Denise Juneau brings expertise in Native and culturally responsive education, equity, and student voice to Education Northwest.

PORTLAND, OREGON, UNITED STATES, May 5, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Education Northwest is excited to announce that Denise Juneau has joined the organization as a senior fellow. Denise brings more than two decades of experience to this role, which will include supporting and advising on Native and culturally responsive education and multiple other policy issues.

“It is an honor to have Denise Juneau join the Education Northwest team,” said Chief Executive Officer Patty Wood. “Her wealth of knowledge and practical experience at both the state and district levels, as well as her deep connection to Tribal communities, will help us focus our efforts where they can have the most impact. She has a long track record of breaking down barriers and fighting for equity and social justice within the education system, which is right in line with our mission and values.”

An enrolled member of the Mandan Hidatsa Tribes and a descendant of the Blackfeet Tribe and the Tlingit and Haida Tribes, Denise received her master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She started her career as a teacher on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota and her hometown of Browning, Montana. Later, she worked at the state education level before earning her juris doctorate degree from the University of Montana School of Law.

"I am honored to become a part of Education Northwest to support their national leadership in Native education. They have been doing deep, exciting work to create culturally informed and inclusive curricula, conduct district and school equity analyses and evaluations, and increase strength-based academic outcomes for students. I look forward to assisting their high-quality team as they continue their work to achieve educational justice for Native students," said Denise.

In 2008, Denise became the first American Indian woman elected to statewide executive office in the country, ultimately serving as the State Superintendent of Public Instruction for eight years.

Under her leadership, the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) established the $11.5 million Schools of Promise Initiative, which invested federal grant money in schools on Indian reservations that struggle with systemic issues of colonialism that result in poverty, violence, and unemployment. Denise also established the Graduation Matters Montana program, which used a school-community partnership approach to increase the statewide graduation rate and lower dropout rates. During her tenure, dropout rates for American Indian students decreased by 33 percent, and the statewide graduation rate reached historic highs.

Ilona Wall
Education Northwest
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