The Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP) appointed Dr. Michele Yatchmeneff as Chief Operating Officer. An ANSEP alumnus and the only Alaska Native with a doctoral degree in engineering education, Yatchmeneff will work alongside ANSEP Executive Director Matt Calhoun to further expand the program’s impact.
Yatchmeneff was previously ANSEP’s assistant director before becoming UAA’s executive director of Alaska Native Education and Outreach in 2021. Yatchmeneff will continue her work as a professor at UAA, where she is an active member of the chancellor’s cabinet, contributing to the Alaska Native Success Initiative.
An Unangax̂ from King Cove and False Pass, Yatchmeneff earned both her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and master’s degree in engineering management from UAA. After becoming the first Alaska Native woman to teach in UAA’s College of Engineering, she earned her doctorate in engineering education from Purdue University, and she remains the only Alaska Native in the world with this distinction.
Calhoun was her doctoral classmate. “Michele and I have been friends and colleagues for a long time, and I’ve seen firsthand how dedicated she is to helping students succeed,” Calhoun says. “It’s not just about teaching technical skills; it’s about helping students build the confidence to see themselves as college students and future leaders. With Michele stepping into the COO role at ANSEP while continuing in other roles at UAA, her influence is going to reach even further. I know there is an even brighter future ahead for ANSEP and its students with Michele involved.”
Yatchmeneff has earned numerous distinctions throughout her career. As a student at UAA, she was both an ANSEP and a National Science Foundation Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation scholar. She later received the prestigious NSF CAREER Award for her work on “Alaska Native Belonging in High School Math and Science Classrooms,” marking the first and only NSF CAREER Award granted at UAA until 2023. Additionally, she is a recipient of the Dr. Henrietta Mann Leadership Award, which honors Native leaders who demonstrate outstanding commitment to advancing Indigenous communities and the development of future leaders.
Yatchmeneff says, “I believe in the power of education to create change in our communities, and I know ANSEP students are going to be leading that change in our state. I am proud to grow my role at UAA and officially join the ANSEP team as we work to bring unmatched educational opportunities to Alaskans and to expand those opportunities to new students and new places.”
Part of the University of Alaska system, ANSEP’s sequential academic model begins in kindergarten and continues through high school and into undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs, helping students succeed at rates far exceeding national numbers.
This article was originally published by Alaska Business. Read the original article here.
