Kyra James (Navajo Nation/Diné) joined Native Nations Institute in December as the new student Office/Project Assistant. James is a senior at the University of Arizona majoring in Family Studies and Human Development, with a minor in Anthropology. In her coursework, she has focused on Native American youth development and prevention. Currently, she is designing a program to help decrease the dropout rate for Native American high school students on or near the Navajo Reservation.

In February, James will be promoted to the Data Management Assistant. She is excited about the promotion and the opportunity to work on the development, maintenance, documentation, and improvement of data collection and management processes. Additionally, James will assist Senior Researcher Danielle Hiraldo (Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina) on new and ongoing research projects. She shared “NNI is a great hub of information and resources with many events held throughout the year, such as January In Tucson. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn about Nation Building and network with tribal leaders.”