Governing Board Member At-Large Candidate

My name is Victoria Roanhorse. I am from Crownpoint, NM. I reside in Albuquerque, NM where I live, work, and play on unceded Tewa land. I am Navajo/Diné. My interest in serving on the NAEYC Governing Board is about bringing an Indigenous voice to the board. I served on the Affiliate Advisory Council in 2020 to 2023. I enjoyed my time learning from the council about the history of local affiliates and NAEYC’s organization as a whole.

I bring an Indigenous perspective, rural knowledge, and building community amongst early childhood professionals, families, and advocates. In my current position as a coalition coordinator, I am deep in local systems building in the early childhood community. I am learning about histories of places and culture outside of my Navajo upbringing.

I serve on the board of New Mexico’s local affiliate as the VP of Accreditation. In New Mexico, we are making great strides for our families and children’s futures through state legislative policies. However, in these great strides we are forgetting our workforce. We are asking our workforce to make leaps and bounds in their professional and educational qualifications. We are leaving behind our experienced workforce.

I would like to see NAEYC build a relationship with the Indigenous community outside of a few conference sessions and land acknowledgement. I feel that as an organization a bridge and ally could provide some guidance in this endeavor. I wish to be that bridge and ally.