The Association of Native Alumni is led by an active Board of Directors. The members include:
Sabrina Austin-Edouard W'05
Bryan Brayboy GED'96, GR'99
Ann Dapice NU'74, GR'80, Chair
Jaime Hale W'05
Stephen Johnson W'89
Noemia King C'09
Ann Knuckles W'07
Desireé Martinez C'95
Sabrina Austin-Edouard W'05 (Cherokee/Lenape)
Sabrina is currently working in Sales at General Mills. Within her company, Sabrina is involved in the Sales Diversity Council where she is the chair of the Mentorship Committee and the co-chair of the Business Center Events Committee. She is also active within the Black Champions Network at General Mills. Having recently moved to the Twin Cities in Minnesota, Sabrina is looking forward to getting more involved with the American Indian Network and getting to know the local Native population in the region. At Penn, Sabrina studied marketing at the Wharton School while juggling numerous extra-curricular activities including tutoring, mentoring, Six Directions, United Minorities Council, Black Wharton Undergraduate Association, Check One?, Excelano Project, and House Councils. She also won the Undergraduate Woman of Color Award in 2005. Sabrina and her husband enjoy spending time with their miniature poodle Bebe, friends, and Christian Congregation.
Dr. Bryan Brayboy GED'96, GR'99 (Lumbee)
Bryan is the President's Professor of Education at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Borderland's Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Arizona State University. His research centers on the strategies used to achieve academic success by American Indian college students, and the cultural, emotional, psychological, political, and financial costs and benefits of this academic success. In 2002, he founded the University of Utah American Indian Teacher Training Program, which aims to prepare Indigenous educators to return to their communities and work with Indigenous children. While at Penn, Bryan co-founded Six Directions, Penn's first group dedicated to bringing Native American issues to Penn's campus.
Brayboy currently resides in Fairbanks, AK with his wife and two children.
Dr. Ann Dapice NU'74, GR'80, Chair (Lenape/Cherokee)
Ann is the Director of Education and Research at T.K. Wolf, a Native American non-profit organization focused on Education, Counseling, Consulting, Research, Electromedicine, Addiction Nutrition, and Art Therapy. Ann has a doctorate in psychology, sociology and philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania. She has served as professor and administrator at a number of universities including the University of Pennsylvania, Penn State University and Goddard College, teaching courses in the social sciences and Native American Studies. Her cross-cultural research has been reported in professional journals, books, and academic presentations regionally, nationally and internationally. She is a member of the Elders Council of the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma, Tulsa Chapter and of the Board of Directors of Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry and Mental Health Association Tulsa. Ann currently resides outside of Tulsa, OK with her family and two wolves.
Jaime Hale W'05 (Navajo)
Jaime is currently a master's student in Music Business and Entertainment Industries at the University of Miami. Previously, Jaime was the Legislative Assistant/Program Assistant at the National Indian Health Board. She worked closely with tribal leaders and assisted with legislative affairs, the Medicare and Medicaid Policy Committee, and the Tribal Technical Advisory Group/Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Jaime has plans to become an entrepreneur and executive in the music business as well as start a foundation that uses music to create change for Native issues. At Penn, Jaime enjoyed taking music history classes while majoring in marketing at Wharton. She also worked with Sabrina Austin to re-establish Six Directions in 2002. Jaime hails from Cheyenne, Oklahoma, but current resides in Florida.
Stephen Johnson, W'89 (Ojibwe/Saginaw Chippewa)
Stephen is the Managing Director of the Singapore-based investment holding company, AGI Group, which is engaged in investment and advisory in the natural resource sector. Prior to founding AGI, Stephen was a Managing Director at UBS in charge of all foreign exchange and commodities trading for the Asia Pacific region. At Penn, Stephen was 2 time all-Ivy League and captain of the varsity football team and majored in finance at Wharton. He was also a member of Friars Senior Society and Sigma Chi fraternity. He is currently a member of the James Brister Society.
Noemia King C'09 (Blackfeet)
Mia is currently a Leonore Annenberg Teaching Fellow at Penn's Graduate School of Education, where she is pursuing a master's in education and obtaining a secondary teaching certificate in the state of Pennsylvania. Following the 10-month master's program, she will teach social studies in the School District of Philadelphia. During her time as an undergraduate, Mia co-chaired Six Directions and helped host the All-Ivy Native Council Spring Conference at Penn in April 2007. The Conference brought together 14 Indigenous intellectuals and over 120 Native undergraduates from colleges across the Mid-Atlantic region and New England. As a graduate student, Mia continues to support Six Directions' activities and promote further participation in the All-Ivy Native Council. Mia was born and raised in Seattle, Washington and now lives in West Philadelphia.
Ann Knuckles W’07 (Lumbee)
Ann most recently worked as a diversity campus recruiter with Merrill Lynch. She is now in transition with plans to pursue her interests in employment law. While at Penn, Ann studied Management and International Business and also spent a semester improving her French as an exchange student in Lyon, France. Ann co-chaired Six Directions during her sophomore and junior years. During this time, she, along with other members of Six Directions, met with members of Penn’s faculty to increase the awareness of the group and push for several initiatives including the creation of the Penn Center for Native American Studies. She received the Sol Feinstone Undergraduate Leadership Award for her efforts in 2007. Ann grew up in Nashville, TN and currently resides in New York City.
Desireé Reneé Martinez C'95 (Gabrielino/Tongva)
While at Penn, Desireé received a BA in Anthropology focusing on archaeology with minors in Folklore/Folklife and Religious Studies. In 1993, Desireé co-founded Six Directions, Penn's first group dedicated to bringing Native American issues to Penn's campus. Desireé is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Anthropology at Harvard University. Her dissertation investigates the relationship between Native Americans and archaeologists while trying to find ways to incorporate indigenous perspectives into the practice of archaeology. Desireé is the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, including the SSRC/Mellon Mays University Fellowship Dissertation Grant, the Francis C. Allen Fellowship for women of Native American heritage at the Newberry Library and an Irvine fellowship at Whittier College. Desireé's life goal is to open up a Gabrielino/Tongva museum and cultural center where the public can come to learn about the rich and vibrant culture of her community. She currently resides in Baldwin Park, CA.
