Two with School of Education ties named among Wisconsin’s most influential Native American leaders

Two individuals with ties to the UW–Madison School of Education were among the 11 Badgers named on Madison365’s annual list of “Wisconsin’s Most Influential Native American Leaders” for 2024.

Nicole Bowman, an associate scientist and evaluator with the Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative (WEC), housed in the School of Education’s Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), was recognized by Madison365, an independent news organization covering Black, Latino, Indigenous and Asian American communities in Madison and across Wisconsin since 2015...

...An alumnus of the School of Education, Ashley Hesse, was also recognized on the list of influential leaders. Hesse, who earned his BFA from the School of Education’s Art Department in 1996, is vice president of policy for Indigenous Pact, an organization that works for health equity for Indigenous people. Madison 365 notes that as a Comanche descendant, he joined Indigenous Pact in 2018 with years of experience in health equity, which included managing the “Money Follows the Person” Tribal Initiative at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and directing programs for Arc-Winnebago County Disability Association. He also serves on the board of Casa Esther and previously chaired the City of Oshkosh’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee....