Student Staff

NACC Student Staff work at the NACC during open hours (10:00am-10:00pm M-F and 12:00pm-6:00pm) and assist with publicity, planning/coordinating events, and maintaining the NACC facilities.

Graduate Affiliates

Zoe Cire
Pronouns: she/her
School: Yale School of Art, 2024
Hometown: Treaty 6 Territory
Major: Painting/Printmaking
Native Nation: Cree and Me´tis

Zoe Cire  is a visual artist born and raised on Treaty 6 territory of central Alberta, currently residing as a guest on the territories of the Mohegan, Mashantucket Pequot, Eastern Pequot, Schaghticoke, Golden Hill Paugussett, Niantic, Quinnipiac, and other Algonquian speaking peoples. Cire’s works talk with the culture that raised her, her kokom’s Cree lineage of Beaver Lake Cree Nation and moshom’s Métis lineage. These conversations are expressed through forms of painting, beading and textile work. With a focus on the terrains of material association, Cire’s practice speaks with language and memory, where it can be found, and what it says when it reaches.  Cire completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts and minored in Curatorial Studies from Emily Carr University. Upon graduation, Cire was awarded the Vancouver Art Attack Award where she went on to have a solo exhibition, Berrypicker (South Main Art Gallery). Since then, she has exhibited in Discovery (Seymour Art Gallery) and tântê ê-wî-itohtêyahk (Deer Lake Gallery) and now is currently a Graduate student at Yale School of Art.

Shayna Naranjo
Pronouns: she/they
College: Yale School of Public Health
Hometown: Kha’p’o Owingeh
Major: Social and Behavioral Sciences ‘24
Native Nation: Kha’p’o Owingeh
Shayna is a current 2nd-year MPH student at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) Department. She was born and raised in Kha’p’o Owingeh, one of the 19 Pueblos in New Mexico, but spent a significant amount of time on Muwekma Oholne lands in the Bay Area as an undergraduate. She is strongly committed to strengthening Indigenous community capacities for health, community care, and well-being–health equity. Furthermore, she has been directly involved in local, tribal, and state efforts to support Indigenous youth advocacy, sacred site protection, and ethnic studies. She’s currently a member of the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department (IAD) Indigenous Youth Council (IYC) and a Teaching Fellow (TF) for the Social Justice & Health Equity class at YSPH.

Arts Liaison

Naima Blanco-Norberg 

Silliman ‘25

Hometown: San Francisco, CA

Major: Architecture

Native Nation: Mexico, China, and Sweden 

Naima is a junior studying architecture. She was born and raised in San Francisco, California but has roots in Mexico, China, and Sweden. She is a passionate artist, athlete, organizer, activist, and learner. She has been engaged in community visual and performing arts her entire life. Her artistic endeavors span personal drawing, murals, and set design. Recently, she became very interested in archival work which interested her in the NACC Arts Liaison position since it bridges many of her interests!

House Staff

Mikiala Ng – Head of House Staff 

Pierson ‘24

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: Waialua, Oʻahu

Major: Art (Painting/Printmaking)

Native Nation: Hawaiian

Mikiala Ng (she/her) is a senior from Hawaiʻi and is a proud member of both the artistic and Indigenous communities at Yale. Through her art, Mikiala advocates for environmental issues, Native rights, and the celebration of Indigeneity. She also loves making art as gifts, decorations, or a relaxing activity at the end of a long day. While at home, Mikiala enjoys surfing, going to the beach, and spending time with her family and two dogs.

Nyche´ Andrew

Branford, ‘25

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: Traditional lands of the Dena’ina Elena Athabascan, now known as Anchorage, Alaska

Major: Political Science

Native Nation: Yup’ik and Inupiaq

Hello! My Native names are Skavaq Sivulluiqti, my English name is Nyche Tyme Andrew. I was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. I got to Yale through a mix of passion, starry-eyed dreaming, and the endless help and prayers from my loved ones. Since being here, I have found community as a general member in the Native and Indigenous Student Association at Yale (NISAY, which is closely pronounced as my name “Nish-ay”). I get to build on my interests through my past membership of the Yale Undergraduate Legal Aid Association, and currently as a research assistant for the Yale School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry. I am excited to be with the amazing, beautiful, spectacular community members of the Native American Cultural Center as house staff this year!

Joshua Ching
Eztra Stiles, ‘26
Pronouns: he/ him / O ‘ia 
Hometown: Waipahu, Hawaiʻi
Major: Global Affairs and Ethnicity, Race, & Migration
Native Nation: Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian)
 
ʻAnoʻai ke aloha! My name is Joshua Ching and I’m a sophomore from Hawaiʻi studying Global Affairs and Ethnicity, Race, & Migration. Interested in advancing equity and justice for Native Hawaiian and broadly underserved communities, I’ve helped lead grassroots advocacy campaigns in Hawaiʻi over the past several years, resulting in the passage of state and county level comprehensive e-cigarette regulations. On-campus, I’m the Executive Director of Students of the Indigenous Peoples of Oceania (IPO), co-lead the Pardon Program with the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project, RA for Professor Hiʻilei Hobart, and assist with the Pacific Collections at the Peabody Museum. In my free time, I love playing the ʻukulele, collecting stickers for my water bottle, and beach hopping around the island. 

Madeline Gupta
Morse College, ’25
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Ann Arbor, Michigan 
Majors: Data Science, Ethnicity Race and Migration  
Native Nation: Ojibwe, Sault Ste.  Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians
 
Boozhoo! My name is Madeline and I’m a junior in Morse College (KMA!) interested in studying the intersections of data science and ethnicity, race, and migration through explorations of indigenous data ethics! I love dancing (I once shattered glass water bottle on stage because of my amazing skills), painting, and playing with my dog Miley. 
Kyra Kaya
Davenport, ‘26
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Major: Computer Science and Psychology
Native Nation: Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian)

Hello everyone! My name is Kyra Kaya and I am a current sophomore in Davenport College studying Computer Science and Psychology (which is one major, but still double the fun!). I am Native Hawaiian and my family is from Keʻanae, Maui, but I was born and raised in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. At Yale, you can find me making spam musubi in the NACC kitchen, performing comedy improv with the Viola Question, and putting on amazing events with NISAY and YAISES. Outside of Yale life, I like to spend my time reading anything and everything, playing my ukulele at odd hours of the night, and spending time with my suitemates!

Lex Schultz

Saybrook, ‘24

Pronouns: they/them

Hometown: North Georgia

Major: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Native Nation: Tsalagi

Hi! I’m Lex, a senior in Saybrook College (say what?) from North Georgia majoring in Earth and Planetary Sciences. I’m a huge fan of shirley temples, terrible disaster movies, rollerskating, icy ocean planets, and the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Outside of ANAAY, I am a staff writer at Broad Recognition and a member of Gaybrook. A fun fact about me is that I don’t know how to ride a bike and I am perfectly content with that. I also (debatably) know how to play guitar and I like to write my own music!

Jairus Rhoades
Siliman, ‘26
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Mililani, HI
Major: Computing and the Arts, MM in Piano Performance
Native Nation: American Samoa
 
Talofa, Taeao Manuia!  I’m interested in exploring how AI can be used to teach and learn music, particularly in indigenous communities. I enjoy playing the piano and collaborating in chamber music and musicals, but you can also catch me going to Farnham Park or East Rock with friends. I’m involved on boards of the undergraduate piano collective (YUPC), Indigenous Peoples of Oceania (IPO), AISES (we just won chapter of the year award!), NISAY, freelance web development on campus, and work as a museum assistant at the Peabody.  I really miss eating Hawai’i and Samoan food and hiking but I try to bake home recipes at the Acorn Bakery on Sundays and also try to make pani popo at the NACC on Thursdays for movie nights. I have a really cool shiba inu named Kaja that you should totally follow on Instagram. 
Brandon Haruki
Saybrook, ‘26
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Honolulu, Hawai‘i
Major: Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Native Nation: Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian)
 
Brandon Haruki  is a sophomore from Hawai’i in Saybrook college currently interested in studying MCDB on the pre-med track. Through his community service, Brandon is passionate about environmental sustainability, indigenous agriculture, and action to address homelessness. In his spare time, he can be found strumming an ukulele, exploring the outdoors, and facetiming his sister. At home, Brandon enjoys going to the beach, surfing, hiking, driving around the island with his dog, and spending time with family.
Kyle VanHatten
Pierson, ‘25
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Fairbanks, Alaska
Major: Economics and Statistics and Data Science
Native Nation: Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich’in
 
Kyle VanHatten is Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich’in and was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska. Kyle is a junior at Yale and is double majoring in Economics as well as Statistics and Data Science. He currently serves as the “Game Master” of the Yale Chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and has a collection of more than 350 games. 
Mara Gutierrez
Pierson, ‘25
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Killeen, TX
Major: History
Native Nation: Diné/Navajo Nation
 
Hi! My name is Mara. I am Diné. I am involved in the Native and Indigenous Student Association at Yale (NISAY) and within the NACC! I am also part of a comedic improv group, Lux Improvitas. However, my favorite improv comedy group is Indigiprov. One of my favorite animals is a cat and my favorite drink is also a Shirley Temple!

First Year Liaisons

Dane Keahi

Davenport, ‘27

Pronouns: He/Him/His
Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
Major: Computer Science
Native Nation: Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian)

Dane is a first-year in Davenport, studying Computer Science. He went to Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, where he was rooted in the Hawaiian Culture. Now, he is passionate about making a change within the Native Hawaiian community through STEM. In addition to this, he loves surfing, diving, fishing, playing the ukulele/guitar, and playing basketball/volleyball. 

Taylor Dineyazhe
Stiles, ‘27
Pronouns: She/hers
Hometown: Gallup, NM
Major: Environmental Science

Native Nation: Diné

Yá’át’ééh everyone! My name is Taylor Dineyazhe I’m a first year in Ezra Stiles (GFM!!) if you know you know. I was born and raised in Gallup, NM, just outside the Navajo Nation. Growing up next to the Navajo Nation my whole life is what sparked my interest in Environmental Engineering and has made me develop a strong passion for environmental sustainability, water security, and those in my community. Aside from that, I love to spend my free time online shopping, going on runs, grabbing a drink at Starbucks, and rewatching The Office or Gilmore Girls.