Marley-Maben Native and Indigenous Peoples Leadership Award
Vanessa Simonds
The recipient of the Marley-Maben Native and Indigenous Peoples Leadership Award is Vanessa Simonds, associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Community Health in the College of Education, Health and Human Development. This award recognizes significant outreach and engagement activities benefiting Native people and lands, along with demonstrated collaboration, research and educational efforts. It carries a $3,000 honorarium.
A citizen of the Crow Tribe, Simonds integrates Indigenous knowledge systems and community-based participatory research methods to create educational and scientific opportunities that empower Native students and communities. Her projects — including Guardians of the Living Water and Healthy Relationships among Apsáalooke Youth — are nationally recognized for blending public health, environmental science and Indigenous cultural teachings in ways that honor community wisdom while advancing academic excellence.
In her teaching and mentorship, Simonds has built a remarkable culture of wellness and belonging within the graduate programs at MSU, according to Alexandra Adams, director of the Center for American Indian and Rural Health Excellence, in a letter nominating Simonds for the award. Through the Indigenous and Rural Health Ph.D. program, Simonds has led efforts to design coursework, retreats and supportive structures that nurture students holistically. Of the 78 students she has mentored, 43 are Native, including 12 of 15 doctoral students and 13 of 28 master’s students.
“This level of representation and success reflects not only her commitment to equity but also her gift for cultivating relationships of trust and care that enable Indigenous students to thrive,” Adams wrote.
Simonds’s outreach and engagement efforts have been marked by deep and lasting impact, Adams noted. Since 2015, Simonds has co-led Guardians of the Living Water summer camps and related programs with community and tribal partners, fostering early STEM interest among Indigenous youth and training graduate students to teach in culturally grounded ways.
“Dr. Simonds’s work is sustained, intentional and transformative,” Adams concluded. “Through more than two decades of community partnership, she has built a body of scholarship and mentorship that uplifts Indigenous voices and meaningfully advances MSU’s land-grant mission. Her leadership, humility and dedication continue to shape both our university and the many Native communities she serves.”