Save the Date for the 2024 AISES National Conference

POSTED ON Jul 18, 2024

The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) has announced the 2024 AISES National Conference will take place October 3-5 in San Antonio, Texas.

The annual conference is a three-day event focusing on educational, professional, and workforce development for Indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific Islands in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) studies and careers.

Last year, AISES honored Navajo STEM Leader Marlene Watson as the 2023 Ely S. Parker Award winner at the AISES National Conference Closing Banquet.

Ely S. Parker is the first recognized Native American engineer and the award is the highest professional honor AISES confers.

Recipients of the award notably follow the example of Ely S. Parker, a 19th-century Seneca Nation chief who broke multiple racial barriers while establishing an enduring legacy that continues to inspire today’s Indigenous leaders.

Watson has had a distinguished and varied career spanning 38 years.

Currently a civil engineer with the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs, Watson leads a technical administrative team responsible for program and project management of the Tribal Transportation Program (TTP).

Beyond engineering, her background includes a list of diverse roles: training specialist, chaplain, architectural designer, civil designer, job captain, and project manager.

This versatile professional is trained in disaster management, homeland security, and emergency management and serves as a Brigade Chaplain with the Alaska State Defense Force, with the rank of Captain.

A principal focus for Watson at AISES has been professional and student chapter development, and she has extended herself as a Full Circle mentor.

She co-founded the first California AISES Professional Chapter in 1993, and when she relocated to Pasadena, Calif., she co-founded the Southern California AISES Professional Chapter and served as president.

A Sequoyah Fellow, she is a longtime AISES member who has demonstrated her commitment to the organization’s mission.

She held a seat on the Board of Directors from 1995 to 1997, helping to guide the AISES headquarters transition from Colorado to New Mexico.

She later filled other AISES roles, including chair of the Membership Committee and secretary of the Board of Directors from 2009 to 2010 and 2012 to 2015.

She also served on the Editorial Advisory Council for Winds of Change magazine, the premier AISES publication, and as vice president of AISES Publishing, Inc., from 2014 to 2015.

She has often assisted in coordinating and facilitating National Conference sessions for student advisors and as a presenter at National and Regional Conferences.

The Ely S. Parker Award is one of her many impressive honors, which include the Alaska Humanitarian Service Medal (2023), the Alaska Community Service Medal (2023), and the Alaska Native Commendation Medal (2019). Her list of awards reflects her strong leadership in serving others.