About the Laguna Department of Education Board
Our distinguished Board of Directors has been selected to serve in an advisory capacity and oversees the general operation of the Laguna Department of Education.
Our Board of Directors 2011
President
Jack Ondelacy
is a tribal member from the Village of Paraje. He graduated from the Albuquerque Indian School in 1960, joined the Air Force and was Honorably Discharged in 1966. Jack went onto Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, NM and to graduate school at Penn State University where he received a Masters in Education in 1977. Mr. Ondelacy has worked in administrative and teaching positions for the public and parochia sectors as well as the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He currently serves as the assistant principal for Pine Hill Mid-High School in Pine Hill, New Mexico.
Vice President
Marilyn Cheromiah
Secretary
Janice Kowemy
I have been the Director and Librarian of the Laguna Public Library since January 2008. I received my Masters of Science in Information Studies in December 2007 from the University of Texas at Austin as an Honoring Generations Scholar. I also hold a Bachelors degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing; as well as a minor in Native American Studies. I am involved with various organizations within the library field; American Library Association, American Indian Library Association, New Mexico Library Association and the Native American Libraries Special Interest Group. My interest in librarianship started in 2000 as a recent high school graduate. Through a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Native American Access to Technology Program, the Laguna Public Library received computers, printers, a scanner, a digital camera, and the Internet. My job was to catalog library materials on the electronic catalog, teach the community how to use the computers, and plan the summer reading program. I am from the village of Seama and my parents are Marty and Gloria Kowemy. I have two younger sisters, Kristy and Kayla.
Gloria J. Mariano
I am a tribal member and come from the Village of Paguate, I have lived in the Pueblo of Laguna all of my life with the exception of the time I spent in the various places to attend high school and college. After attending a Catholic boarding high school in Arizona, I made my way all the way across the state of New Mexico to Portales, and attended Eastern New Mexico University where I received my Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Sociology. My first job was with the Pueblo of Laguna in the Scholarship program, which motivated me with the idea to go back to school for a masters program. After entering graduate school at the University of New Mexico, I obtained a position with the UNM, Native American Studies program as a Student Resource Specialist. After a year there an opportunity came in the form of a new position at Albuquerque TVI, now CNM. I moved a couple of blocks south and began a new venture as the Native American Student Advisor at TVI. Near the completion of my masters program at UNM an opportunity once again came knocking with the position I currently hold at here at SIPI in the Educational Talent Search program, as a Education Project Specialist, for three area high schools. I currently serve as the acting Project Manager for the ETS program. I have been blessed with opportunity, experiences and wonderful people who have helped me understand what important tools we can give to students.
