Kristen Talbert

Kristen is an enrolled member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate. She is the Program Manager for the Indigenous Leadership Academy at the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University.  She has fifteen years of non-profit, case management, data collection, teaching experience, and project and program planning. Her career has focused on the Indian Child Welfare Act and connecting American Indian families with resources to provide them with the best outcomes for success. She has previously served as a St. Paul Urban Representative for the Indian Child Welfare Advisory Council for the Minnesota Department of Human Services and as a member of the Indian Education Advisory Council for the Arizona Department of Education. She is currently a premier academic coach for the Native Forward Rising Native Graduates Program.  Kristen received her MBA with areas of emphasis in leadership and entrepreneurship, from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. She has a MA in K-12 Education with an area of emphasis in Indigenous language immersion from the University of St. Thomas and a BA in American Indian Studies- Dakota Language Track from the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities.