IEI Committee Members

  • Professor Al Bardi - Chair of the Indigenous Engagement Initiative

    • Al is on the faculty as an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology. He is trained as a Clinical Psychologist and spent five years working as a Tribal Psychologist for the San Carlos Apache of Arizona and the Passamaquoddy of Northern Maine. Al’s life has been enriched by that cultural connection, and he is motivated to help others bridge the gap between dominant culture and Indigenous culture. He has served as Chair for the Indigenous Engagement Initiative since 2022, organizing and implementing events aimed at bringing indigenous history and community to the area.

  • Sibby Anderson-Thompkins - Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    • Dr. Sibby Anderson-Thompkins acts as Sewanee's Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer. Dr. Anderson-Thompkins inaugurated the IEI committee in October of 2021 and subsequently housed the committee under the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Department. She began the committee with its primary purpose to create a land acknowledgement statement and has continued to provide support through the DEI office and mentorship to the committee as it has broadened its scope to multiple facets of Indigenous engagement. 

  • Dr. Lisa Reinhalter Burner - Associate Professor of Spanish

    • Dr. Burner specializes in Latin American literatures and cultures from the 19th century to the present. Her research and teaching examine cultural narratives about extractive economies, land, indigeneity, race, gender, and money, with a focus on Peru and Chile. Her upper-level courses include Race and Indigeneity in Latin America, Narratives of Environmental Justice in Latin America, and Latin American Women’s Voices. In 2013, she was awarded a Foreign Language Area Study Fellowship to study Quechua in Cusco, Peru.

  • Stephanie Colchado Kelley - Founder and Director of Growing Roots

    • Stephanie is the founder and director of Growing Roots, a nonprofit with the goal of increasing food access and community wellness on Tennessee’s South Cumberland Plateau. Stephanie holds over 10 years of experience serving nonprofits of varying sizes and scope. By her understanding, “the work we do on this earth has the ability to contribute to humanity's greater good.”

  •  Daniel Hull 

  • Elena Konradi - Canale Intern

    • Elena is a Senior Neuroscience major at Sewanee, with minors in Russian and Theatre. She joined IEI as an intern through Sewanee’s Bonner/Canale program in 2024. After studying abroad in New Zealand and taking classes on Indigenous Maori culture within governmental legislation, Elena became interested in the way Indigenous cultures in the U.S. are treated on an institutional level. 

  • Stuart Marshall - Visiting Assistant Professor of History

    • Stuart Marshall is a Visiting Assistant Professor of History. IEI has supported his research and classroom projects, including "Retracing the Bell Route: An Archive of Cherokee Removal," launched on Indigenous Peoples' Day, 2024. Marshall and his students also developed "Citizenship in Indian Country: 1924 and the Origins of Indigenous Civil Rights," launched in June 2024 on the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act. Ongoing project research in local Native history includes "Towards a Cherokee History of Fiery Gizzard." Marshall is currently working on his book manuscript, "The Age of Junaluska: Eastern Cherokee Sovereignty in the Long Civil War Era." Currently learning the Tsalagi language, he works closely with members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Cherokee Nation as a team member of Eastern Cherokee Histories in Translation (ECHT) and a member of the Tennessee Trail of Tears Association.

  • J.T. Michel - Post-Baccalaureate Fellow for the Sewanee Herbarium

    • J.T. recently graduated from Sewanee with a double major in Anthropology and Biology, with a concentration in Ecology and Biodiversity, and a minor in History. With a research fellowship in the Sewanee Herbarium, J.T. is continuing with post-baccalaureate opportunities on campus. He joined the IEI committee as a student and has continued to offer his participation and support to the committee post graduation.

  • Jocelyn Snider - Rev. Jocelyn Snider T'25, Candidate, Diocese of Montana

    • Rev. Jocelyn Snider is in her last year of studies at Sewanee’s School of Theology and recently celebrated her ordination to the Sacred Order of Deacons at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Rev. Snider joined the IEI Committee in 2024, taking over the role of organizing Sewanee’s Indigenous People’s Day from Myra Corcorran, who initially led IEI’s efforts to establish events for Indigenous People’s Day. 

  • Richard Tate - Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology

    • Richard Tate's research is at the intersection of environmental anthropology, geography, and ethnobotany. He is especially interested in human knowledge about plants and how landscape and lifestyle shape this vital interaction. Issues impacting indigenous peoples are central to many of the classes he teaches, including Anthropology and Environmental Justice, Ecological Anthropology, and Indigenous Plant Use. He was invited to join the IEI by sitting members.

  • Carl Forrester - SGA representative

    • Carl is a Sophomore undergraduate student at Sewanee. He is involved with multiple organizations on campus, including the Title IX Student Committee (STIX), the Student Government, where he serves as Communications Chair, and the Indigenous Engagement Initiative. He joined IEI as the SGA representative in 2024.

  • Christina Ulibarri 

    Contact information:
    Email: indigenous-engagement-initiative@sewanee.edu Instagram: @ieisewanee