Zoe Higheagle Strong, Executive Director of Tribal Relations & Special Assistant to the Provost, Director of Center for Native American Research & Collaboration, Washington State University

Higheagle Strong serves as a PI on a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Administration for Native Americans Social & Economic Development Strategies grant for developing a culturally responsive curriculum and evaluation for college and career preparation/transitions. She conducts research on social, cognitive, socioeconomic, and cultural factors that influence youths’ identity, safety, and learning in academic environments. Her overall research goals are 1) to identify positive strategies to support students from diverse and low socioeconomic backgrounds who experience perceived threats (e.g., peer aggression/bullying, injustice, racism) and resource barriers in the school, and 2) to advance culturally sustaining/revitalizing educational research specific to Native American tribes/villages and peoples. She will serve as the project’s external evaluator.

Landon Charlo, Project External Evaluator, Washington State University

Landon Charlo is an Educational Psychology Ph.D. Candidate in the College of Education at Washington State University and will be graduating in the Fall of 2023. He is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation in Western Montana. His dissertation is focused on Conceptualizing Indigenous Program Evaluation Approaches, Frameworks, and Models. Landon enjoys staying active in the evaluation community. He is the current president of the Seattle Evaluation Association, and a subcontractor for Puget Sound Research Center, where he works on evaluation of educational programs. Following graduation, Landon plans to continue teaching and conducting research on topics that are important to improve Native American education and tribal community well-being.