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Å®Óźϼ¯ Board of Regents approve resolution of appreciation for Ronalda Cadiente Brown of Å®Óźϼ¯S

February 20, 2026

At the February 19  full board meeting in Dillingham, the University of Alaska Board of Regents approved a resolution of appreciation for Ronalda Cadiente Brown, Å®Óźϼ¯S Associate Vice Chancellor for Alaska Native Programs & Preparing Indigenous Teachers and Administrators for Alaska Schools (PITAAS) Director. Below is the resolution in full.

RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR  RONALDA CADIENTE BROWN

WHEREAS, after 14 years of dedicated service to the University of Alaska Southeast, Ronalda Cadiente Brown, Associate Vice Chancellor for Alaska Native Programs & Director, Preparing Indigenous Teachers and Administrators for Alaska Schools (PITAAS), retired in December 2025; and

WHEREAS, in 2019, Ronalda was appointed Associate Vice Chancellor for Alaska Native Programs at Å®Óźϼ¯S, reporting directly to the Chancellor and sharing her wisdom as a member of the Executive Cabinet while continuing to direct the PITAAS program, advancing Alaska Native student success, strengthening partnerships, and enriching the Å®Óźϼ¯S mission; and

WHEREAS, Ronalda’s leadership helped guide Å®Óźϼ¯S toward Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities’ accreditation commendations for Indigenous empowerment; she has been a key voice in the Alaska Native Success Initiative systemwide alignment; and her presence and counsel has been essential to keeping institutional momentum focused on Indigenous student outcomes and community partnerships; and

WHEREAS, Ronalda led the PITAAS program beginning in 2011, a program that started in 2000 as a Southeast Alaska regional program, and expanded it during her tenure to a state-wide program that supports students who are members of federally recognized tribes in Alaska who want to become teachers and administrators in Alaska’s schools in collaboration with tribal organizations, with  PITAAS graduates now employed by 30 of 54 school districts across the state; and

WHEREAS, a lifelong educator and cultural leader, Ronalda has dedicated her career to uplifting Alaska Native students and embedding Indigenous knowledge into academic systems and supporting student leaders through student organizations like Advancing Indigenous Science and Engineering Society (AISES), Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Club, the Beading Club, the Traditional Games Club, and Wooch.een; and

WHEREAS, for more than 45 years, Ronalda’s life was intertwined with education, starting with the Indian Education Act Project with Portland Public Schools, in Portland, Oregon for four years, before dedicating 28 years to K-12 in the Juneau School District, where she served as Supervisor for Indian Studies, designing award-winning, place-based curriculum programs that led to an appointment on the National Commission on Social Studies and earned federal recognition under the U.S. Department of Education’s Showcase Awards; and

WHEREAS, Ronalda’s later roles included Assistant Principal and Alternative High School Principal, where she pioneered a credit-recovery model that significantly improved graduation rates, and as federal grants program director managing multi-million-dollar grants and district-wide programming that merged community, safety, and educational mission; and

WHEREAS, Ronalda’s leadership style, marked by accountability, cultural understanding, and mentorship, has influenced countless educators, students, and peers, and her work with PITAAS fostered dozens of Alaska Native teachers and administrators who have shaped the educational systems within our state; and

WHEREAS, Ronalda’s colleagues describe her as a force of quiet brilliance and action, generously sharing pearls of wisdom with others; and

WHEREAS, born and raised in Juneau, Ronalda is of Tlingit (Teikweidí, Brown Bear Clan) and Filipino heritage, carrying the Tlingit names Aantukoo.aat and Kunax, received at birth and during a Koo.eex in her mothers’ home community of Angoon, respectively; and

WHEREAS, Ronalda has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon and a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Teacher Education from Stanford University; and

WHEREAS, wherever Ronalda finds herself in the future, her unwavering commitment, grace and clarity will continue to lead, inspire and shape individuals, institutions and communities for generations to come; and

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska officially recognizes and thanks Ronalda Cadiente Brown for her service to the University of Alaska Southeast and its students, and knows that she will be sincerely missed; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution be appropriately engrossed and conveyed to Ronalda Cadiente Brown with a copy incorporated into the official minutes of the February 19, 2026 meeting of the Board of Regents.