Our Founding Team
Ben Soce
Ben Soce is an Experiential and Outdoor Educator for the National Indian Youth Leadership Project. He received his Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts from the University of New Mexico in 2013 and has been with NIYLP since 2000. Throughout his NIYLP career, Ben has been Lead Facilitator and Coordinator for various positive youth development programs. He has worked with Elementary, Middle, & High School students. More recently, he expanded his proficiency with working with high risk youth in residential treatment centers and juvenile justice systems. His main area of expertise is incorporating and infusing culture and holistic health into his work with area young people.
Masika Sweetwyne
Masika is an enrolled member of the Zuni Tribe; bilingual in Zuni and English. She currently teaches at Gallup High School and has 6 years teaching experience in parochial and public schools on and off reservation. Masika is a licensed teacher in NM in Secondary and Middle Education with endorsements in English and Visual Arts. She received her Bachelors in English and Bachelors in Visual Art from Fort Lewis College and her Masters in Teaching English from Teachers College at Columbia University. She is also a founder of IndiGenius Exchange, an organization focused on designing curricula with indigenous communities.
Lane Towery
Lane is an educator by trade who now is working with community members in and around Gallup to organize support for and write a successful charter application for a new school committed to equitable and relevant indigenous education. Lane has three years of teaching experience, including two years at Mariano Lake Community School, a BIE school on the Navajo Nation. He has also served as an instructional coach for new teachers for two years. Lane hold a level I New Mexico teaching license in elementary education, earned a Bachelors degree in Political Science from Duke University, and expects a Masters in Elementary Education from UNM in Spring 2015. Lane completed a Rural School Leadership Academy fellowship in 2014 and is a current School Leadership Fellow with the NACA-Inspired Schools Network.
Ben Soce is an Experiential and Outdoor Educator for the National Indian Youth Leadership Project. He received his Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts from the University of New Mexico in 2013 and has been with NIYLP since 2000. Throughout his NIYLP career, Ben has been Lead Facilitator and Coordinator for various positive youth development programs. He has worked with Elementary, Middle, & High School students. More recently, he expanded his proficiency with working with high risk youth in residential treatment centers and juvenile justice systems. His main area of expertise is incorporating and infusing culture and holistic health into his work with area young people.
Masika Sweetwyne
Masika is an enrolled member of the Zuni Tribe; bilingual in Zuni and English. She currently teaches at Gallup High School and has 6 years teaching experience in parochial and public schools on and off reservation. Masika is a licensed teacher in NM in Secondary and Middle Education with endorsements in English and Visual Arts. She received her Bachelors in English and Bachelors in Visual Art from Fort Lewis College and her Masters in Teaching English from Teachers College at Columbia University. She is also a founder of IndiGenius Exchange, an organization focused on designing curricula with indigenous communities.
Lane Towery
Lane is an educator by trade who now is working with community members in and around Gallup to organize support for and write a successful charter application for a new school committed to equitable and relevant indigenous education. Lane has three years of teaching experience, including two years at Mariano Lake Community School, a BIE school on the Navajo Nation. He has also served as an instructional coach for new teachers for two years. Lane hold a level I New Mexico teaching license in elementary education, earned a Bachelors degree in Political Science from Duke University, and expects a Masters in Elementary Education from UNM in Spring 2015. Lane completed a Rural School Leadership Academy fellowship in 2014 and is a current School Leadership Fellow with the NACA-Inspired Schools Network.
Our Supporters
Mentor Organizations
University of New Mexico - Gallup National Indian Youth Leadership Project Big Brothers Big Sisters, Gallup branch |
Individual Supporters
Dr. Christopher Dyer, Executive Director of UNM-G The Honorable Edmund Yazzie, Navajo Nation Council Delegate Linda Garcia, Gallup City Councilwoman Sarah Piano, Executive Director Big Brothers Big Sisters |