Curriculum Vitae

University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs 

301 19th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55455 

Master of Public Policy candidate, 2022 

Social Policy and Tribal Relations concentration, American Indian and Indigenous Studies minor  

Hamline University, 2019 magna cum laude  

1536 Hewitt Ave. Saint Paul, MN, 55104 

Bachelor of Arts, Sociology  

Bachelor of Arts, Women’s Studies  

Century College, 2016 magna cum laude 

3300 Century Ave. White Bear Lake, MN, 55110  

Associate of Arts 

Certificate in Gender Studies 

Certificate in Creative Writing emphasis in Nonfiction and Multimedia  

Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Fluent use in Microsoft Office; Google Analytics; WordPress; Excel. Budgeting and organizational management. Mixed-methods research skills including: regression analysis using STATA; quantitative analyses using SPSS; PhotoVoice; web-based survey design and implementation; interview techniques including Google Forms, Survey Monkey, Qualtrics, in-person and web-based focus groups; basic ARCGIS; Story Mapping; open-coding qualitative analysis using grounded theory. 

October 2021 – Present

Program Evaluator, FoodRx, Little Earth United Tribes 

Design and implementation of Indigenous evaluation tools and processes for new intergenerational food sovereignty program designed to ameliorate food insecurity and lower A1C levels in elders with Type 2 diabetes through Indigenous practices. 

March 2020 – Present  

Research Assistant, American Indian and Tribal Nations Relationships, Office of Native American Affairs, University of Minnesota  System, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  

Work in the Office of Equity and Inclusion to devise strategies, analyze policies, and build a task force of University and Tribal representatives to contribute to an historic truth telling report. Research programs, pedagogy, and materials to support the design of new educational programs. Engage with Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and tribal nations to ensure  programs meet Tribal needs through in-person engagement at meetings and on reservations. Develop policies to help the  university improve its relationships with tribal nations. Engage with Tribal citizens to draft proposed legislation. Successfully wrote for more than $300,000 in grants to fund TRUTH (Towards Recognition and University-Tribal Healing), a  first-of-its-kind joint project between the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and UMN that sub-awards funding to the 11 recognized Tribal Nations with whom Minnesota shares geography so they may tell the history of University-Tribal relations in their own words.. Lead project coordinator with Center for Urban and Regional Affairs Resilient Community Fellows TRUTH economic analysis. 

Sep 2020 – Jun 2021

Teaching Assistant, American Indian Studies, Scott Hall, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  

Working with Dr. Christine DeLisle, AMIN 1002/POLS 1019: Indigenous People in a Global Perspective. Assist in grading, teaching, technology.

May – August 2020 

Summer LATIS Research Assistant, Scott Hall, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  

Worked as a conduit between Liberal Arts Technologies and Innovation Services and American, American Indian, and  Chicano/Latina Studies to assist students with accessibility issues (i.e. educational equity in online learning  environments) and help create assignments that build engagement and community in our largest enrolling courses :  AMIN 1003, CHIC 1102/H, and AMST 2031 (for ~1400 students). Moreover, my focus was on serving the high  proportion of first-generation and working-class students of color who enroll in these classes and who face particular  obstacles to success in online education by creating synchronous/asynchronous options and tools appropriate to a  curriculum focused on race, indigeneity, gender and sexuality. First, most classes are synchronous based, but classes  must be prepared to meet the needs of students with connectivity issues and international students in very different time  zones. Creating options for asynchronous learning options will ensure that these students will receive the learning  experience to which they are entitled. Second, our curriculum necessarily places students in situations where they must  discuss controversial issues of inequity, injustice, and power in the context of a Predominantly White Institution (PWI).  Creating a space where students can do this, participate in discussions, and learn is difficult enough in a classroom  where an instructor can provide guidance, read the non-verbal cues, and mitigate student resistance to diversity  materials. It is even more difficult online. 

August 2019 – May 2020 

Research Assistant, Office of the Dean, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Minneapolis MN.  

Worked with Dean Laura Bloomberg to launch a search to recruit a nationwide committee for the 2020 NAPA Social  Equity Leadership Conference, June 11—12, 2020. Facilitated committee meetings. Managed the proposal submission  and review processes. Worked to devise strategies to shift to an online format in light of COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.  

January 2019 – June 2019 

Capitol Pathways Policy Assistant, Second Harvest Heartland, St. Paul, Minnesota. 

In this internship through the Citizen’s League, I worked directly with the Manager of Applied Research and Public  Policy and designated lobbyists to progress key legislation related to hunger relief. Duties included: attending regular  committee hearings; taking notes during meetings; sitting in on conference calls; research and track bills; summarize  bills; direct lobbying at House and Senate for legislative support; interdepartmental, interagency opportunities with  other professionals working in policy; assisting in coordinating meetings and events; writing blogs and acting as social  media ambassador for Second Harvest Heartland. I took part in monthly training sessions with Citizen’s League staff  and community partners focused on equity and inclusion for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in legislative  processes.  

January 2017 – May 2019 

Co-Founder, Feed Your Brain Campaign, Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Employed a means-end analysis to gauge the need for a student food pantry via campus-wide survey administered  every semester. Grant writer for pop-up food pantry. Adapted existing quantitative and qualitative methodologies into  an online format to measure food insecurity to gauge need among institutionally under-resourced students on campus.  Developed and administered annual survey instruments for ~2,100 undergraduates. Analyzed, assessed, and interpreted data using SPSS, R, and open coding methodology. Co-authored several findings, reports and policy analyses. Built partnerships on and off campus to formulate and test solutions. Successful grant writing and management of funds to organize a pop-up food  pantry that distributes 1500 lbs. of food to approximately 200 students monthly. Advocated for campus poverty awareness. Negotiated sustainable food justice policies on campus that centered food sovereignty.  

January 2015 – May 2019 

Poverty 101. Research consultant, motivational speaker, and poverty awareness coach. St. Paul, Minnesota.  Dynamic one-on-one mentoring for students living in the crises of poverty seeking upward mobility. Evaluate, assess,  and summarily report on organizational policies and practices with an intersectional, justice-focused lens to create  systemic change and better help students living in the crises of poverty. Consult with institutions, fusing training and  culture-shift to build systems without borders. Partners have included: Century College Resource and Support Center;  Century College Opportunity Community; Saint Cloud Community and Technical College; Minnesota State  Chancellor, Board of Trustees with Dr. Donna M. Beegle of Communication Across Barriers; Hamline University.  

August - December 2018  

Curriculum Development Assistant, Women’s Studies Department, Hamline University St. Paul, Minnesota.  I researched current trends in Women's Studies, Environmental Justice, Sustainability, and Critical Studies pedagogy to  create a curriculum that would challenge institutional hegemony and traditionally valued pedagogical practices to  center Indigenous research methods and student activism. This included reviewing institutional and departmental requirements of Research Seminar and prior course evaluations, as well as conducting informal interviews with past  participants in core courses. Reviewed web-based syllabi and pedagogical practices for interdisciplinary, intersectional, justice-focused research seminars. Scanned potential texts which would build students’ research skills. Developed a list  of additional readings to challenge dominant social understandings. Used information gathered to prepare syllabus and  lessons to implement an intersectional curriculum for WSTD 5900: Senior Research Seminar which was piloted during  the Spring 2019 semester. 

February - May 2018  

Student Research Partner, Family Tree Clinic-Hamline University Health Equity Initiative, St. Paul, Minnesota. Member of a 16-person team conducting a collaborative, community-based participatory research project to gather staff  and patient satisfaction with clinic policies, procedures and mission at a local trans health clinic. We used Health  Equity, Reproductive Justice, Queer, and Crip pedagogy and theory to blend multiple modes of data capture and  understand our experience. Multiple forms of methodology were adapted for this project, including participant  observation, informal interviews, focus groups and PhotoVoice methodologies. Analysis and interpretation of  qualitative data sources summarized in a 56-page narrative report. Results were presented at end of the semester public  gala to showcase PhotoVoice images.  

February - June 2017  

Poverty Coach, Sustainability Department, Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Worked campus-wide to break the stereotypes and stigma associated with poverty. Engaged student organizations to  add poverty training components to events. Advocated for food and housing insecure students through transformative  educational programming. Developed a Google site to share research practices and launch the first of three phases in  addressing food insecurity on campus that promoted a three-pronged approach of awareness, advocacy, and action. 

September - December 2017  

Teaching Assistant, Public Health Department, Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Co-designed and facilitated PBHL 5400 - Special Topics in Health Sciences Health and the Environment, a  Public Health course with Dr. Susi Keefe. Led 22 students through the practical application of theories surrounding  food insecurity among multicultural communities. This course focused on intersectional and systemic causes of poverty  and food insecurity, with students leading weekly food and chat events for the campus community.  

September - December 2017  

Program Coordinator, Century Girls Who Code, Century College, White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

Recruitment and logistics for a program designed to teach coding skills to self-identified girls who may not otherwise  have the chance. Coordinated outreach with 36 metro high schools to engage interested students. Co-developed equity focused training for course instructor.  

May - August 2017  

Opportunity Community Intern, Office of the Vice President of Student Services and Enrollment Management, Century  College, White Bear Lake, Minnesota. 

Recruited, mentored, and trained members of the local community at large on poverty awareness. Facilitated  Communication Across Barriers training to build a poverty-informed mentorship program with 50 retired professionals  from the greater community. Engaged local partners and donors through events with high-profile speakers. Used qualitative research methods to identify barriers to personal and institutional transformation in the context of the  college's evolution to become an equity-literate community.  

January - May 2017  

Research and Development Specialist, Century College Resource and Support Center, White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Analyzed qualitative and quantitative data to determine best practices for helping students meet non-academic needs.  Assisted Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Services to institute an Opportunity College model,  increase retention, student success, in an effort to close racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps.  

April 2014 - May 2016  

Editor in Chief, The Century Times News Magazine, Century College, White Bear Lake, Minnesota. I began as a staff writer for a newspaper and quickly became Editor in Chief, leading a team of 30 students during a  transition from a 10-page newspaper to an award-winning 30-page news magazine focused on students and social  justice. Led acquisition, writing, editing, and layout processes for publication printed twice per semester. Led the  development of a new website to archive issues from both newspaper and magazine. Worked to develop and manage social media presence. Worked closely with advisors to develop training and handbooks. Trained staff in writing, copy  editing, and design procedures; communicated across campus as an interdepartmental liaison to recruit, train, promote,  and advertise.  

July 2015 - May 2016  

Partnership Development Assistant, Century College, White Bear Lake, Minnesota. 

Developed and facilitated web-based curriculum for intersectional, equity-focused poverty competency training for student employees and interns in the Resource and Support Center. Developed partnerships in the surrounding  communities to help institutionally underserved students, gathered resources for a new resource center on campus.  Helped manage the internet database and physical location to house resources.  

October 2020- May 2021

Search committee for a tenure-track professor in American Indian Studies, UMN-TC.

Served as a graduate student representative on a successful search committee that resulted in the hiring of two tenure-track faculty positions.

August 2019-May 2020

Humphrey Public Affairs Review Board. 

Gather and peer review papers for publishing in a student-run public affairs journal. 

January 2017 – June 2019  

Steering Committee Member, Campus Food Resource Center, Hamline University. 

October 2015 - May 2016  

Student Representative, Century and the Community Committee, Century College.  

Members of this board worked to decrease stigma around accessing resources such as housing, food, and social services, deepen partnerships with members and organizations in the surrounding communities, and develop a resource center for students.  

July 2015 - May 2016  

Member, Resource Center Committee, Century College, MN  

Researched the need, developed partnerships, and devised strategies to open a resource center on campus. 

2015  

Coordinator and Co-host, LGBTQ Homeless Youth Panel, Century College, MN 

With Karolyn Britton and Nico Van Ostrand, Researched issues surrounding homelessness among LGBTQ youth for  Intro to LGBT class in spring 2015, expanding upon the final project, planned and hosted a panel of local advocates,  October 13.  

2014 - 2015  

Member, Social Change Club, Century College, MN  

Discussion and activism around social justice, including racial inequality and poverty on campus.  Member, Queer and Straight Club, Century College, MN Discuss issues and activism within the LGBTQ community.  

2021

Panelist, Hidden Voices, Prison Writers, Indigenous Feminisms, Transnational Solidarities. Discussion moderated by Dr. Patricia Darling, with Dr. Wendy Brown-Baez, Dawn Griiwedinanug Peel, and  Louise K. Waakaa’igan (Karol Louise House). Sept. 27.

Panelist, The Impact of Housing and Food Insecurity on Students. Discussion with Dr. Susi Keefe, Katherine Desantis, Parisa Rouzegar, Natalie Jacobson, and Priscilla Mayowa. Minnesota Office of Higher Education, Feb. 24. 

Facilitator, From Landgrab to Landback: Reconciling Sustainable Indigenous Futurisms Through Truth Telling with Tribal Nations at SELFSustain. With Ben Yawakie and Laura Paynter. Develop and facilitate a virtual conference on indigeneity, community & sustainability at University of Minnesota-Crookston for 100 sustainability students and faculty from across five UMN campuses, as well as Tribal Colleges and community members. April 15. 

2020

Presenter, Here and Now: Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC) Memo Sets Forth Priorities for the UMN. With Ben Yawakie and Laura Paynter. Institute on the Environment annual meeting. Sept. 25.

Presenter, Food Security as Sexual Violence Prevention. Presentation on research from Feed Your Brain, Hamline University with Dr. Susi Keefe, Dr. Jen England, Sam Schmitt, and Emma Kiley. Sexual Violence Prevention Network. August 14. 

Consultant, Food Security as Sexual Violence Prevention, consultation to Sen. Tina Smith with Dr. Susi Keefe, Dr. Jen England, Sam Schmitt, and Emma Kiley. September 1. 

2018  

Presenter, Midwest Sociological Society Annual Conference Sociology and the Public’s Health. Hyatt Regency,  Minneapolis, MN. Roundtable: College: Getting There, Staying There and What Happens There. Paper title: Basic  Needs Insecurity Among Cash-Poor College Students. March 24. 

2017  

Presenter, National Women’s Studies Association Conference. Hilton, Baltimore Convention Center. Panel: Cash Poor  or Incarcerated: Movement Building Via Transformative Praxis. Paper title: Back to Basics: A Much-Needed  Transformation in Higher Education. November 18. 

Presenter, Two Year College Association Conference. Saint Paul Hotel, Saint Paul, Minnesota. Mending a Broken  System: Students Helping Students Meet Their Basic Needs. October 6. 

Closing Speaker Leadership for Change. Century College. April 6. 

Panelist Second Harvest Heartland Campus Hunger Summit, Metropolitan State University. April 12. 

2016  

Presenter, Century College Career Pathways Day You Could be the Next Century Student to be Awarded $120,000. 

Creator and Facilitator, Write your Future: Scholarship Essay Writing Workshop. Century College Resource and  Support Center. February - May 2016.  

Presenter, MAPE/AFSCME Frontline Conference Winona State University, Winona MN. With Michele Jersak and  Caroline Kirchner Money Matters: The Impact of Poverty on Behavior. May 25. 

Presenter, Inver Hills Community College Student Success Day. With Michele Jersak. Money Matters: Social Class &  the College Experience. February 9. 

Speaker and Organizer, Century College. Co-organized Gender, Poverty, and Housing panel with Nico Van Ostrand,  Karolyn Britton, and Paloma Cordova. Panel speaker regarding housing insecurity on campus.  

Speaker, Poverty Institute for MNSCU Board of Trustees and Leadership Council. With Dr. Donna Beegle. Successful  Interventions for Students in the Crisis of Poverty. January 25. 

2015  

Speaker, Century College Gender and Social Change Awards. The Importance of Mentors to the Community College  Experience. November 5. 

Keynote Presenter, Saint Cloud Technical and Community College Student Success Day. With Michele Jersak. Money  Matters: Social Class & the College Experience. October 28. 

Lead Student Collaborator, Washington County MFIP Counselors Campus Visit Day. With Michele Jersak, Yessica  Santana, and Jacob Bernier. Planned, organized, and facilitated seminar for social service workers to discuss barriers  faced by adult learners. September 11. 

Lead Student Collaborator, Ramsey County MFIP Counselors Campus Visit Day With Michele Jersak, Yessica  Santana, and Jacob Bernier. Planned, organized, and facilitated seminar for social service workers to discuss barriers  faced by adult learners. August 11. 

Student Volunteer, Communication across Barriers Poverty Institute, Normandale Community College, MN.  Registration and coordination of the event.
June 8-9.  

2014  

Student Volunteer, Communication across Barriers Poverty Institute Metro State University, MN.  Helped with registration and coordination of the event. October 20 – 21. 

2020

Tribal-State Relations Training. 

2019  

Participant, Working in Teams. Humphrey School of Public Affairs. August 31.  

Attendee, National Women’s Studies Association Conference. San Francisco, CA. November 14 - 17. 

2018  

Participant, Newman Civic Fellows Conference Edward M. Kennedy Institute, Boston, Massachusetts November 17 – 18. 

Participant, #RealCollege Convening Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania September 29 – 30. 

2017  

Participant, Communication Across Barriers Poverty Institute Bloomington, MN.  

Received poverty coaching certification. July 24 - 27. 

2016  

Participant, Wisconsin HOPE Lab #RealCollege Convening Milwaukee, Wisconsin April 28 - 29. 

2015 

Participant  

National Women’s Studies Association Conference, Precarity, Milwaukee, Wisconsin November 12 – 14.

Participant and Award Recipient, Associated Collegiate Press Fall National College Media Convention. Named 2015 Reporter of the Year for Two-Year colleges in the U.S. and Canada. Austin, TX October 28 - November 1. 

2021

Land Grab Fellowship. 

Institute for Advanced Study, University of Minnesota. SEven-fellow cohort convened around the theme of the Mission of the Land Grant/Land Grab University. May 17 – June 4.

2019  

Graduate Scholarship, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.  

Recipient of $150,000 scholarship to pursue an advanced degree.  

James E Jernberg Fellowship. 

Endowed scholarship at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs 2019-21. 

Marvin Borman Fellowship. 

Endowed scholarship at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs 2019-21. 

Betty Green Award.  

Given annually to the sociology student who carries on her tradition of political and moral concern.  

Pat Paterson Endowed Prize in Leadership 

Awarded to an undergraduate female-identified senior who has demonstrated outstanding leadership ability, with a  minimum 3.0 GPA, who is an active and engaged member of the Hamline University community, and who has an  exceptional legacy of leadership. 

2018  

Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellowship  

Representative appointed by Dr. Fayneese Miller, President of Hamline University, in recognition of passionate service  and active engagement in addressing issues of poverty and inequality, commitment to social equity demonstrated by  leadership of fellow students, faculty and staff at Hamline to help students who are facing food insecurity.  Roz 

Ridgway Forum Fellowship 

In honor of the former Assistant Secretary of State, this fellowship acknowledges academic achievement, potential, a  community ethic of social justice, civic responsibility, inclusive leadership, and service.  

Undergraduate Award in Honor of Dennis I. Belcher, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. 

In recognition of extraordinary achievement in public service through empathy, love of learning, innovation,  community, and leadership through Feed Your Brain.  

2017  

Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociological Honors Society  

2016  

Undergraduate Transfer Scholar, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation  

One of 75 recipients of a $120,000 scholarship chosen from 2,300 high-achieving applicants nationwide.  The decision was based on grades, leadership skills, awards, extraordinary service to others, and perseverance in the face of adversity.  

2015  

Reporter of the Year for 2-year colleges in the U.S. and Canada Associated Collegiate Press College Media Awards. Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society inductee. 

2014  

Outstanding Student in Gender Studies, Century College, MN. 

2013  

Recipient Addie Williams Scholarship, Century College, MN. 

Statistical Violence: How Research Practices Hurt Native Scholars. Humphrey Public Affairs Review. Volume 6, Issue  1 Fall 2019 and Spring 2020, pg. 21-7.  

Campus Food Insecurity: Bringing Private Institutions into Conversations on Basic Needs. Keefe, Susi; Garagiola Bernier, An; Kiley, Emma; England, Jen; Schmitt, Sam R.; Shore, Marta. Journal of Hunger, Environment and  Nutrition. 2020. 

Memo to Melanie Benjamin, Chief Executive of Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Jamie Edwards and Government Affairs (interns Ben Yawakie, An Gargialoa-Bernier, and Laura Paynter), 22 Jun 2020 in RE: Mille Lacs MIAC Resolution on the University of Minnesota.

Taking Hunger Relief to the Hill. Second Harvest Heartland Advocacy Blog. An Garagiola-Bernier and Tina Mortimer.  March 6, 2019.  

Hunger Day on the Hill. Second Harvest Heartland. February 28, 2019.  

Taking Breakfast After the Bell to Lawmakers. Second Harvest Heartland Advocacy Blog. An Garagiola-Bernier and  Tina Mortimer. February 8, 2019.

Hunger is a Bigger Problem than You Think at America’s Colleges. Fox News, Oct 28, 2017. An informative piece structured as a primer for a cross-aisle discussion on poverty among college students.  

Trump Budget Cuts Hurt Low-Income Students. The Washington Post, April 7, 2017. A concise analysis of proposed budget cuts to programs that aid low-income students in upward mobility.  

Nontraditional Students Like Me Face Enormous Challenges. Community College Daily, Sept 21, 2016.  Autobiographical commentary on the challenges facing nontraditional college students. 

The following articles were published through The Century Times News Magazine 2014-2016: 

Century Awards Community Advocates  Search Begins for Century’s Next President  Advocates for Homeless Youth Flock to Nest  Open Letter to Agencies Serving Homeless Youth  Why I took my Kids to Pride  

In the Turn Makes Rounds at Century  Jenny Case Rocks the Nest  

Quick Analysis of SOTU 2015  

Century Then and Now with Jacob Bernier  Help End Hunger at Century  

#ProjectHunger  

Students Show up to Learn Despite Lack of Food… Job Fair  

Poverty 101 

Poverty 101, Section Two  

Brain Food Barrier Breakers. The Henry Ford Magazine. Jan-May 2021. 

20 Heroines Revolutionizing Food Activism to Improve the Planet. Gabby Lozano. March 2020.  

Swiping out Campus Food Insecurity on College Campuses. Molly Sulzer. Feminist Campus. August 12, 2019.  

Piper Profile: An Garagiola-Bernier ’19. Hamline Magazine. April 2019.  

Capitol Pathways Student Spotlight: An Garagiola-Bernier. Citizen’s League. April 2019.  

7 College Activists Fighting Food and Housing Insecurity on Campus. Charlotte West. Teen Vogue. Nov 22, 2018.  

Minnesota's Private Colleges Opening up to Community College Students. Peter Cox. MPR. Nov 14, 2018. 

Students Helping Students To Alleviate The Hidden Costs Of College. Yanelle Cruz Bonilla. Forbes. Aug 7, 2018. 

Meet Century College Alum An Garagiola-Bernier. Century College. May 14, 2018.  

Gross, Karen. 2018. Breakaway Learners: Strategies for Post-Secondary Success With At-Risk Students. Teachers  College Press. Columbia University. New York.  

Haynie, Vernordra. 2019. A Phenomenological Study of Factors Affecting the High Dropout Rate of Nontraditional  African American Students in Community Rate of Nontraditional African American Students in Community College.  Concordia University-Portland.  

Keefe, S. L., Gessesse, R. M., Lincoln, E. R., Meerkins, K., & Evans, T. R. (2019). Prioritizing Health Equity: Patient  Perspectives from a Clinic-Based PhotoVoice Qualitative Study. Health equity, 3(1), 573-580.