Get to know the guest speakers for the 2023 Indigenous Leadership Summit! Meet Native Forward Alumna and Ph.D. Student Cynthia Wilson.

Cynthia Wilson (Diné) was born and raised in Monument Valley, Utah. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Nutrition from Southern Utah University, and a Master of Science degree in Nutrition Sciences and Education from the University of Utah. She is a Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. Her research interests include indigenous food sovereignty, ontological environmentalism, and indigenous political ecology in social science.

She is a Tribal Agricultural Fellow, a Castanea Fellow among community food justice leaders, and a Native and Indigenous Rights teaching fellow for the Harvard Divinity School. She served as an advocate for ancestral lands protection at the Bears Ears National Monument and launched a Traditional Foods Program for a Native-led nonprofit called Utah Diné Bikéyah. She is also the co-founder of the Women of Bears Ears, which seeks to restore indigenous women’s matrilineal roles and the rematriation of the Earth.

She brings her experience in Bears Ears community organizing, programming, and interest to advance tribal sovereignty and self-determination through indigenous-led nonprofits and Native-led research. 

Join us for this virtual summit, where Cynthia will share her knowledge on harnessing the power of your relationships, building rapport, and maximizing your success in academia and beyond. 

Register by August 1. The summit will occur on Friday, August 4, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. MT.

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