Jessica Blanchard, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Applied Social Research. She is the Director of the Center for the Ethics of Indigenous Genomics Research and co-directs the Genomics and Ethics Program for Native Students. Dr. Blanchard is a cultural anthropologist by training, and her research builds upon a larger applied medical research program that focuses on community-engaged research addressing the reduction of health disparities, and particularly on issues of cancer, ethical and social implications of genomics research, and community partnerships in health research.

Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn, Ph.D., (Kiowa/Umatilla/Nez Perce/Apache/Assiniboine) is Professor and Department Chair for the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies for the University of Oklahoma. Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn is an enrolled citizen of the Kiowa tribe of Oklahoma and a descendant of the Umatilla, Nez Perce, Apache, and Assiniboine Nations. She received her bachelor’s and two master’s degrees from the University of Oklahoma and her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Oklahoma State University. She is a Full Professor at the University of Oklahoma in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department.

She recently served as an Associate Professor at the University of Washington Tacoma in the School of Education and is the Director of Educational Leadership Doctoral Program and Director of Indigenous Education Initiatives. Previously, she was an Associate Professor at the University of New Mexico, a Coordinator of Native American Affairs at Oklahoma State University, an adjunct faculty at Pawnee Nation College, preceding that, academic advisor at Comanche Nation College, Oklahoma’s 1^st tribal college.

Her research interests include Indigenous leadership, Native American college students, and Historically Native American Fraternities and Sororities.  Robin has served as a Board of Director for the National Indian Education Association (NIEA), as a NASPA Indigenous Peoples Knowledge Community Chair, Chair for the American Educational Research Association Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Special Interest Group and is the past President and recent Board of Director of the National Indian Youth Council, Inc. 

She is currently serving as a Board Member At-Large for the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) and is the first Native American to serve in this role in the association’s history. She has been awarded the Bobby Wright Award for Early Career Contributions to Research in Indigenous Education through the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Special Interest Group for the American Educational Research Association in 2018 and recently received the Exemplary Contributions to Practice-Engaged Research Award from the American Educational Research Association in 2022. Dr. Minthorn is also the co-editor of Indigenous Leadership in Higher Education published by Routledge Educational Leadership Research Series, Reclaiming Indigenous Research in Higher Education and Indigenous Motherhood in the Academy both published by Rutgers University Press and Unsettling Settler Colonial Education: The Transformational Indigenous Praxis Model published by Teachers College Press. She was in the 1^st class of the 40 under 40 for the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development in 2009 and was an Americans for Indian Opportunity Ambassador in their 10^th class from 2008-2010.

Dallas Pettigrew, MSW (Cherokee Nation) is a Clinical Assistant Professor with the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work. Dallas Pettigrew is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and grew up in Adair County, OK. He joined the faculty in January 2017.  Before that he worked for the Cherokee Nation, with experience in Child Welfare, Human Service Administration, Higher Education/College Resources, and Behavioral Health. He also was the first Program Manager of the Family Safety Program of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, NC. He is a Global Leader for Young Children, part of the World Forum Foundation, and serves on its Indigenous Peoples’ Action Group. Mr. Pettigrew is a Co-Investigator and Director of Community Environmental Change in “A Prevention Trial in Cherokee Nation,” a five-year long study funded by the National Institutes of Health, testing interventions that prevent underage alcohol use.  He is also the founding director of the Center for Tribal Social Work in the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work. He and his collaborators have been awarded approximately $1,600,000 in grants and contracts to support the education, training, and workforce development of tribal child welfare professionals, including $650,000 to provide stipends for tuition and other expenses for social work students who commit to working in tribal child welfare upon graduation. Mr. Pettigrew teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in macro social work including Human Diversity and Societal Oppression and Social Welfare Policy. He is the facilitator of the OU-TulsaPolice Advisory Council and formerly served as the 2nd Vice President (Treasurer) of the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, of which he has been a member since 2010. In his free time, Mr. Pettigrew enjoys woodworking, kayaking, hiking, and road trips. He is the father of one son, and uncle of several nieces and nephews.

Dr. Monte Randall is Muscogee (Creek) from the Talladega Tribal Town and Deer Clan. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and the Oklahoma Army National Guard. Monte is a graduate of Haskell Indian Nations University, the University of Oklahoma, and Oral Roberts University, where he received a Ph.D.in Educational Leadership. He lives in Glenpool, OK, with his wife Lauren and three children. Randall's research interest focuses on Native American culture, problem-solving abilities, and leadership. His dissertation correlated the impacts of historical trauma of Native American students with maladaptive social and emotional behaviors. Randall is the fifth president at the College of the Muscogee Nation (CMN). He served as the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Secretary of Education. He has worked extensively at CMN as the dean of academic affairs, dean of student affairs, tribal services instructor, and research specialist. Randall developed the federal financial aid policies, Office of student affairs, and academic assessment plan. This work facilitated the college's initial accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission. He was an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellow, Rutgers University Aspiring Leader, and contributor to the Tribal College Journal. He volunteers as a community leader with Glenpool Public Schools, Okmulgee Chamber of Commerce, and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Randall regularly presents topics relating to Native American education, culture, and leadership within the community.