Dr. Octaviana V. Trujillo

(KNFP-13)
Professor, College of Social & Behav. Sciences; Applied Indig. Studies
Flagstaff, Arizona
United States

Focus Areas

Community & Civic Engagement
Community Based Participatory Research
Education
Higher Education
Racial Equity & Healing
Indigenous Communities

Biography

Octaviana V. Trujillo has worked over the past three decades in the area of educational program development for multicultural populations, particularly Native Americans. She joined the faculty at the University of Arizona, Department of Language, Reading and Culture in 1991. In 1994, Dr. Trujillo became the first woman to become chairman of the PascuaYaqui Tribe of Arizona. During her tenured leadership, she established the first department of education for the Tribal Nation and shepherded state and national legislation. Dr. Trujillo subsequently served at Arizona State University as Director of the Center for Indian Education and editor of the Journal of American Indian Education, the nation's longest continually published refereed research journal on Native education. Her interest in peace and human rights advocacy has included work in the Middle East, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia. Dr. Trujillo currently serves as Professor and Chair of the Applied Indigenous Studies Department at Northern Arizona University. On September 15, 2015, Octaviana was appointed by President Obama as a Member, Joint Public Advisory Committee of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation. She also serves on the national board for Farmworker Justice.