July Graduate Student of the Month

Scholarship: Loan for Service
School: Columbia University – Teachers College
Degree: Politics and Education

GPA: 3.8

Community Service

• Tribal Conservation Program Fellow – Biodiversity Funders Group (Nov 2024 – Present)

  • Collaborate with the Director of Programs and Initiatives and Program Coordinator to identify key issues, speakers, and opportunities for funders to advance Indigenous-led conservation initiatives

  • Partner with Native Americans in Philanthropy and others to produce reports and materials highlighting emerging issues and opportunities

  • Serve as a key connection point to Tribal-led project leads, including Tribal Conservation Pledge tracking and reporting

• Fresh Tracks Trainer – Fresh Tracks Action (May 2024 – Present)

  • Support 20+ Native college-aged Junior Faculty at the annual Native Youth Leadership Climate Adaptation Congress (NYCALC) through leadership development programming

  • Co-facilitate workshops on Indigenous storytelling and community narrative reclamation to mentor 80+ Indigenous high school youth exploring climate adaptation solutions

• Curriculum Lead – Start:Empowerment (Oct 2023 – Present)

  • Develop socio-environmental justice curriculum for youth in New York City and Texas; piloted an 8-part lesson curriculum in Las Vegas

  • Host workshops and teach-ins bridging Indigenous social justice issues and climate justice organizing

• Native America Intern – Grand Canyon Trust (May 2024 – Present)

  • Conduct independent research on Rights of Nature Law development for the Colorado Plateau

  • Participate in community listening sessions and engage with tribes on environmental policy implementation

  • Assist in facilitating the Colorado Plateau Intertribal Gatherings, fostering knowledge-sharing and collective conservation efforts

• Student Life Ambassador – Graduate Student Life & Development (Aug 2024 – Present)

  • Provide Teachers College students with connections, resources, and support during their graduate experience

  • Plan student life events and lead a cohort of 50+ students engaged in environmental awareness and sustainability initiative

Bio

Kianna Pete (she/her) is Diné, a Navajo Nation citizen from New Mexico. Guided by Diné teachings, she has years of environmental policy, political education, and research experience working alongside Indigenous communities to promote self-determination and educational equity. Currently, Kianna is a Tribal Conservation Program Fellow at Biodiversity Funders Group building philanthropic support for Tribal Nation-led stewardship projects. She is also the Curriculum Lead for Start:Empowerment where she is expanding access to climate justice education and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Kianna holds a BA in Political Science and Ethnicity & Race Studies at Columbia University and is completing her MA in Politics & Education at Teachers College, Columbia University where she is a Student Life Ambassador and recognized Arthur Zankel Fellow teaching civil rights history in Harlem. Outside work and school, she creates educational social media content and researches the connections between climate justice and MMIWG2S+.
Native Forward has provided me with an opportunity to uplift the Diné pedagogies that raised while achieving my goals of educational equity. Being a Native Forward Scholar allows me to carry on the work from generations before me to expand education for Native communities while holding truth to culture and tradition. Despite not having a high school education, my grandmothers encouraged me to pursue college. They would express these sentiments when taking care of my siblings and me during times my parents had work or college classes. Education within my family has created opportunities and my grandmothers understood this. Moreover, education for Indigenous communities is vital to who we are as a people. In Diné culture, education is seen as a matriarchal responsibility. The mother carries on the lessons that preserve practices but also encourages the pursuit of other forms of knowledge. Although the US education system has harmed Indigenous peoples and knowledge, education is a facet of society that can preserve our traditions. Matriarchs were my first teachers and they taught me the history of the US education system through storytelling. Their stories raised awareness about education policies that harmed my people while sparking questions about the imbalance in policy formation.

Want to be our next Student of the Month? Apply here!