PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College has announced that Yolanda Machado will be its new special advisor to the president on indigenous affairs.
Machado, a member of the Makah Tribe, will be responsible for overseeing ʔaʔkʷustəŋáw̕tx House of Learning, Peninsula College Longhouse and all Peninsula College programs and initiatives related to indigenous students and cultures.
According to a press release, Machado holds a master’s degree in education from Antioch University in Seattle and over 20 years experience in higher education.
She most recently served as the assistant to the president for tribal relations at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia.
Machado will be responsible for the relationships with the six tribal nations the college serves: Hoh, Quileute, Makah, Port Gamble S’Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam and Lower Elwha Klallam.
The position was established under the college’s Pathways to Achieving Equity and Completion (PACE) Project funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions Program, the release states.