Enhance diversity amongst Native American STEM recruitment for Indian Health Service specifically within sanitation and engineering management - The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), founded in 1977, boasts the largest reach to engage with AI/AN and Indigenous communities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) with a network of more than 7200 individual members, 202 higher education chapters, 20 professional chapters, 239 affiliated PK-12 schools serving over 55,000 Indigenous students, and three tribal chapters. AISES is positioned as the leader in providing STEM occupational pathways to AI/AN people and Indigenous communities through awareness and opportunity. The Increasing the Representation of American Indians and Alaska Natives in Sanitation and Engineering Management multi-year partnership opportunity allows AISES to facilitate collaboration amongst AI/AN program and event participants and Indian Health Service to ensure the lesser-known STEM sanitation and engineering occupations are visible and accessible. Tribal communities with inadequate resources of sanitation who hold the highest level of chronic vacancy rates such as: civil/engineering (or sanitation), healthcare facilities engineering, biomedical engineering and environmental health officers will be the focus of the recruitment efforts outlined within the partnership. AISES will expose AI/AN students to the occupational pathways and opportunities of Indian Health Service sanitation and engineering careers through engagement and participation in the national conference, regional conferences and the national American Indian science and engineering fair. Coordinated efforts of awareness, recruitment, and retention of the STEM occupations for AI/AN students over the multi-year partnership will reduce the chronic vacancy rates while increasing the quality of sanitation across tribal communities.
