Dahkota Kicking Bear Brown speaks at the National Congress of American Indians annual conference in San Diego, California, on October 22, 2015. Photo by Indianz.Com

President Barack Obama announced four new members of the National Advisory Council on Indian Education on Friday.

The four are: Phyliss J. Anderson, who is the first woman to lead the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; Mandy Broaddus, a member of the Fort Peck Tribes who currently serves as the director of Indian Education at the Montana Office of Public Instruction; Dahkota Kicking Bear Brown, a young member of the Wilton Rancheria who has earned accolades nationwide for his work with Native youth; and Joely Proudfit, a professor and descendant of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians.

“I am honored that these talented individuals have decided to serve our country," Obama said in a statement. "They bring their years of experience and expertise to this Administration, and I look forward to working with them.”

The National Advisory Council on Indian Education advises advises the Department of Education on issues affecting American Indian and Alaska Native students. More than 520,000 Native students attend public schools across the nation, according to the federal government.

Biographical information about the four members, provided by the White House, follows:

Phyliss J. Anderson, Appointee for Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
Phyliss J. Anderson is Tribal Chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and is the Chief Executive Officer of the Tribal Government, a position she has held since 2011. Previously, she was Tribal Council Representative for the Red Water Community from 2003 to 2011 and Director of the Tribe’s Department of Natural Resources from 1984 to 2003. Ms. Anderson chairs the boards of the Choctaw Resort Development Enterprise, Chahta Enterprises, the Choctaw Residential Center Enterprise, and the Choctaw Shopping Center Enterprise. She is a member of the boards of United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc., the National Congress of American Indians, Choctaw Missions, and the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Advisory Board. Ms. Anderson received an A.A. from East Central Community College.

Mandy Broaddus, Appointee for Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
Mandy Broaddus serves as Director of Indian Education at the Montana Office of Public Instruction, a position she has held since 2009. She held other roles at the Montana Office of Public Instruction, including School Transformation Director from 2011 to 2013 and Indian Education Specialist from 2005 to 2009. From 2002 to 2005, Ms. Broaddus worked as a Principal and Dean of Students in Frazer, Montana. She taught at Fort Peck Community College in 1999, 2001, and 2005. Ms. Broaddus also served as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Montana from 2001 to 2002, the University of Colorado from 2000 to 2001, and the University of California, Los Angeles in 1999. Ms. Broaddus received a B.A. from Pepperdine University and an M.F.A. from the University of Montana.

Dahkota Kicking Bear Brown, Appointee for Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
Dahkota Kicking Bear Brown is co-founder of Native Education Raising Dedicated Students (NERDS), an organization of peer to peer youth study groups founded in 2012. After co-founding NERDS, he was named a Champion for Change at the age of 14 in 2013 by the Center for Native American Youth. He is also a Member of the White House Steering Committee for Generation Indigenous, the Center for Native American Youth’s Executive Board, and the National Congress of American Indians National Native Youth Cabinet.

Dr. Joely Proudfit, Appointee for Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
Dr. Joely Proudfit is an Associate Professor in the Department of American Indian Studies at California State University San Marcos, a position she has held since 2008. She has been Director of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center since 2009 and Department Chair of American Indian Studies since 2015. From 2004 to 2008, Dr. Proudfit was an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Director of the Tribal Government, Management, and Leadership MPA Program at California State University, Santa Barbara. From 2003 to 2005, she was a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of San Diego and from 1996 to 2004, she was an Associate Professor in the Department of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University (SFSU). From 1999 to 2000, Dr. Proudfit was Interim Chair of the Department of American Indian Studies at SFSU and from 1998 to 2002, she was Director of American Indian Studies Community Service Learning. She began her career as a Lecturer in the Department of American Indian Studies at California State University, Long Beach. Dr. Proudfit received a B.A. from California State University, Long Beach and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Northern Arizona University.

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