Champion for the Nation

Elizabeth Nason (aka “Walaxus’ta), enrolled member of the Yakama Nation, is a mother, grandmother, attorney, college and law school graduate, softball and basketball coach and enthusiastic fan. She is also the highest-ranking administrative leader in the Yakama Nation, serving as the Tribal Administrative Director since 2013. This humble yet accomplished woman followed an impressive path of hard work, discipline and perseverance to get to where she is today.

Nason was the first in her family to go on to higher education, the first Yakama woman to become a practicing attorney, graduating from the Gonzaga University School of Law, and the first female chief justice for her tribe – all while maintaining a busy household, often as a single mom. How did she achieve so much? She laughs that sometimes she looks back and wonders the same thing because her childhood, while happy, was not easy.

GRANDMOTHER’S INFLUENCE

When Nason was born, her mom was just 16, so her grandparents stepped into the parental roles, as they did for a number of her cousins that she affectionately refers to as her brothers and sisters. Her grandmother was a go-getter, and Nason admits she probably learned her tenacious, self-reliant ways by living under her influence.

“Growing up, I had to work each year in the berry fields with my grandmother and the rest of my brothers and sisters,” said Nason. “I had no choice, and this happened until I was in eighth grade.

We worked picking strawberries on the coast and then raspberries in Oregon. My grandmother was a hard worker, caring for sometimes more than 10 of us grandchildren at a time. She dried our traditional fish, canned fruits and berries, crocheted and had her garden. With the little resources they had, they provided.”

Her grandmother was an influential role model, and both of her grandparents encouraged her to pursue her education. She admitted she loved school, loved achieving and being recognized for her accomplishments. Her grandparents insisted she obtain her education not for them, but for her. It’s a mantra she repeats to her own grandchildren today.

FIRST YAKAMA WOMAN LAWYER

During an aptitude test in high school, she learned she had skills for training as an executive secretary. When her husband joined the military after high school, however, she moved with him. Her education was put on hold until they returned to their home town. Once back, she followed the path laid out for her and earned an Executive Secretary Certificate from Yakima Business College.

In 1978, while working as a legal secretary for the Yakama Nation Public Defenders’ office, she learned of the National Indian Paralegal Training Program. She applied and got one of the coveted spots, which required travel during the program.

Her first training site was Washington D. C. She packed up her four-year-old daughter, two-year-old son and a relative to watch them while she was in class. It was then that she decided to go to college. She earned an associate degree and started her undergraduate studies, first at a college in New Mexico, then she moved back to the Yakima Valley and enrolled at Central Washington University, located some 60 miles away from her home. However, the hour-long commute combined with working full-time while managing her household and children was just

too much. She reluctantly withdrew from college. One day, she was driving down Fort Road toward Toppenish and spied Heritage University. She applied and was accepted.

“When I went for registration I met with a counselor who saw my drive and did everything to help me succeed.”

Although she can’t remember his name all these years later, he was the first to pointedly ask her, based on her work background, if she would like to go to law school. Although it hadn’t been on her radar before, she thought about it and answered, “Yes, I think I would.”

From then on, said Nason, the Heritage faculty and her advisor carefully guided her, ensuring she was taking the right coursework for law school. They even brought in tutors for her and another student to prepare for the LSATs.

“Heritage provided support for me in more ways than one,” said Nason.

By then she had four children: Shannon, Kenneth, Aaron and Adreanne. She would work all day, take night classes at Heritage while her sisters watched the kids and return home at 9:00 p.m. to spend time with them. Then after bedtime, she began her homework and started the whole thing again the next morning! If she left work early to attend class, that time came off her paycheck. She gratefully acknowledges that former Heritage President Sister Kathleen Ross and Bertha Ortega, retired chair of general studies, offered her moral and emotional support and strength.

“There were times I wanted to throw in the towel,” admitted Nason. “They became more than administrators; they were also my friends.”

FIRST YAKAMA WOMAN CHIEF JUSTICE

Law school is a daunting amount of work for any student, but especially for a mom with a full load of responsibilities. She remembers hearing a man comment that she would never make it through law school because he barely did it, without kids.

“Well,” laughed Nason, “I made it!” She found time to study, even if it was scrolling through note cards while waiting somewhere with her kids.

“Even when they are in leadership, women don’t give up other roles,” added Nason, who was a master multitasker. “We are caregivers and cook dinner, get groceries and do laundry. I used to joke with the male attorneys in our office that I wished I had a wife or nanny to take care of my kids, too. But you just deal with it!”

After graduating from Gonzaga with her Juris Doctorate, she worked first for Colville Legal Services with the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Colville Nation, in Nespelem, Washington representing minors. After two years, she joined the Yakama Nation first as an associate attorney and then a lead attorney for the Office of Legal Counsel. She left to work in private practice for several years before returning as the first female chief judge for the tribe in 2002. After her four-year term ended, she took a hiatus from law and took over the tribal diabetes program as its director.

“This was a nice change as it was a positive program that could have life-sustaining outcomes,” she recalled. “ I was able to be part of the design and construction of the diabetes wellness center, which I will forever be grateful to have been a part of.”

Nason’s days are filled with meetings, like this one with her departments’ deputy directors.

NO DAY IS THE SAME

One day, former Tribal Chairman Harry Smiskin requested to meet with her. He told her the tribal administrative director had resigned, and he needed someone, looking pointedly at her!

Nason was shocked and asked if she could think about it. “No,” he answered. “I need someone now.”

The diabetes program was running well, so she agreed to an interim position… that was seven years ago!

Today Nason oversees 1,145 tribal employees from six departments: Department of Natural Resources, Department of Finance, Department of Human Services, Department of Justice Services, Department of Public Safety, and 10 programs directly under Tribal Administration.

“The daily responsibilities are to provide leadership, administration and management of the Yakama Nation’s governmental organization in the administrative realm,” said Nason. “As the liaison between the Yakama Nation leadership and the employees, I spend a significant amount of time in meetings with our elected leaders as well… I don’t think I have ever had a day where there is a normal routine. It’s interesting, though, because since I’ve been in this capacity, I have learned so much in areas I was not aware of.”

Nason leans heavily on her deputy directors to be her experts in each respective area.

“I can’t know everything,” said Nason. “I joke that only my kids think I know everything! I want to empower all of my employees, and I want them to know I appreciate them, and I hear their feedback. I want them to enjoy coming to work to help our government and our people.”

NEVER SAY “CAN’T”

It’s a message she shares with the younger generation, too. The Yakama Nation now offers educational leave to working students so they don’t have to worry like she did about losing pay when they leave work for a class. She urges her employees to take advantage of that opportunity, even if they start with just one class.

Nason has enjoyed a highly successful professional career, making a powerful impact on her tribe and her people by being the first woman to hold many high-level positions. She’s served as a role model to coworkers, not always with intention or overt words, but by carving out her own path, though challenging, through college, law school, in the courtroom and now in administration for her tribe. When asked about her proudest achievements, however, it always comes back to family.

Like her grandmother, Nason has helped raise a number of her alas (Sahaptin for grandchildren). She’s given them the same talk she received as a kid about the importance of education. She’s also passed on a love of basketball and softball, born from her childhood days of playing with her brothers on a homemade dirt-floor basketball court.

Her oldest grandson, her pride and joy, is a high school graduate. Her other grandkids are on the honor roll. She sees more and more tribal members earning associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and she’s happy it’s becoming more of the norm. Some still believe they have too many obstacles to pursue education, and she urges them to rethink that.

“Don’t say ‘can’t’,” she urges them. “I never want to hear ‘can’t’. Leave yourself options and never stop.”

Leading for the Children

Picture a “typical” four-year-old. She’s curious, she likes playing with other children, and she understands taking turns. She can pay attention, say how she feels, and empathize with others. That is most of what’s required to be kindergarten-ready.

However, in the communities surrounding Heritage University, barely a quarter of four-year-olds start their educational career kindergarten ready.

Readiness is measured across six areas of development and learning: social-emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy and math. Like falling dominoes, the result of starting school at a disadvantage can determine the entire trajectory of a young life. If a child, her teachers and the school system never stop playing catch-up, traditional markers, such as appropriate third-grade reading skills and fifth-grade math competency, may not be met. The transition to higher grades means continuing setbacks.

And what about high school graduation? College- readiness? Education attainment in the Yakima Valley lags behind that of the rest of Washington state and the nation. More than a quarter of Yakima County students drop out of high school. Less than half ever enroll in college, and of those that do, half are academically unprepared for the rigors of college study and require developmental coursework before they begin the real work of college. The greater the student’s deficiency, the more likely he or she is to drop out. In the end, only 15% of Yakima students complete a bachelor’s degree or higher.

The lack of educational attainment in the Yakima Valley is rooted in poverty, language barriers and a myriad of other challenges. New parents must access and utilize support systems, social service programs must keep at-risk children from falling through the cracks, and beleaguered school systems must attempt to successfully educate every child in their ranks.

Expecting it all to work together seamlessly simply isn’t working. The Yakima Valley needs a new approach to education.

Dreama Gentry, executive director of Partners for Education at Berea College talks about the Collective Impact model during a meeting of the Yakima Valley partners in January.

ENTER COLLECTIVE IMPACT

Heritage University entered into a partnership with community organizations, school districts and families to tackle the complex issue of educational attainment. Called Collective Impact, it’s a multifaceted partnership that involves shared vision, combined effort and strong leadership.

It all started in the summer of 2018 when Korynne Wright, a friend and supporter of Heritage, reached out to the university with an invitation to a gathering at her home to learn about an approach she believed could have a significant effect on education in the Valley.

“The meeting came to be known as the ‘kitchen cabinet,’” said David Wise, vice president for advancement at Heritage. “It was an informal setting, but the discussion and what came of it was transformative.”

Wright introduced Heritage to a group of key representatives of several organizations that, using the Collective Impact model, actively work to improve childhood outcomes: Save the Children, Strive Together and Berea College – Partners for Education, the latter of which had implemented the “cradle to career” approach to effective education some 20 years earlier.

Yakima Valley’s Collective Impact partners include leaders in education, social services, law enforcement, business, health care, philanthropy, and government sectors. Representatives came together in January to start the work of building the initiative’s mission, vision, structures, goals and processes.

“We learned how the Collective Impact model helps organizations work together toward their common goal,” said Wise. “It involves communication, collaboration, shared vision, planning, data-based decision making and holding each other accountable to achieve the agreed- upon goals.

“It’s all brought together by a strong backbone organization that leads the collective.”

Wise went on to meet with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he was introduced to the book Place-Based Community Engagement in Higher Education, which further broadened his thinking.

Suzy Diaz

Wise believed the Collective Impact model had significant merit for improved educational outcomes in Yakima County and that Heritage needed to be part of it.

“I knew Heritage could be the leader that was needed. And I knew Suzy Diaz, then the director of corporate and foundation relations at Heritage, was the right person to lead the backbone effort,” he said. “With more than 20 years experience working in health care, social services, academia and philanthropy in rural settings, she has a perspective on the challenges that face our communities and the assets that exist.”

In spring 2019, Wise and Diaz, along with Heritage President Andrew Sund, board member Ellen Wallach, and former board chair Steve Altmayer flew to Berea College in Kentucky to see its work in action.

“We are grateful to have Berea’s Partners for Education and their nearly 25 years of Collective Impact experience mentoring Heritage through this process. We share the rural lens, geographic challenges and need for resources. Of course, most importantly, we share the common goal of improving educational outcomes for our communities,” said Diaz.

Photo provided by Save the Children.

“We went on in-home visits where new parents and their children met with staff members from Save the Children, who help parents better understand the developmental and learning stages of their child by sharing ways to initiate learning through play, reading and everyday tasks. Parents asked questions about their children’s behavior and provided feedback on how their children are progressing through the learning period,” she said.

“We made classroom visits and saw how literacy supports are integrated into the student’s day.”

Berea College-Partners for Education became the model for Collective Impact in the Yakima Valley, and its team mentors for Heritage.

UP AND RUNNING

A year after that first “kitchen cabinet” meeting, Heritage was ready to begin formalizing Collective Impact. The University Board of Directors gave its full approval to move forward. Funding was secured through a $100,000 planning grant awarded to Heritage by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Save the Children came on formally as a major funder, through the support of the Balmer Group, for the first 15 months of the effort and as a planning and execution partner.

Shortly afterward, Diaz presented the cooperative concept to the Grandview School District. When she asked “Who else would benefit from this work?” those present nominated the communities of Mabton and Sunnyside. Given the proximity to Grandview, it was a natural fit to join with all three school districts and form cohort one of this process.

“We learned we were all naturally aligned with the purpose of this work,” said Diaz.

An official convening of partners took place in Grandview in January. There the school districts, partners working within the school districts, local agencies and other stakeholders began discussions about developing a mission, vision, structures, setting goals and implementing processes.

The initiative was officially up and running, with Heritage as the backbone of the Yakima Valley cradle- to-career education continuum.

Danielle Gettings, Grandview School District, makes notes during a group brainstorming session at the January meeting of the Collective Impact partners.

ORGANIZATIONS ALIGN

Key local partners in the Collective Impact undertaking in the Valley currently include the school districts of Grandview, Sunnyside and Mabton. Partnering organizations include social service providers, immigrant community providers, law enforcement, the private business sector, philanthropy, health services, higher education, civic-government organizations and Educational Service District 105.

“Within the Yakima Valley, there are 15 school districts including the Yakama Nation that we hope to partner with over time,” said Diaz. “Students often transfer between neighboring school districts, which is another reason to work together – so students can succeed through transitions.”

While Heritage University will serve as the backbone organization, two leadership bodies will guide the supports for this initial cohort and will be comprised of representatives within and outside the education sector, a key component of collective impact. Two advisory bodies will be composed of a cross-sector and countywide representation that will guide the administrative functions of this work.

“This process involves anyone who shares the belief that we can improve educational outcomes together,” said Diaz.

“The goal is that more children enter the school systems ready to learn and achieve the most significant milestones along the way, so that learning continues and it is more likely that each child will reach graduation prepared for college, persist in college and, ultimately, successfully enter a meaningful career,” said Wise.

“By taking this role, we can impact students’ well-being, whether they go to Harvard or Heritage or anywhere in between,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s about the good of all, and that’s why Heritage University exists.”

 

Great things can come from serendipitous moments. Collective Impact is a prime example.

Since its founding 100 years ago, Save the Children has changed the lives of more than 1 billion children in the United States and around the world, ensuring children grow up healthy, educated and safe. After years of working

in rural America, in Kentucky’s Appalachia region, they turned their attention to the Yakima Valley, focusing their efforts on children age zero through third grade. It was their initiative that led to Heritage’s introduction to Collective Impact, and their ongoing leadership and mentorship throughout the exploration and planning period that allowed Collective Impact to form and launch in 2020.

“There are many stops along the way when a child can be guided to achieve their highest educational capacity. We start with the question: ‘Who can improve education outcomes for children?’ The answer is everyone,” said Diaz. “It’s absolutely necessary that organizations that serve children and families collaborate to improve educational outcomes. It really does begin at birth.”

Cradle-to-Career is defined at each step along the continuum.

EARLY LEARNING: “It all begins with early, in-home learning,” Diaz said. “This work includes parent-educator coordinators who visit the homes of parents with children age zero to three to insure educational learning and developmental milestones are reached.”

PRE-K AND EARLY-EDUCATION SUPPORT: In- home learning and child development are followed by supports in high quality, early learning programs and centers to support kinder-readiness. From kindergarten to third grade, markers like reading and math are measured. Healthy socio-emotional development is also important and cultivated.

MIDDLE SCHOOL SUPPORT: This, said Diaz, requires support in attendance, math, science, reading and writing, along with continued supports for social and emotional health that serve to ensure successful transitions into high school.

HIGH SCHOOL AND POST-HIGH SCHOOL TRANSITIONS: In high school, the focus turns to ninth grade success, high school completion, college-readiness and post-high school transitions.

CAREER READINESS: Lastly, career readiness and success are measured by employment and wage-earning data, which help measure the economic vitality of an individual.

This Is a Woman’s World

When Kim Bellamy-Thompson went into law enforcement 36 years ago, she knew she was entering a man’s world.

Kim Bellamy-Thompson spent 23 years working as a police officer for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando, Florida

“You had to prove yourself,” said Bellamy- Thompson, chair of Heritage’s Criminal Justice program. It was Orange County, Florida, 1984. “I proved myself, and I went on to have a really meaningful career.”

When Sergeant First Class Syvilla Reynolds enlisted in the Army in 1989, she saw a similar challenge.

“I knew I had to work twice as hard and keep my nose to the grindstone, always driving for bigger and better things,” said Reynolds, who’s now in the physician assistant program at Heritage.

Thirty years later, Dawn Waheneka, an HU history major and Mellon Fellow, didn’t pay much attention to other people’s expectations. She entered the U.S. Navy to better herself.

“I grew from the experience, not knowing at the beginning how big it would be. I 100-percent bettered myself,” she said.

History major Dawn Waheneka constructs a wall framework for a new building at a military base in Afghanistan as part of her job as a Navy Seabee.

Times have changed for women in the military and law enforcement. There are fewer hurdles, the pay is good, career paths are solid, and there can be help with college tuition during or after service.

There are opportunities in these careers,
these women said. You do meaningful work. You overcome a myriad challenges. But most of all, you learn a lot about who you really are.

SKILLS FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Throughout her career in law enforcement, Bellamy-Thompson had many assignments. She was a patrol officer. She was a narcotics agent. She investigated white-collar crimes, sex crimes and elder abuse.

She wasn’t all about arresting people, “grabbing people and throwing them on the ground.” Although that’s what’s often seen on television and in social media today, it didn’t represent her experience, she said.

What was important to Bellamy-Thompson was making a difference in people’s lives. She did it every day when she helped someone in distress while on patrol, investigated her way to the truth about who committed a crime, or helped bring an offender to justice.

Sergeant First Class Syvilla Reynolds at Camp Najaf-Adair in Oregon doing medevac loading exercises on Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters.

“Mostly, law enforcement is really smart people making sound decisions to make the community a better place,” she said.

For Bellamy-Thompson, her desire to help people – what she calls providing good “customer service” on behalf of a community – was fulfilled in her law enforcement career. She brought her care, communication skills and professionalism to a job that needed it.

Bellamy-Thompson thinks women have ways of dealing with difficult situations that come naturally to them. When the issue is one of domestic violence or sexual abuse, for example, the ‘soft skills’ that women lead with help the victim and help find a resolution.

“Instead of showing up looking stoic and militaristic, I found women typically approach a problem with a desire to resolve things. We communicate our way through issues.”

U.S. ARMY ALLOWED MEDICAL PATH

Reynolds was the kind of kid who signed up for first aid classes at summer camp. She was the kid who dragged animals home and patched them up – whether they needed it or not.

Growing up in Poulsbo, Washington, Reynolds’s grandfather was a doctor, her brother an army medic. Her decision at age 18 to join the Army and work in the operating room seemed preordained.

After leaving her law enforcement career, Bellamy-Thompson came to Heritage to help other men and women prepare for careers in law and justice.

Her choice was an unorthodox one for a woman at the time, but Reynolds said the Army-medical path was the perfect one for her.

“It really is kind of like what you see on M*A*S*H— organized chaos. It gets your adrenaline pumping. I love that.”

While enlisted in the Army, Reynolds worked with elite Forward Surgical Teams (FSTs) for deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. She now serves one weekend a month in the reserves where she’s the company first sergeant of B Company, 396th Combat Support Hospital in Vancouver, Washington.

Reynolds and the teams she works with provide medical support for injured troops once they’re back in the States. She’s also responsible for
the training and management of soldiers on the operating team.

That’s a significant amount of responsibility, proving how much things have changed for women over Reynolds’s time in the service.

“In the ‘80s, women were almost always in support roles – administrative, supply, nursing. Today, we even have women going through ranger school. Rangers are trained in combat. They lead soldiers on difficult missions,” she said.

Dawn Waheneka traded camouflage for a book bag when she enrolled at Heritage after her military service.

JOINING THE NAVY TO SEE THE WORLD

Growing up on the Yakama reservation, the furthest Waheneka had ever ventured from home was Nevada. But, at age 17, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy. A few months later, she arrived in Spain on her first deployment.

Her second was to Afghanistan, her third split between Africa and Croatia, and her fourth Japan.

“I enlisted to better myself, and to see the world,” says Waheneka. “And I did both those things.”

As a Seabee, Waheneka’s team built complexes for U.S. Marines and roads for people in rural Afghanistan. In Africa, she was on a crew that built a maternity home for the women of a small village.

She is excited about the subject of female empowerment. She feels her personal growth through her Navy experience, combined with her Heritage education, gives her the skills to be able to help her people, especially girls and young women.

“I want to take what I’ve experienced and what I’ve learned and help Yakama youth develop a more positive sense of who they are.”

HU INTERNSHIPS START STUDENTS ON PATH

Today, women represent 15 percent of law enforcement professionals nationwide and 14 percent of active duty military. These organizations recognize the need to include women in their ranks and their leadership.

Clearly, said Bellamy-Thompson, there’s room for improvement in those numbers. But more and more, she said, both industries are working to ensure they more fully reflect the nation’s population. Bellamy-Thompson has found local agencies are very eager to create internships with the university, which has opened doors for female students.

Reynolds prepares surgical instrumentation prior to a case in the operating room.

Now, every semester, she places 10 Heritage students in internships. Their majors have included criminal justice, social work, psychology, even some of the sciences.

For 120 hours over the course of a semester, students have real-world experiences that give them a head start on the careers they’ll choose after graduation.

“I have students who are helping domestic violence victims get into shelters. There are some teaching citizenship classes as part of their internship. Often an intern moves around within the department, working with a patrol officer, then maybe in probation, then maybe in juvenile services. It all intertwines.

“One student was a biology major with a criminal justice minor who was interested in forensics. We got her an internship in the coroner’s office.”

Students who’ve had internships tend to find jobs more readily, said Bellamy-Thompson. The Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Washington State Patrol and Washington State Department of Corrections have all hired Heritage grads who worked internships.

Women like Waheneka, Bellamy-Thompson and Reynolds paved the road for younger women today. Where they go from there is all possibility.

Women Power!

Back in 1982 when Sr. Kathleen Ross, Violet Lumley Rau and Martha Yallup started Heritage University, they began something truly rare—a co-ed college founded by women, run by women, with classes taught by women. Back in the university’s early days, the proverbial glass ceiling was solidly in place over academia with women making up only 9% of college presidencies and 27% of the professoriate nationally.

While the role of women in higher education leadership has expanded in this country over the past 30 years, a significant gap between the genders remains, with 86% of university leadership and 75% of professors being male. However, it is a different story at Heritage. The university started by women continues to break the curve when it comes to female representation in the professoriate. Nearly 60% of the academic program chairs and half the full-time faculty at Heritage are women.

“I don’t find this too surprising for my generation,” said Dr. Melissa Hill, Heritage’s vice president of student affairs. “Diversity is a core value for our institution; that includes gender diversity. Keep in mind that our student body is overwhelmingly female—70% of our students are women. One of the benefits of having so many women in leadership positions is how they become role models for their students, many of whom have had limited exposure to the wide range of opportunities that are open to them as future college graduates.”

 

THE PATH FROM STUDENT TO PROFESSOR

For many of Heritage’s female faculty members, the memories of being a young woman filled with dreams and doubts are vividly etched in their minds. They can relate to students’ experiences juggling complex lives filled with multiple demands on top of the stress that comes from being a college student because they’ve been there. It is a common bond that helps faculty connect with their students’ and empowers students who see in their professors someone who’s been through similar situations, persisted and reached their goals. Mary James, one of the university’s longest-tenured faculty members who co-facilitates the Center for Intercultural Learning and Teaching and is the special assistant for logistics and evaluation recalls the challenges of being a young, professional woman in the early 1970s. It was a time of change for women; coming off the heels of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which banned discrimination based on sex and ethnicity, and the Title IX Education Amendments of 1972 that provided protections for women on college campuses.

“I remember applying for a car loan back in 1972 and being denied because I was of ‘child-bearing age,’” she said. “When I went back to college to earn my master’s degree in English, there wasn’t a single faculty member who was a woman in that department.”

James was determined to have a voice and to help build equity for all people. She joined women’s political movements and became a strategist. In 1984,  she led a campaign for a woman who was a long shot, an outsider running for superior court judge. She won! James built a political career in the Washington state capital of Olympia, lobbying for safety nets, such as domestic violence laws, to protect women. She was passionate about empowering young women, particularly those who were indigenous and immigrants. She wanted to have a more direct impact on individuals. James left her career in politics and joined Heritage.

“I never want to presume that I know what is best for our students. My job isn’t to tell them what to do with their lives,” she said. “I am here to help students grow their skills so that they can accomplish their goals.”

Dr. Christina Nyirati, director of Heritage’s Nursing Program, can relate to James’s experience of being a woman learning in a male-dominated environment. However, in her case, she found a mentor in Dr. Grayce Sills, then a giant in the field of psychiatric nursing who led the nursing program at The Ohio State University.

“Dr. Sills’ lessons were monumental for me because she was deliberate in her choice to mentor me,” said Nyirati.

She and Sills spoke often about the power differentials between women and men. At that time, men dominated medical schools while nursing was mainly made up of women. Many nurses were afraid of speaking up, and at times, felt implicit pressure to tell medical doctors, who were mostly men, what they wanted to hear rather than what the nurses understood from their experience and knowledge.

Those conversations and the lessons of perseverance and taking risks that she learned as she built her career stuck with Nyirati. She uses these today with her own students and is as intentional in her mentoring of young women as her mentor was those years ago.

“My students are my junior colleagues,” she said. “Just this week, a young nursing student came in to see me. She explained her self-doubt. I know what this woman is capable of! She asked me, ‘Do you think I can do this?’ I told her, ‘I will work as hard as you do on your behalf to support your success.’ They’ve not often had people who believe in them and tell them they can do it. It makes all the difference in their worlds.”

UNIVERSALLY GOOD

Women in academia aren’t just good for other women, said Hill, it benefits everyone.

“It’s about balance,” she said. “Our job is to provide a quality education that challenges all of our students and prepares them to be leaders in their communities after they graduate. The reality of our world is that we are a diverse network of people from many different genders, ethnicities, backgrounds and beliefs. We all bring different skills and talents to the table and we need everyone to be present, to have a voice, in order to thrive. We can’t do this if only one perspective, male or female, is represented.

“Do we need more women in higher education? Yes! Just like we need more women in leadership positions across every industry,” she said. “If we start in academia, where men and women learn to think critically and build their world view, we can affect change far beyond our classrooms.

Those conversations and the lessons of perseverance and taking risks that she learned as she built her career stuck with Nyirati. She uses these today with her own students and is as intentional in her mentoring of young women as her mentor was those years ago.

“My students are my junior colleagues,” she said. “Just this week, a young nursing student came in to need everyone to be present, to have a voice, in order to thrive. We can’t do this if only one perspective, male or female, is represented.

“Do we need more women in higher education? Yes! Just like we need more women in leadership positions across every industry,” she said. “If we start in academia, where men and women learn to think critically and build their world view, we can affect change far beyond our classrooms.”

Heritage University to implement distance learning in response to Coronavirus concerns

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage University to implement distance learning in response to Coronavirus concerns

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University is taking precautions to protect the health of its students, faculty and staff, their family members as well as the community beyond campus. Today Heritage President Dr. Andrew Sund announced protocols that follow closely the guidelines of the Yakima Health District, the Washington State Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control, to minimize the spread of the virus.

The first will be to extend Spring Break for undergraduate students through Sunday, March 22, 2020. There will be no classes the week beginning March 16, 2020. “During this time, we expect faculty and students to prepare to continue their programs using available online platforms, making other arrangements for distance learning or other mechanisms that maintain social distancing protocols,” said Dr. Sund.

Sund said beginning March 23, 2020, Heritage will deliver almost all instruction online for a two-week period through April 5, 2020. “Instructors will communicate with students electronically on how to obtain study materials, turn in assignments, and participate in a remote instruction environment,” he said.

Dr. Sund also announced all events taking place on campus between March 13, 2020, and April 30, 2020 will either be canceled or postponed. Decisions will be made whether to hold events scheduled for after April 30 as changing conditions warrant.

As a point of social responsibility, Dr. is strongly discouraging Heritage community members from traveling or attending events with large numbers of individuals. “We are taking these measures so that we may minimize the spread of the virus.”

For more information, contact Davidson Mance, media relations coordinator at (509) 969-6084 or Mance_D@heritage.edu.

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Heritage University to offer Master of Education in Reading which prepares teachers to help students overcome dyslexia and other reading disorders

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage University to offer Master of Education in Reading that will prepare teachers to help students overcome dyslexia and other reading disorders

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University is now offering a master’s and undergraduate degree, as well as a certificate program that prepares teachers to help students overcome dyslexia and other reading challenges. The Master of Education in Inclusive Education: Dyslexia, ESOL and Cultural Competence provides students with in-depth training  on the theories, practices, pedagogy and technology in the field of reading education.

Kari Terjeson, chair of the Department of Teacher Education, said the program was developed after educators and school administrators told her there was a great need for expertise in this field. According to Terjeson, “Candidates who complete the program will know  how to identify, evaluate and deliver specialized instruction to students who, for reasons of language barriers or learning disorders, are struggling to learn how to read and write.”

According to Terjeson, the M.Ed. in Reading degree program at Heritage was developed according to the Washington Educator Standards, along with the Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading from the International Dyslexia Association and the International Literacy Association. “Reading and writing are fundamental skills that all students need to build a lifetime of success, and this program will train teachers to help their students overcome their challenges and build their love of learning,” she said.

The flexibility of this master’s degree allows students to complete classes in on-campus lectures, online classes, and show competence in subject matter, which involves completing a portfolio assignment and an objective exam proving mastery. Students completing the program coursework or demonstrating proficiency and receive a passing score on the necessary Washington Educator Skills Test (WEST-E) and/or National Evaluation Series (NES) can earn endorsements in ELL/BLE and Reading, which qualifies them to teach reading across all grade levels within their area of concentration.  A Reading or ELL/BLE only endorsement option is available for teachers who already hold a master’s degree. Those completing the program will be able to demonstrate several learning outcomes, which ultimately act in the best interests of struggling readers and readers with dyslexia or other reading disorders.

The Master of Education in Reading program is open to current educators who hold a Bachelor of Arts in Education or a Bachelor of Education. For more information, contact Shari Foster at (509) 865-8623 or Foster_S@Heritage.edu, or Kari Terjeson at Terjeson_K@Heritage.edu. For interviews, contact Davidson Mance at (509) 969-6084 or Mance_D@Heritage.edu.

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Heritage University announces Fall 2019 Dean’s List

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage University announces Fall 2019 Dean’s List

Toppenish, Wash. – The following are students who earned a place on the Heritage University Dean’s List for the fall 2019 semester. To qualify for the Dean’s List, students must be full-time, matriculated undergraduates who have earned semester grade point averages of 3.5 or better.

Marisa Abarca-Perez, Kennewick Brisel Acuna, Yakima Gissell Aguilar, Sunnyside
Paulina Alcala, Yakima Deyci Alejandre, Toppenish Maritza Alvarez, Sunnyside
Yessyca Alvarez, Grandview Yanett Alvarez, Yakima Carmela Andrade, Mattawa
Eilee Andujo, Prosser Ana Aparicio, Yakima Adrian Araiza, Yakima
Rosalinda Arreola, Toppenish Hema Balderas, Wapato Yosi Barajas, Yakima
Michelle Barba, Union Gap Anjuli Barragan, Toppenish Maria Barrios, Union Gap
Grace Bennett, Kennewick Sulem Bernal, Sunnyside Alyson Blair, Kennewick
Jeanne Blakeman, Pasco Abigail Bravo, Sunnyside Chandler Brimley, Kennewick
Alyssa Buck, Mattawa Jesus Buenrostro, Yakima Ruben Bustamante, Toppenish
Daisy Bustamante Orduno, Granger Roma Cantu, Toppenish Jennifer Cantu, Prosser
Brooke Capetillo, Toppenish Jenny Careaga, West Richland Juan Castaneda, Toppenish
Marlene Castillo, Yakima Leslie Castillo, Sunnyside Andrea Ceja, Toppenish
Jocelyn Celis Torres, Wapato Kevin Cervantes, Pasco Jesus Cervantes Valencia, Yakima
Diana Chavez Cerda, Yakima Maria Ciriaco, Toppenish Noemi Cisneros, Wapato
Isaiah Cisneros, Toppenish Ana Cisneros Chavez, Sunnyside Karina Colin, Sunnyside
Yuliana Colin-Flores, Pasco Madison Contreras, Pasco Melissa Correa, Pasco
Esmeralda Correa, Pasco Guadalupe Cortes, Wapato Almarosa Cortez, Wapato
Estefani Cruz, Wapato Vanessa Cruz, Pasco Alondra Cruz-Valladares, Yakima
Ashley Davis, Naches Xavier Day, Toppenish Connie Delacruz, Yakima
Esperanza Delgado, Toppenish Katherine Di Biase, Kennewick Keila Diaz, Granger
Irvin Diaz Tapia, Yakima Ginger Dingus, Kennewick Chestina Dominguez, Toppenish
Amanda Donelson, Kennewick Ashley Douglas, Yakima Kaylee Drummond, Richland
McKenzie Durand, Yakima Taylor Ebbelaar, Grandview Amanda Epler-Alegria, Kennewick
Jocelyne Espinoza, Yakima Kaulin Everham, Kennewick Sandra Feria, Grandview
Krisana Fernandez, Sunnyside Artemio Flores, Toppenish Erick Flores, Toppenish
Julia Flores, Toppenish Zahira Flores Gaona, Yakima Luis Garcia, Outlook
Evelyn Garcia, Wapato Leticia Garcia, Granger Esmeralda Garcia, Wapato
Jose Garcia, Wapato Jacqueline Garcia-Hernandez, Outlook Marlenne Garibay, Sunnyside
Dorothy Garwood, Prosser Anahi Garza, Richland Rigoberto Garza, West Richland
Enedeo Garza-Ramirez, Toppenish Samantha Gilmore, Yakima Irwin Godinez-Cruz, Toppenish
Lesly Gomez, Yakima Tania Gomez, Pasco Carmen Gonzales, Toppenish
Anayeli Gonzalez, Othello Zoe Gonzalez, Prosser Mariah Gonzalez, Toppenish
Noe Gonzalez, Toppenish Sandra Gonzalez, Kennewick Heather Gooss, Yakima
Kamimsa Goudy, Toppenish Jason Grajales, Brownstown Heidy Granados Lopez, Kennewick
Steven Greenwald, Richland Anna Griffith, Kennewick Shelby Groth, Selah
Sonia Guerrero, Toppenish Yazmine Guido, Yakima Kaylyn Gunnier, Zillah
Alexis Guzman, Pasco Martha Guzman, Yakima Yuli Guzman, Yakima
Anayeli Hermoso-Sedano, Yakima Stephanie Hernandez, Wapato Lizbeth Hernandez Islas, Yakima
Maira Hernandez-Gonzalez, Sunnyside Paola Herrera, Kennewick Ruby Herrera, Sunnyside
Bethany Herring, Kennewick Pete Herron, Yakima Tracie Hicks, Kennewick
Christina Holland, Kennewick Samantha Horvath, Kennewick Nansi Iniguez, Zillah
Guadalupe Iniguez, Zillah Kaneeta Jeffery- Zack, Zillah Leonila Jimenez, Toppenish
Zuzeth Jimenez, Toppenish Samanta Jimenez, Pasco Irene Jimenez, Toppenish
David Juarez, Yakima Kathleen Kasper, Richland Ekman Kaur, Kennewick
Wendy Kleppin, West Richland Viktoriia Konko, Kennewick Valentyn Konko, Kennewick
Julia Korotkov, Richland Maria Lechuga, Wapato Shiraz Lefeber, Pasco
Ilse Leyva Manzanarez, Yakima Yovana Leyva-Carmona, Wapato Andres Lima Elias, Othello
Mark Litka, Richland Elvira Lopez, Toppenish Yezie Lopez-Perez, Yakima
Kassandra Luna, Union Gap Daisy Luna, Wapato Jennifer Macias, Toppenish
Yareli Madrigal Luna, Pasco Herminia Magdaleno, Yakima Yaritza Maravilla, Toppenish
Elisa Mariscal, Toppenish Natalie Martinez, Sunnyside Alondra Martinez, Wapato
Dulce Martinez, Sunnyside Daisy Martinez, Wapato Andrea Martinez-Santiago, Toppenish
MaKayla Mathews, Richland Christina Mattson, Richland Stephanie Maybee, Selah
Judit Medina, Kennewick Luis Medina, Zillah Kailyn Mendez, Yakima
Debbie Mendez, Yakima Miguel Mendoza, Toppenish Andrea Mendoza, Yakima
Yesenia Mendoza, Mattawa Guadalupe Mendoza, Umatilla Jazmin Mendoza, Pasco
Stephanie Mendoza, Mabton Valentin Mendoza, Grandview Juan Mendoza Mendoza, Yakima
Alondra Mendoza-Gomez, Pasco Diana Meraz, Tieton Cassandra Mercado, Kennewick
Celine Michael, Yakima Priscila Montiel, Yakima Brenda Montoya-Roman, Yakima
Payton Moore, Richland Shamira Moore, Yakima Elizabeth Moreno, Yakima
Gabriela Moreno, Toppenish James Muggli, Kennewick Diana Najera, Union Gap
Susana Naranjo, Yakima Joselin Navarrete, Yakima Guadalupe Navarro, Sunnyside
Carrington Nevard, Richland Edith Noriega, Sunnyside David Olden, Yakima
Arlene Olea, Sunnyside Meaghan Oliver, Richland Elizabeth Orozco, Grandview
Kitzely Ortega, Pasco Esther Osorio Rangel, Parker Liliana Padilla, Grandview
Joaquin Padilla, Toppenish Miguel Palma, Yakima Yerim Park, Yakima
Marlene Paz, Kennewick Yolanda Penaloza, Grandview Ana Perez, Pasco
Hunter Perez, Kennewick Eric Philipp-Petrick, Yakima Allison Platsman, Sunnyside
Angela Ponce, Zillah Ruby Prieto, Grandview Kristina Prikhodko, Kennewick
Hunter Pryse, Yakima Dennise Quebrado, Yakima Maria Quezada, Grandview
Blanca Quiroz Marin, Prescott Stephanie Rabanales, Sunnyside Adrian Ramirez, Toppenish
Alexandra Ramirez, Yakima Elizabeth Ramirez, Toppenish Stephanie Ramirez, Pasco
Viridiana Ramirez, Pasco Briceida Ramos, Grandview Olivia Ramos Alvarez, Kennewick
Rosa Rangel, Connell Anyssa Rebollero, Yakima Rocio Regis, Toppenish
Araceli Regis, Toppenish Karen Reyes, White Swan Gloria Reyes, Granger
Juan Carlos Reyes Francisco, Buena Anitramarina Reyna, Yakima Makenzie Richardson, Selah
Viviana Rico, Pasco Rosa Rios, Moxee Morgan Roberts, Kennewick
Adriana Rodriguez, Kennewick Marisol Rodriguez, Yakima Lizbeth Rodriguez, Wapato
Cassandra Rodriguez, Grandview Karina Rodriguez-Escalera, Yakima Monica Romero Castro, Grandview
Leidy Rosales, Pasco Eva Rosenow, Kennewick Rosario Ruiz, Yakima
Milca Ruiz M, Richland Ella Ryadinskiy, Kennewick Rhonda Ryan, Richland
Ana Saldana-Carrillo, West Richland Kathleen Sanchez, Toppenish Jenny Sanchez, Toppenish
Katellin Santiago, Toppenish Angelita Santillan, Pasco Aiyh Sarama, Sunnyside
Danielle Sauceda, Pasco Robert Schreiber, Yakima Delia Serna, Sunnyside
Karly Serrano, Yakima Ida Shock, Toppenish Gabriel Sillas Ramos, Grandview
Yanna Slutskaya, Kennewick Jeniya Slutskaya, Kennewick April Smith, Selah
Jacob Snell, Kennewick Daniela Solis, Yakima Diana Solorio, Granger
Gerardo Soto, Toppenish Maria Soto-Galvan, Yakima Miriam Soto-Guillen, Wapato
Cody Stamper, Pasco Anothony Stewart, Yakima Nathan Thompson, Yakima
LisaLyn Tormey, Yakima Maribel Torres, Richland Yanet Torres, Zillah
James Torres, Grandview Yoana Torres, Sunnyside Brayan Torres Gutierrez, Sunnyside
Daisy Vaca, Wapato Maria Vaca, Yakima Maria Valencia, Toppenish
Jazmin Valencia, Yakima Anakaren Valenzuela, Toppenish Jacquelyn Vargas, Yakima
Maria Vargas, Sunnyside Brenda Vasquez, Toppenish Teresita Vega, Yakima
Angelica Vela, Yakima Paola Villanueva, Sunnyside Alejandra Villasenor, Kennewick
Citlaly Villegas, Wapato Dawn Waheneka, Wapato Tori Wapsheli, Toppenish
Whisper Weber, Yakima Robyn Webster, Yakima Morgan White, Kennewick
Devin Williams, Kennewick Sara Wilz, Pasco Miranda Yale, Brownstown
Sonja Young, Kennewick Amarani Zamora-Portugal, Kennewick

 

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Heritage University announces a new director for its Tri-Cities branch campus at Columbia Basin College

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Martin Valadez

Heritage University announces a new director for its Tri-Cities branch campus at Columbia Basin College

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University President Dr. Andrew Sund has announced a new director for its Tri-Cities branch campus at Columbia Basin College. Beginning January 6, 2020, Martin Valadez, currently the Director of Workforce Education at Heritage, will lead the regional site.

The former director of the Tri-Cities operation, Dr. Marisol Rodriguez-Price had expressed a desire to return to the professorate within the College of Education. Dr. Sund saw this as an opportunity to make structural changes in the operation that would better align the CBC campus with the main campus in Toppenish. “Our regional site will be directed by an administrator reporting in the same chain as the Director of Admissions. This will allow for closer collaboration between Admissions and the regional site,” Sund said.

In announcing this administrative change, President Sund praised Rodriguez-Price for her excellent work over the last four years at CBC. “Heritage is grateful to Rodriguez-Price for her commitment to the Tri-Cities regional site.  She is an invaluable contributor to the Heritage University community and her dedication to the University’s mission is estimable,” said Dr. Sund.

Valadez will report to David Wise, the VP of Admissions, Marketing and Advancement; Valadez, Wise and Admissions Director Gabriel Pinon will form a team sharply focused on recruitment and admissions at the CBC campus where Heritage offers five Baccalaureate degrees: accounting, criminal justice, elementary education, psychology and social work, as well as a Master in Teaching graduate degree.

Valadez is exceptionally involved in both the academic and business communities in the Tri-Cities, where he has lived since 2006. Valadez has extensive higher education experience as both a professor and as an administrator. His most recent higher education work was at CBC where he served as a professor of history and intercultural studies and then as the Vice President for Diversity and Outreach. He also has strong business connections through his work as the former CEO of the CBC Foundation. Just this month, Valadez returned to the role of president of the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, where he has served in various roles for more than ten years. He is also Board Chair with Communities in Schools Benton-Franklin; a board and executive committee member with the Tri-Cities Economic Development Council (TRIDEC); a trustee and vice-chair for Mid-Columbia Libraries, and a member of the Washington State Complete Count Committee.

Valadez will continue his work in Workforce Education through a period of transition. Rodriguez-Price will transition back into the College of Education, where much of her work will continue to be in the Tri-Cities.

For more information, contact David Mance, Media Relations Coordinator at (509) 969-6084 or Mance_D@heritage.edu.

 

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Heritage students to pack food boxes for local families as part of “Pantry of Hope” campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage students to pack food boxes for local families as part of “Pantry of Hope” campaign

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University Enactus students will pack much-needed food boxes for 400 Yakima Valley families as part of the annual “Pantry of Hope” campaign. The boxing will take place Friday, December 13, 2019 in Smith Family Hall located in the Arts and Sciences Center at Heritage University in Toppenish. The boxes will contain perishable and non-perishable items and will be given to the families that participated in student-organized financial literacy events earlier this year.

Local media are invited to take pictures and video of the boxing process, which is scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m. and finish by 3:00 p.m.

To prepare for “Pantry of Hope,” Heritage Enactus students applied for corporate grants and worked with local grocery stores and businesses for food and other essentials. The students also worked with Lower Valley Credit Union to develop the financial literacy program that teaches families how to create and live on a budget.

The students have been holding “Pantry of Hope” for more than a dozen years. Over time, the program’s impact to help families in need during the winter months has caught the attention of other organizations. This year, the Yakima Housing Authority and Educational Service District 105 in Yakima reached out to Heritage Enactus to partner in providing short-term help to their clients.

“By offering financial education workshops and collecting food items, we have provided a pantry-filler for more than 3,000 families in the last decade,” said Heritage Enactus Director Dioselina Verduzco. “Communities all over the Yakima Valley have come to learn that the Pantry of Hope can give families the extra support they need during the winter months.”

The food boxes packed during “Pantry of Hope” will be picked up by the families on December 14 at several locations including Granger, Sunnyside, and Yakima. Also on December 14, select families will be picking up their boxes at Heritage as part of the “Winter Wonderland Family Event” taking place from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

For more information, contact Dioselina Verduzco at (509) 865-0419 or Enactus@Heritage.edu, or David Mance at (509) 969-6084 or Mance_D@Heritage.edu.

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Heritage University students work to create awareness of missing and murdered indigenous people, Yakima Herald-Republic, December 9, 2019

Steven Escalera points to photos from the Dec. 1 vigil at the Toppenish Community Center for missing and murdered indigenous people, displayed along with flyers about missing people / Tammy Ayer, Yakima Herald Republic

TOPPENISH — In making a class presentation on missing and murdered indigenous women on the Yakama reservation, Christen Hoptowit Rivera and two fellow Heritage University students wanted to raise awareness of the issue.

Read the full story at YakimaHerald.com.