Faculty and Staff
Sapsik’ʷałá Program Co-Director, Principal Investigator and Faculty: Michelle Jacob, PhD (Yakama Nation)
Michelle M. Jacob is an enrolled member of the Yakama Nation and is Professor of Indigenous Studies and Co-Director of the Sapsik’ʷałá (Teacher) Education Program in the Department of Education Studies at the University of Oregon. Michelle also serves as Affiliated Faculty in the Department of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies, and Affiliated Faculty in the Environmental Studies Program. Michelle engages in scholarly and activist work that seeks to understand and work toward a holistic sense of health and well-being within Indigenous communities and among allies who wish to engage decolonization. Michelle’s personal website is: https://anahuymentoring.com/
Michelle’s books include: Yakama Rising: Indigenous Cultural Revitalization, Activism, and Healing, Indian Pilgrims: Indigenous Journeys of Activism and Healing with Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, On Indian Ground: A Return to Indigenous Knowledge-Generating Hope, Leadership and Sovereignty through Education in the Northwest (co-edited with Stephany RunningHawk Johnson), The Auntie Way: Stories Celebrating Kindness, Fierceness, and Creativity, Huckleberries and Coyotes: Lessons from Our More than Human Relations, Fox Doesn’t Wear a Watch: Lessons from Mother Nature’s Classroom, and Anakú Iwacha: Yakama Legends and Stories, Second Edition (co-edited with Virginia R. Beavert and Joana W. Jansen). Her most recent book is Birthday Gifts: Honoring People and Places We Love.
Michelle is a widely celebrated author and speaker engaging regional, national, and international audiences. She has numerous articles published in social science, education, and health science research journals, and has been awarded grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Spencer Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the National Science Foundation. Her research areas of interest include: Indigenous methodologies, spirituality, health, education, Indigenous feminisms, and decolonization. One of Michelle’s greatest joys is savoring the blessing of Nch’i-Wána (Columbia River) and her tributaries, including running and camping in beautiful places across the Columbia River basin.
Prior to joining the UO, Michelle served as Founding Director of the Center for Native Health & Culture at Heritage University on the Yakama Reservation, and as Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of San Diego.
Email: mjacob@uoregon.edu
Sapsik’ʷałá Program Co-Director, Principal Investigator and Faculty: Leilani Sabzalian, PhD (Alutiiq)
Leilani Sabzalian (Alutiiq), PhD, is an Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies in Education and Co-Director of the Sapsik’ʷałá Program at the University of Oregon. Her research focuses on creating spaces to support Indigenous self-determination in public schools and challenge colonialism in education curriculum, policy, and practice. She is also dedicated to improving Indigenous education in the state of Oregon by serving on the American Indian/Alaska Native State Advisory Committee, and collaborating with the Office of Indian Education in Oregon to design and implement professional development on Tribal History/Shared History, a law that mandates tribal history and sovereignty curriculum in all K-12 public schools in the state.
Leilani’s first book, Indigenous Children’s Survivance in Public Schools, uses storytelling to document the ways colonialism continues to shape educational policy and practice, and foster educators’ anticolonial literacy and commitment to supporting Indigenous students in public schools. Her latest book, Teaching Critically About Lewis and Clark: Challenging Dominant Narratives in K-12 Curriculum, co-authored with Drs. Alison Schmitke and Jeff Edmundson, complicates the Corps of Discovery and promotes students’ active and critical engagement with history.
Email: leilanis@uoregon.edu
Sapsik’ʷałá Program Coordinator: Haeyalyn R Muniz, EdD (Jicarilla Apache)
Haeyalyn Muniz (Jicarilla Apache), EdD is a PdD candidate in the Critical and Sociocultural Studies in Education Program and the Sapsik’ʷałá Teacher Education Program Coordinator at the University of Oregon. Haeyalyn worked as a Graduate Employee-Research Assistant with the Sapsik’ʷałá Teacher Preparation Program where she served as a mentor and program support with the Sapsik’ʷałá Program. She also collaborates with the Sapsik’ʷałá Grow Your Own program coordinator for mentor and student support. Before moving to Oregon, Haeyalyn worked as an Education Specialist with her tribe, focusing on community-based learning, educational policy, culture and language, community health and wellness, and college and career readiness. She served on the Board of Regents for the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, a tribal college in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Additional committee work included increased accessibility to services and support for gifted and talented Native American students, community development, and funding opportunities for health and wellness initiatives.
Email: sapsikwala@uoregon.edu
Business Manager: Teodoro Reyes-Ramirez
Teodoro is the Business Manager for the Sapsik’ʷałá Program. Teodoro received his Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Accounting from the University of Oregon and has worked at the University of Oregon in the College of Education since 2006. He is currently the Business Manager of two grant management units in the College of Education, the Center for Equity Promotion (CEQP) and the Oregon Science Education Laboratory (OESL). Teodoro brings his expertise in coordinating externally funded projects, business operations, and project management and has extensive experience in training grants, such as Sapsik’ʷałá.
Email: Treyesra@uoregon.edu
Graduate Employee: Kevin Simmons, MEd (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde)
Kevin in an enrolled member with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, a decedent of the Muckleshoot tribe of Washington. He currently works in child welfare and is an advocate for programs, services, and communities that strengthen tribal families through culturally based services and interventions. He is a fourth year PhD student at the University of Oregon with research interests in culturally based pedagogy, adaptations of evidence- based practices, and the utilization of culture and culturally responsive practices to impact western based outcomes for American Indian/Alaskan Native people, families, and communities. As a father of 5 children, Kevin believes his greatest achievements are centered on family (tilixam) life.
Kevin’s current work includes co-leading the implementation of the culturally informed practice of Motivational Interviewing (MI) within the social services units of the nine federally recognized tribes of Oregon. In this work, Kevin has collaborated with the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), University of Iowa’s Native Center for Behavioral Health, and the nine tribes of Oregon. He has also served on research teams with the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) developing a Student Success framework to be implemented at tribal colleges and universities.
Rena grew up Black/bi-racial on the traditional homelands of the Miami Nation in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A longtime Ethnic Studies teacher dedicated to challenging the marginalization of young people, Rena completed her DEd in Educational Leadership from UO in 2020. Currently, she co-facilitates a Community of Practice for educators teaching Black History with Leah Dunbar (lifetime teaching partner and identical twin sister) and supports Tribal History/Shared History curriculum implementation. Rena’s intention is that her time with Sapsik’ʷałá will deepen her ability to serve young people in ways that honor the connections between culturally accurate and aligned curricula, Black Liberation, Indigenous Sovereignty, healthy communities, and justice. She is honored to return to the Sapsik’ʷałá Teacher Education program to serve as coordinator for the Sapsik’ʷałá Grow Your Own (GYO) Future Teachers Program.
Email: gyo@uoregon.edu Phone: 541-346-0733
Graduate Employee: Jon Caponetto MEd (Burns Paiute Tribe)
Jon is an enrolled member of the Burns Paiute Tribe and is currently a 2nd year PhD student in the Critical and Sociocultural Studies in Education program. Jon taught high school music at Little Wound High School on the Pine Ridge Reservation from 2019-2021 before transitioning into a higher education student affairs career and research focus in the fall of 2021. He has worked as a Graduate Assistant for the Dornsife First Year Advising department where he was a Social Sciences minor advisor. Eventually, Jon transitioned into a full-time Undergraduate Academic Advisor for the Economics department at USC. Upon arriving at the UO, Jon was a Graduate Employee (GE) for the Education Studies Department in the UO College of Education and is beyond excited to be a GE for the Sapsik’ʷałá Teacher Education Program.
Jon graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Music Performance from the UO School of Music and Dance in 2019 where he performed in ensembles such as the Oregon Marching Band, UO Symphony Orchestra, the Oregon Jazz Ensemble, and was part of the Native American Student Union. In 2023, Jon graduated from the University of Southern California with a Master of Education in Educational Counseling where he participated in the Native American Student Assembly, played the tuba in the Trojan Marching Band, and played bass trombone in the Gay Freedom Band of Los Angeles. Jon’s Master’s Thesis is titled, Culturally Responsive Advising in Regards to Native American College Students.
Jon’s research interests focus on higher education student affairs, specifically with mentoring and advising students. He hopes to create research that benefits and makes the college-going process easier for BIPOC, first-generation, queer, nontraditional, and transfer college students.
Aside from school, Jon spends his time with his dog, Jimbo, finding new ways to stay active, video games, playing chess, and making music any chance he can get.