Rowanna Shebala
Published December 28, 2019
SANTA FE, N.M. — IAIA Director of Institutional Advancement Danyelle Means (Oglala Lakota) has announced the appointment of Roanna Shebala (Diné/Zuni) as Alumni Relations Officer. In this role, Shebala will focus on engaging with Alumni through the IAIA Alumni Association and with the IAIA Alumni Council. Her work will include connecting with IAIA Alumni via newsletter, email updates, and social media and will be an integral part of the annual Scholarship Dinner and Auction as well as the Alumni Luncheon held during Indian Market. Shebla, currently an Admissions counselor for the school, will transition to her new role in January.
Shebala is from Fort Defiance, Arizona. She earned her BS in Theater at Northern Arizona University and is a current MFA in Creative Writing student at the Institute of American Indian Arts. She’s a Spoken Word artist who has been featured on four National Poetry Slam teams, a five-time representative on the Women of the World Poetry Slam, and a two-time representative for the Individual World Poetry Slam. Her work has been featured in Button Poetry, Indian Country Today, in various zines and magazines such as Annick Press, Red Ink, Wicked Banshee Press, and Suspect Press. Shebala has performed her spoken word poetry at the Lincoln Center for the Out of Doors Project and other venues in the United States. She is also a member of Saad Bee Hozho: Dine Writiers’ Collective.
Shebala has been working in higher education for 5 years. Her background provides her with a strong passion for the arts and she encourages students to pursue a higher education in the fine arts to express their creativity. She has worked with students from preschool to college students, and she “…is excited to complete the spectrum of education working with the IAIA Alumni.”
“We are very eager to begin working with Roanna. She has been a real asset to IAIA already with her work in Admissions and brings with her a background rooted in education,” Means remarked.
