10th Annual Native Student Success Summit Inspires, Empowers Native Youth

During the free summit, participants will:

• Find encouragement and support with tools and resources for Native student success and leadership development.

• an increased awareness of ways to identify, articulate and work toward actionable goals for personal and communal success in culturally rooted ways.

• Make meaningful connections and gain a deeper sense of community with other Native student leaders in Western Washington.

The summit for American Indian and Alaska Native students is the result of a partnership between Highline Public Schools and Highline College.

Participating as presenters and organizers are Native educators, professionals and community leaders from the school districts of Auburn, Federal Way, Fife, Highline, Kent, Green River College, Highline College, University of Washington and the Muckleshoot Tribe. 

My name is Natalie MC Anderson , I am a enrolled Tlingit& Haida member with roots from Southeast Alaska and the Blackfeet nation in Montana. I also have from roots from Scandinavia. I am from Seattle Washington and a senior enrolled at KWHS this year taking full time college classes at Green River College. I am a LSU officer at GRC and a student intern with the institute for community leader ship and the MLKFC. I enjoy journaling , singing and dancing and roller skating.   

Jill La Pointe is the Sr. Director of the Indigenous Peoples Institute, at Seattle University. She is a member of the Upper Skagit tribe and Nooksack descendant. Before coming to Seattle University, she worked in social and health service programs serving Native communities, both rural and urban, for more than 30 years. She also taught graduate courses at the University of Washington, School of Social Work, where she received an award for Outstanding Practicum Instructor. When her grandmother retired as Director of Lushootseed Research, dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the Lushootseed language and culture, Jill agreed to carry on the work. Under Jill’s leadership, LR has successfully hosted an Annual Lushootseed conference since 2010, and recently completed a film on the Healing Heart of Lushootseed, about her grandmother’s dream to bring healing to the world through music. She finds strength in supporting students on their academic journeys and building relationships across the campus and with local Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities. 

Roger Fernandes is a Native American storyteller, artist, an educator. His work focuses on the cultural traditions of the Coast Salish tribes of western Washington. He is an enrolled member of the Lower Elwha S’Klallam Tribe and has a bachelor’s degree in Native American Studies from The Evergreen State College and a masters degree in Whole systems Design from Antioch University.

He has been creating Coast Salish art for over 40 years and been an active storyteller for over 30. He has worked in the field of Native education and culture since 1974 as a home-school liaison, program director, curriculum developer, and a teacher in high schools and colleges.

He teaches classes on Coast Salish art, traditional storytelling, and philosophy at higher education institutions like The University of Washington, Highline College, Seattle Central College, and The Northwest Indian College.

Kaya Fernandes is an enrolled member of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Western Washington University and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Education at the University of Washington Tacoma. She is currently serving as the Executive Assistant for Urban Native Education Alliance.

Throughout her professional career, Kaya has worked in education as a youth support specialist, tutor, and teacher. Throughout her career, she has remained deeply committed to serving Indigenous youth and families through education, advocacy, and storytelling.

Armando T. Ortíz grew up in White Center and graduated from Big Picture high school. He went on to play two years of collegiate football at his alma mater Central Washington University where he majored in Sociology with a minor in Ethnic Studies. During his time at CWU Armando worked as a program coordinator in the diversity center while in collaboration with his two mentors Dr. Keither Champagne & Dr. Raymond Hall, with the development of a male success initiative to support Black and Brown men, persist through and graduate from CWU while also serving as the universities first Native American Student Government President. Upon graduating Armando went to attain his Masters in Education from Loyola University Chicago in Cultural & Educational Policy Studies.

Since graduating from Loyola Armando has moved back to White Center where he has worked for a number of nonprofit city and school-based organizations which has led him to further his determination to serve the community that raised him. Currently he is working as a School Design Coach with the Big Picture Learning Native American Initiative providing schools with the knowledge and insight on how to best serve Native American and Indigenous students while serving as a Promise Scholar Specialist at Mount Rainier HS in Highline Public Schools where he supports 150 Black and Brown young men at Mount Rainier.