During Native American Heritage month, the American Indian Student Center and the SMCC Diversity Committee are planning to host an American Indian in Higher Education Leadership panel on Friday, November 18th. Our panelists will be focusing on their education, work history, and experience relevant to their leadership role. This event is open to all MCCCD staff, faculty and students. Join us in-person or virtually!
Panelists:
Rowdy Duncan - Communication Residential Faculty at Phoenix College
Rowdy Duncan is currently in service as Communication Residential Faculty at Phoenix College – Rowdy’s main courses are course lead for COM110 Interpersonal Communication and COM263 Intercultural Communication. Rowdy has been in the JEDI field since 2001 with over 20 years of experience; he is also an expert at non-hierarchical leadership. He is an innovator with a myriad of different workshops informing about issues related to colorblindness, to Interest-Based Negotiations, Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Resolution, Positive Masculinity, and seeing People as Possibilities.
Dan Lacapa - Director of the Learning Resource Center at South Mountain Community College
Dan Lacapa was born and raised in Arizona. He attended all three state universities while achieving Bachelor of Science degrees in Applied Mathematics, Health Promotions & Education and Master’s degree in Higher Education. His work experiences covers a lot of fields, including in food service, coaching, retail and education. All of those experiences have culminated in skills that have helped him in working with diverse groups of people from varying backgrounds while, at times, also serving as a leader.
Diana Martinez - Student Service Specialist Senior in the Student Life & Leadership at Phoenix College
Diana Martinez is a Student Service Specialist Senior in the Student Life & Leadership department at Phoenix College. Diana is Ohkay-Owingeh (Tewa), Hopi, and Navajo. Diana has worked at Phoenix College since 1998 and currently serves in Student Life and Leadership engaging students in leadership, social justice, and community development. As a lifelong advocate for the Native American community, Diana has served in various roles in Maricopa Community College to support Native American students. She has served as a recruiter to the Native American communities on the reservations and currently serves as the club advisor to the Native American Student Association for many years. She has coordinated various Indigenous events on PC campus and has recently co-chaired the 2022 Native American Convocation committee and is collaborating with other campus leaders to resurrect the PC Committee on American Indian Initiatives Programs and Projects (CAIIP).
Winona Thirion - Director of the American Indian Outreach Program at the District Office
Winona Thirion is the Director of the American Indian Outreach Program at the District Office. She has been at District Office since 2014 in Student Affairs but has had prior experience working at a college where she spent nearly 10 years working at Scottsdale Community College. She received both her undergraduate and graduate degree at Northern Arizona University, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Education in Human Relations.