Renee L. Cambiano

Renée L. Cambiano

Age and/or Generation: 47

Current Job(s): Professor of Education; Educational Foundations and Leadership, Chair; Master of Education in Teaching, Chair

Former Job(s): I have taught at the college level for the past 14 years. Prior to that I was a public school teacher and taught 8^th graders different courses in biology. I have been conducting some kind of research since 1983 in the areas of Fisheries, Solar Kilns, and Learning and Teaching.

Education and/or Training: B.S. Biology with a Fisheries emphasis; M.S. Instruction and Curriculum Leadership; Ed. D. Adult and Vocational Education; Dunn and Dunn Learning Styles Certification.

Greatest Professional Accomplishment: Well, this is a good question… I would say watching my students become better professional, growing in their discipline. The legacy I will leave behind will be those lives I touch… This is my greatest professional accomplishment.

“I may be here for a short while, gone tomorrow into oblivion or until the days come to take me away.

But, in whatever part you play, be remembered as part of a legacy...

of sharing dreams and changing humanity for the better. It's that legacy that never dies” 

Anonymous

 

Areas of Expertise: Learning Styles; Curriculum Development; Research Design;

Hometown: Born in Pomona California, raised in Tahlequah, OK.

Other Towns of Residence: Memphis, TN

Hobbies: My family and Traditions; Plants (it’s really an obsession); Collecting John Dewey first editions

The Role of Mentors in Your Life: I am very lucky because my life has been touched by many mentors. Rose and Ross Cambiano (my parents) who taught me to think differently and accept all.. Letha and Charles Smentana (janitors at my elementary school) who taught me to take the time for others, for you may be changing their lives forever…. Third, Mrs. Joyce Purdy (my high school art teacher) who taught me that it may not be the academic portion of school that keeps a child in school…. Dr. Jim Schooley (my advisor in college) who taught me the value of hands-on learning and relationship building….. Dr. Jack DeVore (my dissertation chair) who taught me that having a passion for what you do separates those who work and those who have a profession…. Now – I have many colleagues that continue to mentor me daily….

Favorite Quotation(s):

"True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students 

to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, 

encouraging them to create their own." 

Nikos Kazantzakis, poet and novelist (1883-1957).

“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. 

Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass.” 

Maya Angelou

“Were all instructors to realize that the quality of mental process, 

not the production of correct answers,

is the measure of educative growth something 

hardly less than a revolution in teaching would be worked.” 

John Dewey

“Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and 

the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results.”

 John Dewey

Andrea Ward

Age/Generation:  40

Current Job:  I have been at home for the past 7 yrs. raising my two sons.  I am starting back to work part-time this spring.

Former Jobs:  Speech Language Pathologist in various clinical and school settings

Education:  B.S., Speech Language Pathology, NSU
                   M.Ed., Speech Language Pathology, NSU

Greatest Professional Accomplishment:  Obtaining my M.Ed.
                                                                Relocating to North Carolina on my own to pursue a job
                                                                opportunity.

Areas of Expertise:  Pediatric speech and language development

Hometown:  Dewey, OK

Other Towns:  Tulsa, OK;  Fayetteville, NC;  Ormond Beach, FL

Family:  Married 10 years with two sons

Hobbies:  Reading, cooking, spending time on the water

Role of Mentors in Life:  My spirited grandmother, my resilient mother, and my inspirational twin sister have had a tremendous influence on me.  Female peers in professional settings have also been great mentors.

Favorite Quote:  Don't take yourself too seriously.

Libby Rogers

Age and/or Generation:  38

Current Job(s):  Director of Student Health Services, Family Nurse Practitioner

Former Job(s):  During high school and my undergraduate studies at NSU I worked at Walmart in the Health and Beauty department.  The next job I had was as the receptionist at Tahlequah City Hospital's Emergency Room.   As a Registered Nurse, I worked in the Emergency Room and Intensive Care Unit at both Tahlequah City Hospital and Hastings Indian Hospital.  

Education and/or Training:  BS in Chemistry, NSU;  BS in nursing, Langston University;  Master's of Nursing in Family Nurse Practitioner, Ball State University 

Greatest Professional Accomplishment:  Finishing my master's degree.

Areas of Expertise:  Health

Hometown:  Pryor, OK

Other Towns of Residence:   Tahlequah, OK

Family:  I am married and have a son.  We have 4 cats and 2 dogs. 

Hobbies:  Reading, yoga, being outdoors, cooking

The Role of Mentors in Your Life:  My first and most important mentor was my mother.  She role modeled working hard, setting goals, and not giving up.  She showed and taught me that if something/someone is blocking my way find a different path around.    

Favorite Quotation:  ' The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life."-- B.K.S. Iyenger

Patti D. Buhl

Age: 40 something...
Job: Director of Public Safety, NSU
Former Job: I have been in Law Enforcement since 1994
Education and/or Training: I have both a Bachelor and Masters Degree from NSU.
Greatest Professional Accomplishment: I am a graduate of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Indian Police Academy, Class 101. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done but also one of the most rewarding.
Hometown: Tahlequah most of my life with a 6 year stint in OKC just after undergrad
Hobbies: Spending time with my son, reading, snow skiing, hiking
Role of Mentors in my Life: I come from a long line of very strong, independent women. They have all served as great mentors in my life.
Quotes:  We gain strength, courage and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face..we must do that which we think we cannot.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Juli R. Skinner

Age and/or Generation: 35 years and I am Generation X

Current Job(s): I currently work for Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health as a Program Manager for Project LAUNCH

Former Job(s): I worked previously for Cherokee Nation Indian Child Welfare for 13 years.  

Education and/or Training: I graduated from Ponca City High School in 1995. I received my Associates Degree from Northern Oklahoma College in 1997. I received my Bachelor's in Psychology from Northeastern State University in 1999.  I received my Master's in Social Work from the University of Oklahoma May 2012.  My area of concentration in Social Work was Administrative Community Practice (Macro Social Work). 

Greatest Professional Accomplishment: I received the youth care worker of the year from the National Resource Center in 2009 during my employment working in Indian Child Welfare.  I received an award from the University of Oklahoma as the Outstanding Administrative Community Practice Graduate.  

Areas of Expertise: I love Social Work and working with communities.  I have 13 years experience working with children and families involved in the child welfare system. I also worked with teenagers involved in independent living skills. 

Hometown: Ponca City, OK 

Other Towns of Residence: Tahlequah, OK 

Hobbies: My hobbies include running, reading, sewing, bowling, tennis and hiking!

The Role of Mentors in Your Life: The mentors in my life have given me inspiration and guidance. My mother was my first mentor. She is a social worker and inspired me to work in the profession. My second mentor is also a social worker who inspired me to learn! They both gave me support and encouragement in my work life as well as educational life.  

Favorite Quotation: "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."   - Anne Frank 

Dana S. Boren-Boer

Age/ Generation: 40, Generation X

Current Job: Instructor of Media Studies, Northeastern State University

Former Jobs: University Marketing Coordinator, Northeastern State University.
Owner/President, American Traditions Clothing Co.,

Education/Training: B.S. Marketing, Metropolitan State College, Denver.  MBA, NSU

Greatest Professional Accomplishment:  Moving over to full-time faculty.

Areas of Expertise: Marketing, advertising, sales

Hometown: Broken Arrow, OK

Other Towns of Residence: Bennett, Co., Tahlequah

Family: Single mom of an amazing 10 year old son.  I have three brothers and now,  two beautiful sister-in-laws. I have been blessed with two wonderful parents.

Hobbies:  Kayaking (I teach kids kayaking camps in the summer), Hiking, Bicycling, anything outdoors.

The Role of Mentors in Your Life: My love for marketing came from my high school DECA teacher.  She inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and to believe in myself.  I looked up to all strong, self motivated women whether they were on television or somehow placed in my path.  I learned long ago there is nothing I cannot accomplish if I believe in myself and work hard.  I now try to recognize passion in my students or friends and fill them with hope for their own future.

Favorite Quotation:  "I do the very best that I know how- the very best that I can; and mean to keep doing so until the end" ~Abraham Lincoln.

Chrissi Ross NImmo

Age and/or Generation:  32, Right on the line between X and Y

Current Job(s):  Assistant Attorney General, Cherokee Nation

Former Job(s):  Educational Development (fundraising) at NSU and TU, Volunteer Coordinator and Office Manager, Hospice of Muskogee

Education and/or Training:  B.A. Developmental Psychology, NSU; M.B.A., NSU; J.D., University of Tulsa College of Law

Greatest Professional Accomplishment:  Oral Argument before the 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Areas of Expertise:  Indian Law

Hometown:  Warner, OK

Other Towns of Residence:  Muskogee, Tulsa, Tahlequah

Family:  Married almost 11 years, 1 cat, 1 dog, and a brand new niece

Hobbies:   Live Music, Reading, Antique/junk shopping, Anything on the water, Watching cooking shows and occasionally trying the recipes.

The Role of Mentors in Your Life:  The legal field, especially litigation, is still very much a male dominated world. I have been very fortunate from the time I started law school through today to have female attorneys who were not only great at their jobs but willing give advice and lend their expertise. Sometimes just being able to talk to someone who has “been there” is a huge help.

Favorite Quotation:  "Let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry...have too much to eat. Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me be sincere-be deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost." - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn