American Indian/Alaska Native Human Rights Award in Honor of Jim Clark
Awarded to a CTA member whose activities have helped to achieve significant progress on behalf of equal opportunity for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Donna Fernandez

M. ED (POMO), HIGH SCHOOL MATH TEACHER
Santa Rosa Teachers Assn.

National Board Certified Teacher Donna Fernandez, Pomo from Elem Indian Colony, is a secondary mathematics educator at Piner High in Santa Rosa. She is committed to equitable educational opportunities for Native youth, focusing on mathematics while preserving cultural heritage. She is not only transforming individual lives but also contributing to the larger goal of equity in education and representation in STEM fields. She does this by fostering
collaborative teamwork and connecting students with the cultural and mathematical relationships that surround them, cultivating an inclusive environment where all students can see themselves as mathematicians.

In addition to her impactful classroom teaching, Fernandez is co-director of the Alliance for Indigenous Math Circles (AIMC). Through AIMC, she empowers Indigenous students and educators by integrating mathematics with cultural understanding and identity, making mathematics a tool for self-expression and community growth.

Among Fernandez’ many accomplishments:
• Planning and directing with AIMC mathematicians the annual week-long math camps to blend experiential learning through math circle problems with cultural and STEM activities at Navajo Preparatory School in Farmington, NM, and at the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center in Santa Rosa. These camps promote the connection between mathematics and Indigenous traditions, fostering a sense of pride and belonging among participants while providing students with hands-on, culturally relevant mathematical experiences.
• Serving as a teacher representative on the Santa Rosa City Schools Indian Education Committee where they do fun family math nights for the community.
• Creating math lessons that center on Indigenous mathematical knowledge to strengthen students’ identity and sense of belonging in mathematics.
• Partnering with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society to implement Native Financial Cents to build participants’ financial capability.
• Speaking and presenting at multiple professional and cultural events about Indigenous mathematics education.

Fernandez has devoted almost two decades to the Indigenous community, uplifting native students to dream, excel and achieve academic excellence through mathematics.