Student Bios Spring 2011
Circle of Learning Students – Spring 2011
Elviria Aquino – New Mexico COL Graduate
Pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh
Elviria works as a law librarian at the New Mexico State Supreme
Court Law Library. She has volunteered countless hours in the
preservation and return of a once dormant tribal library to the
community of Ohkay Owingeh. She continues to serve as a volunteer
in several community organizations, advocating for those less
fortunate. For the past ten years Elviria has been working on a
family genealogy which has produced seven generations of Pueblo
ancestors from both her mother and father’s family. Her academic
goal is to obtain an MLS with a concentration in archival
studies.
Lisa Dirks – Alaska COL Graduate
Unangan (Aleut)
Lisa works as a research manager with the Southcentral Foundation
in Anchorage and has a strong interest in social science and
public health research. She is particularly interested in
community involvement in social science research and the
incorporation of community based participatory research methods
in the dissemination of research results. Lisa holds a B.A. in
Anthropology-Ethnology from the University of New Mexico and a
Masters in Health Science Administration from Northern Arizona
University.
Susan Gehr – California COL Graduate
Karuk Tribe
Susan has been working actively with the Karuk tribe on language
preservation. She procesed the Thomas Buckley Papers in the
Special Collections of the Humboldt State University Library and
worked on an online dictionary of the Karuk language. Susan holds
a B.A. in Women’s Studies/Native American Studies and a M.A. in
Linguistics.
Amy Moore – Maine COL Graduate
Passamaquoddy Tribe
Amy has a B.A. in Art from Central Connecticut State University
and Post Graduate Certification in Museum Studies from Harvard
Extension School. Amy worked as the Library Technical Assistant,
Youth Services at Walker Memorial Library and works at the Maine
Medical Center Library.
Indri Pasaribu – British Columbia COL Graduate
Toba Batak from Sumatra
Indri has a B.A. in English and Political Science from Carleton
University in Ontario, Canada. Indri works in records management
at First Nations Summit in Vancouver. Indri has worked as a
volunteer at the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs working
to debug their automated library system after a data
migration.
Gena Peone – Washington COL Graduate
Spokane Tribe of Indians
Gena has a B.A. in Humanities from the University of Washington.
After working at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture for ten
years, she served as the Assistant Collections Manager of
material culture, archives, and archeological material for her
tribe, the Spokane Tribe of Indians. She now works as archivist
for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. She has extensive
experience working with American Indian material
collections.
Mary Rogers – Montana COL Graduate
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and Confederated Salish and
Kootenai
Mary is the Database and Historical Records Manager of the
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Historic Preservation
Department. She has her B.A. in Journalism from the University of
Central Oklahoma and is a member of the Veteran Warrior
Society.
Shannon Rosenbaum – Washington COL Graduate
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
Shannon is a recent graduate from the University of Washington,
earning her B.A. in Anthropology and the Comparative History of
Ideas (CHID). She was the 2010 undergraduate recipient of the
Burke Museum Archaeological Collections Research Fellowship,
where she conducted research on her tribe and helped to create a
template for an education kit. Most recently, she was awarded
sponsorship through the American Indian Library Association for
the Emerging Leaders Class of 2012, in which she participated in
LIRT’s 35-Year Anniversary Oral History Project. She works as
library specialist – youth services for the Nisqually Indian
Tribe in Washington.
Samantha Villagomez – Wisconsin COL Graduate
Menominee
Samantha teaches at the Menominee Tribal School. Samantha has
worked as a librarian and a classroom teacher at the school. She
holds a B.A. in Psychology and a M.S. in Special Education from
D’Youville College in Buffalo, New York.