Leaders in Native Education

Designing community-led outreach that builds trust, strengthens networks, and sustains Native education leadership.

Client

Region 16 Comprehensive Center

Year

2023–2024

Services

Outreach Strategy
Messaging
Email Outreach
Writing & Editing

Event Materials
Video Production
Resource Design

Context

The Leaders in Native Education Convening (LNEC) brought together Native education leaders from Alaska, Oregon, and Washington to strengthen relationships, share knowledge, and advance culturally sustaining approaches to education.

Outreach for LNEC needed to do more than drive attendance—it needed to build trust, clearly signal who the space was for, and ensure communications aligned with the values and intent of the convening.

Strategy

Center Native leadership and sovereignty in all outreach.
Prioritize relational trust over broad visibility through thoughtful strategy and messaging.
Build a consistent communication cadence for sustained engagement.
Align communications, visuals, and storytelling to reflect Native sovereignty and cultural responsiveness.

Tactics

Lead email outreach, crafting relational messaging around awareness, intent, and calls to action.
Produce an impact video, gathering on-site testimonials and b-roll and crafting storyboard and graphics.
Design event and communications assets integrating the LNEC logo, designed by Tlingit artist Kaa Shaayí.
Write and design 12 resources synthesizing breakout discussions into actionable summaries across topics.

outcome

Outreach and communications grounded in trust, clarity, and shared purpose.

100% of participants reported deepened relationships with other Native education leaders across the region. Participants left with new resources, ideas, and relationships they could carry back into their communities, contributing to sustained collaboration, shared learning, and ongoing capacity-building.

Client

Alaska Department of Education & Early Development

My Roles

Directing, videography, storyboarding, editing, graphics, and post-production

Context

For years, Alaska ranked near or at the bottom among all states on national reading assessments, leading the Alaska State Board of Education to adopt Alaska’s Education Challenge in 2017, prioritizing early literacy to close opportunity gaps and improve student outcomes.

The Alaska Department of Education & Early Development launched a series of initiatives to equip educators with evidence-based literacy tools, including the Alaska Reads Act, annual Science of Reading Symposia, virtual and in-person professional development, and printed resources backed by the Science of Reading.

Though the 2024 symposium marked only the end of the first year of implementation, educators were already talking about their students' significant gains in reading.

Deliverables

I created a documentary-style video that captures the momentum of the Reads Act's first three years; informs parents, school boards, and community members of state literacy initiatives and developments; and compels state lawmakers to continue supporting these efforts.

I served as director/videographer for all interviews and b-roll, created the storyboard, edited and implemented post-production, and wrote and designed all graphics for this video. The video will be shown at future reading symposia, on the state senate floor, and at school board and PTA gatherings around the state.

Alaska's road to reading

Full length

five-minute spot

Client

Alaska Department of Education & Early Development

My Roles

Directing, videography, storyboarding, editing, graphics, and post-production

Context

For years, Alaska ranked near or at the bottom among all states on national reading assessments, leading the Alaska State Board of Education to adopt Alaska’s Education Challenge in 2017, prioritizing early literacy to close opportunity gaps and improve student outcomes.

The Alaska Department of Education & Early Development launched a series of initiatives to equip educators with evidence-based literacy tools, including the Alaska Reads Act, annual Science of Reading Symposia, virtual and in-person professional development, and printed resources backed by the Science of Reading.

Though the 2024 symposium marked only the end of the first year of implementation, educators were already talking about their students' significant gains in reading.

Deliverables

I created a documentary-style video that captures the momentum of the Reads Act's first three years; informs parents, school boards, and community members of state literacy initiatives and developments; and compels state lawmakers to continue supporting these efforts.

I served as director/videographer for all interviews and b-roll, created the storyboard, edited and implemented post-production, and wrote and designed all graphics for this video. The video will be shown at future reading symposia, on the state senate floor, and at school board and PTA gatherings around the state.

Alaska's road to reading

Full length

five-minute spot

Client

Alaska Department of Education & Early Development

My Roles

Directing, videography, storyboarding, editing, graphics, and post-production

Context

For years, Alaska ranked near or at the bottom among all states on national reading assessments, leading the Alaska State Board of Education to adopt Alaska’s Education Challenge in 2017, prioritizing early literacy to close opportunity gaps and improve student outcomes.

The Alaska Department of Education & Early Development launched a series of initiatives to equip educators with evidence-based literacy tools, including the Alaska Reads Act, annual Science of Reading Symposia, virtual and in-person professional development, and printed resources backed by the Science of Reading.

Though the 2024 symposium marked only the end of the first year of implementation, educators were already talking about their students' significant gains in reading.

Deliverables

I created a documentary-style video that captures the momentum of the Reads Act's first three years; informs parents, school boards, and community members of state literacy initiatives and developments; and compels state lawmakers to continue supporting these efforts.

I served as director/videographer for all interviews and b-roll, created the storyboard, edited and implemented post-production, and wrote and designed all graphics for this video. The video will be shown at future reading symposia, on the state senate floor, and at school board and PTA gatherings around the state.

Alaska's road to reading

Full length

five-minute spot

Client

Alaska Department of Education & Early Development

My Roles

Directing, videography, storyboarding, editing, graphics, and post-production

Context

For years, Alaska ranked near or at the bottom among all states on national reading assessments, leading the Alaska State Board of Education to adopt Alaska’s Education Challenge in 2017, prioritizing early literacy to close opportunity gaps and improve student outcomes.

The Alaska Department of Education & Early Development launched a series of initiatives to equip educators with evidence-based literacy tools, including the Alaska Reads Act, annual Science of Reading Symposia, virtual and in-person professional development, and printed resources backed by the Science of Reading.

Though the 2024 symposium marked only the end of the first year of implementation, educators were already talking about their students' significant gains in reading.

Deliverables

I created a documentary-style video that captures the momentum of the Reads Act's first three years; informs parents, school boards, and community members of state literacy initiatives and developments; and compels state lawmakers to continue supporting these efforts.

I served as director/videographer for all interviews and b-roll, created the storyboard, edited and implemented post-production, and wrote and designed all graphics for this video. The video will be shown at future reading symposia, on the state senate floor, and at school board and PTA gatherings around the state.