Board Member
Dr. Shelly Valdez is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna Tribe, located in central New Mexico, and of Hispanic descent.
Shelly’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education, a Master of Arts in Bilingual Education, and a Ph.D. in Multicultural Teacher Education focusing on research in the area of Science Education.
Shelly has worked in the area of education for 33+ years and currently owns and manages an educational consulting business, Native Pathways, (NaPs), located in central New Mexico.
An important component of NaPs is in the area of worldviews in science education, primarily focusing on indigenous science. Shelly’s interest and passion for indigenous science have influenced her approaches in the field of education, evaluation, and partnerships she works with.
Why Indigenous Science in education? Shelly grew up in a rich environment filled with learning from a cultural worldview and the outdoors.
Her father, the late Robert C. Valdez, was her mentor and her true teacher, in that he was able to take her school book learning to a deeper level. It was her father that helped her understand the connection of school learning to her own worldview, giving her a culturally rich community-based education.
This environment and the gifts of knowledge her father shared with her influenced her decision to pursue the field of education, and advocacy in cultural relevancy in education.
Shelly’s vision for the future is to continue to be an active participant and an advocate for influencing Worldviews in the evaluation and educational opportunities for indigenous people.