Sarena Gray

Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of Oklahoma, In Coursework

B.A. Ethnic Studies, Brown University, 2018

As a Diné woman, scholar, educator, and relative my goal is to do what I can to help make the academic journey of Indigenous students at every level of education culturally affirming, beneficial, and enjoyable. Currently I am doing this by pursuing a PhD in Adult and Higher Education through OU’s Educational Leadership and Policy Studies department. 

I graduated from Brown University in 2018 with a B.A. in Ethnic Studies, with a focus on Indigenous peoples and communities. After graduating I worked in Los Alamos, NM engaging with local youth, working especially with Native and Hispanic youth, as well as the LGBTQ+ community.

I am currently the TA for Introduction to Native Studies. My research and academic interests focus on education, identity, and kinship within Indigenous communities, with Indigeneity being understood as both a localized and a transnational identity. I also do work within the areas of critical Indigenous youth work and gifted education through research and advocacy.

• Indigenous identity and kinship relations

• Indigenous student experiences in education

• Student affairs, services, and programming in higher education

• Gifted education identification and programming for Native students 

• Critical Indigenous youth work