Christie M. Poitra, Ph.D. is the Interim Director of the MSU Native American Institute (NAI). Dr. Poitra is Turtle Mountain Chippewa (Pembina Ojibwa), with family ties to Little Shell. She is an alumna of UC Berkeley, UCLA and Michigan State University. Dr. Poitra is an affiliate faculty member in the American Indian & Indigenous Studies Program, and core faculty in the Gender Center for Global Context. She is an elected member of the Faculty Senate, University Council, and the University Curriculum Committee. She also serves on the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Education Committee, and as an AISES Advancing Agricultural Science Opportunities for Native Americans mentor. Dr. Poitra is the recipient of the Distinguished Community Partnership Award, and Excellence in Diversity Award. She has held several prestigious fellowships, including the Michigan Educational Policy Fellowship Program, and New Sector Alliance Fellowship. Prior to NAI, Dr. Poitra was appointed for several years in the MSU Office of K-12 Outreach—where she worked on issues of instructional leadership in diverse school contexts. She also served as a consultant for the Los Angeles Unified School District, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.