Native Forward Scholars Fund Archives - Johnson Scholarship Foundation

The Johnson Scholarship Foundation (JSF) is pleased to announce that Angelique Albert of Native Forward Scholars Fund has joined the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Albert (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) has dedicated her career to serving Tribal communities. As Native Forward’s chief executive officer, she leads the nation’s largest scholarship provider to Native students, which has distributed more than $350 million in scholarships to students representing over 500 Tribes across all 50 states.

“The Johnson Scholarship Foundation has a strong legacy of partnering with organizations across North America to enable students to pursue greater educational and career opportunities,” said Robert A. Krause, the Foundation’s CEO. “Angelique Albert brings over 25 years of experience as a leader in nonprofit, philanthropic, business and government industries. The Foundation will look to her for insights on how to better serve our program areas, including Indigenous communities.”

Albert is a 2014 graduate of Gonzaga University’s Master of Business Administration in American Indian Entrepreneurship (MBA-AIE) program, which was created in 2001 in partnership with the Foundation. The program was designed to meet the unique needs of Indigenous students living on reservations and spark economic growth.

“I am beyond thrilled to join the Johnson Scholarship Foundation Board of Directors,” Albert said. “Investing in society by creating opportunities for access to quality education and fulfilling careers is a true passion of mine. I am excited to join this wonderful organization and help create brighter futures for people from all walks of life.”

Albert’s career began by serving her own Tribe as a legal intern, a court-appointed special advocate, and a chief juvenile probation officer. Before working at Native Forward, she was the executive director of the Salish Kootenai College Foundation and associate director of American Indigenous Business Leaders.

Philanthropic roles include serving as lead Native American program officer for the Beaumont Foundation of America and external grant reviewer for the Case Foundation. She is a member of the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance Advisory Council. She is also an executive officer of the Southwest Association of American Indian Arts board of directors and an advisory member of Gonzaga’s MBA-AIE program.

For more information about the Johnson Scholarship Foundation, visit jsf.bz. For more information about Native Forward Scholars Fund, visit nativeforward.org.

Johnson Scholarship Foundation is proud to share the rebranding of its grantee partner, Native Forward Scholars Fund, formerly known as the American Indian Graduate Center. JSF partners with Native Forward to provide academic scholarships for students majoring in accounting or finance as well as exam fee scholarships for individuals pursuing professional licensure. The collaboration is also helping Native Forward establish a scholarship endowment.

This is what Native Forward has to say about how the new name was chosen:

Since the origin of our organization over 50 years ago, our work has supported the forward movement of Native communities — giving rise to new beginnings, advancing new opportunities, and establishing new horizons for our scholars.

We are committed to our goal of empowering Native leaders through national scholarship funding and student services to share their voices and strengthen their communities.

Today, we would like to reintroduce ourselves as Native Forward Scholars Fund. While there is no perfect single name to describe all members of our communities, “Native” speaks clearly to our collective history and cultures. “Forward” directly speaks towards the empowerment of our scholars’ success to create and enact positive change.

We are grateful for 50 years in community with you and look forward to the next 50 – join us at: nativeforward.org!

Native Forward Scholars Fund Leader Angelique Albert Joins  Johnson Scholarship Foundation’s Board of Directors

Introducing Native Forward Scholars Fund