Our History
IndigiGenius originated from a collaboration between the NeurIPS affinity group, Indigenous in AI, and the nonprofit organization, Natives in Tech, after they produced a summer program in 2022 called the Lakota AI Code Camp. This summer program was the catalyst that justified the need for a standalone organization to house the Lakota AI Code Camp in order to scale, but not just the camps were catalyzed. The increased demand for AI Code Camps exacerbated the need to increase the number of Indigenous instructors needed to scale camps to more Indigenous communities.
On October 21, 2022, IndigiGenius began as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in the state of Washington. The Lakota AI Code Camp’s original team of six now serve as the board of directors and Executive Director. LAICC was held for a second year in June 2023 and is considered the pilot program that brought this nonprofit organization recognition and success before inception. More programs, projects, participants, and partnerships will come from these program implementations.
Who We Are
IndigiGenius is an Indigenous-led team of data scientists, developers, and educators.
Board of Directors
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Michael Running Wolf (Lakota/Cheyenne)
CHAIR
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Mason Grimshaw (Lakota)
VICE CHAIR
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Ian Her Many Horses, PhD (Lakota)
SECRETARY
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Caroline Running Wolf (Crow/Swabian/Pikuni/Oglala/Winnebago)
TREASURER
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Elizabeth Starks (Shiwi/Diné)
MEMBER
Curriculum Committee
Staff
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Andrea Delgado-Olson (Northern Sierra Miwok)
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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Shawn Tsosie, PhD (Navajo/Little Shell)
APPLIED MACHINE LEARNING SCIENTIST
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Michelle Brown, PhD (Euskalduna/German)
PROGRAM MANAGER
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Amelia Napitupulu (Toba Batak/Manado)
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST