Rick Chavolla (Kumeyaay and Chicano) grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and earned his undergraduate degree from Boston University and graduate degrees from Boston College. Throughout a 35 year career, he has directed centers and initiatives to advance racial/cultural diversity, equity and student success and taught classes in his academic fields of political science and history. The positions he has held include Assistant Dean at Yale, where he directed the Native American Cultural Center and La Casa Cultural; Associate Director of the American Council on Education’s Center for the Advancement of Racial Equity in Washington D.C.; Director of New York University’s Center for Multicultural Education and Programs and currently faculty with San Carlos Apache College.  Rick served on the Board for the American Indian Community House for 12 years, and currently serves on the Board for the Telluride Foundation and most recently on the Board for the Montezuma Land Conservancy.