Three tribal members recently joined the ranks of the senior executive service (SES) at the Bureau of Indian Education.

The SES appointments of Stephanie E. Birdwell (Cherokee Nation), Bartholomew “Bart” Stevens (San Carlos Apache Tribe) and David Talayumptewa (Hopi Tribe) became effective on January 4. “The filling of these key posts will allow us to continue implementing the school accountability and student performance requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act across the BIE school system,” acting assistant secretary George Skibine said in a press release.

Within BIE, Birdwell will be serving as deputy director for policy, evaluation and post secondary education and Stevens will serve as deputy director for school operations. Talayumptewa is the assistant deputy director for administration.

The BIA was created by the Bush administration as part of a reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

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New Bureau of Indian Education career appointees (Indian Country Today 3/6)