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INTER-OFFICE MEMORANDUM August 12, 2026
TO: Klarissa J. Peña, President, City Council
FROM: Timothy M. Keller, Mayor
SUBJECT:
title
Mayor's appointment of Jodi L. Burshia to the Commission on American Indian and Alaska Native Affairs
body
I am submitting for your advice and consent the following name for appointment to the
Commission on American Indian and Alaska Native Affairs in accordance with the City
Albuquerque Ordinance 2-6-6-1.
APPOINTEE NAME
TERM
Jodi L. Burshia
Albuquerque, NM, 87110
October 1, 2029
Dr. Jodi Burshia is Laguna Pueblo and Diné on her mother's side, and Hunkpapa Lakota, Assiniboine, and Sioux on her father's side. She holds a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Arizona and earned her Ed.D. with distinction from the University of New Mexico in 2021, with a dissertation examining the experiences of previously incarcerated Indigenous students at tribal colleges. She has worked in classroom education since 2000, including positions at the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute and the University of New Mexico. Dr. Burshia currently serves as Assistant Professor of Indigenous Education in the Department of Teacher Education at New Mexico Highlands University, where she prepares future educators to teach in tribal and Indigenous community settings. Her service record includes board and advisory roles with the Gordon Bernell Charter School, the Fort Lewis College School of Education Advisory Council, and Sing Our Rivers Red. She is seeking to bring this background in Indigenous education and community engagement to the City of Albuquerque's work with Indigenous students and their families.
A resident of Council District 6, Jodi L. Burshia will be appointed on the Commission and serve as the Educational Representative; their first term will expire on October 1, 2029.
The remaining members are:
Representing
Name
Term
1.
All Pueblo Council of Governors
Va...
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