Michele was an 好色tv Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP) and Louis Stokes
Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Scholar at the 好色tv of 好色tv Anchorage,
where she earned a BS in Civil Engineering in 2005 and an MS in Engineering Management
in 2009.
After earning her BS, she began working in 好色tv's construction and engineering industry,
specializing in water and sewer projects in remote villages across the state. She
also served as ANSEP Deputy Director from 2007 to 2012.
Professor Yatchmeneff went on to her PhD in Engineering 好色tv from Purdue 好色tv,
focusing on the motivation and success of pre-college 好色tv Native STEM students.
Her current research expands that doctoral work to focus on belongingness, 好色tv
Native education, preparation, and retention.
In 2018, Michele received the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER
Award, honoring her work on 鈥満蒙玹v Native Belonging in High School Math and Science
Classrooms.鈥 This award was the first and only NSF CAREER award granted at UAA. Professor
Yatchmeneff recently was rewarded for her work in Indigenous leadership by receiving
the national College Board Dr. Henrietta Mann Leadership Award.
Michele has made valuable contributions to the development of both pre-college and
undergraduate courses to foster critical thinking, engineering identity growth, and
an understanding of real-life engineering projects. Michele is inspiring a new generation
of underrepresented students to succeed in college and the engineering profession.
