer for the Institute of International Education, where he led the revamp of the Fulbright Scholar Program's communications and marketing efforts. An adviser to education organizations in his spare time, Biddle is co-author of
A Byte at the Apple: Rethinking Education Data for the Post-NCLB Era, and chronicled the impact of the nation's high school dropout crisis on communities in Indiana and other parts of the country.
Nancy Dewire
Office Manager
E-mail: ndewire@niea.org
Nancy is responsible for the overall operations of the NIEA office. In that role she provides support to the staff in the areas of human resources, accounting, membership services, data base management, information technology, and administration. Nancy brings more than 20 years of experience in the human resources, organizational development, and training functions in the hospitality industry. Prior to joining NIEA, Nancy was senior director of organizational development and learning for four years with Interstate Hotels & Resorts in Arlington, Virginia. Before that she was vice president of training and development for ten years with Sage Hospitality Resources in Denver, Colorado. She began her career in human resources working with Marriott International in Bethesda, Maryland for ten years. Over the past several years Nancy has provided services as an independent management consultant.