Meet Our Staff
(she/her/asdzáá)
Email: felica@purdue.edu
Ya’at’ééh, shí éí Felica Ahasteen-Bryant yinishyé. Naashashí nishlíigo, Kinyaa’ánii báshíshchíín, Tódích’íi’nii dashicheigo, Nat’oh Dine’e Tachii’nii dashinálí. Ákót’éego Diné asdzání nishlí.
Felica Ahasteen-Bryant is the Director of the Native American Educational and Cultural Center. She has worked in the field of education for over 25 years with emphasis in student engagement and leadership, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and recruitment and retention of students.
Ahasteen-Bryant provides leadership for university-wide Native American initiatives at Purdue University which includes fostering an inclusive, learning environment for Purdue students at the NAECC. Under the Office of the Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging in the Office of the Provost, the NAECC serves as a "second home" for the Purdue community including Indigenous, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, an Pacific Islander students, faculty, staff and individuals from West Lafayette and Lafayette community. Ahasteen-Bryant as co-Principal Investigator (PI) for the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP) program and mentors Indigenous graduate students pursuing an advance degree in STEM disciplines. Additionally, she created the Tribal Immersion Program which provides cross-cultural learning experiences for Purdue students and she is co-PI for the Indigenous Womens Talking Circle, an initiative to provide academic, mental, physical, and spiritual support for Indigenous women as they navigate through their higher education journey.
Ahasteen-Bryant has elevated the visibility of Native American initiatives through her community advocacy and engagement. She was appointed by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb to serve as a Commissioner with the Indiana Native American Indian Affairs Commission (INAIAC), which is part of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, and currently chairs the INAIAC Education Committee. In July 2023, she was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Eiteljorg Museum and has an active role on the Strategic Planning Oversight and the Indian Market and Festival committees. Lastly, she has taken her love of plants and gardening to a new level, currently she is an Advance Master Gardener and actively involved with the Hamiton County Master Gardeners Association and serves as co-chair for the Community Outreach committee.
As a member of the Navajo (Diné) Nation, Ahasteen-Bryant was born and raised in New Mexico and she is from the Bear People, Towering House, Bitter Water, and Tobacco People clans. She received her bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University and master’s degree from Indiana University. She resides in Westfield, Indiana with her family.
Tiffany Lechuga
Administrative Assistant
Nils "Buster" Landin (Anishinabe/Tlingit)
Graduate Assistant
Leticia "Wyat" Cervantes (Iowa/Potawatomi)
Student Outreach Assistant
Alyssa Nez (Navajo)
Student Outreach Assistant
Joniyah Alford
Student Staff Assistant
Yash Burange
Student Staff Assistant
