Author Biographies

Alexis Merculief, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Graduate School of Education, Stanford University. She received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Oregon State University in 2023. Before her doctoral training, she received a B.A. in psychology from Seattle Pacific University and an M.S. in Human Development from Oregon State University. She is an Aleut tribal member dedicated to promoting education, health, and cultural connection in American Indian/Alaska Native communities. Alexis is interested in how features of the built and social environment influence cognitive development (specifically, executive function) in early childhood, as well as how community and cultural resilience can promote long-term health and academic achievement for children from American Indian, Alaska Native, and other underserved populations.
Monica Tsethlikai, Ph.D., is currently an associate professor in the School of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University. Her unique background as an enrolled member of the Zuni Nation and a scholar of American Indian federal law, sovereignty, and tribal governments in combination with a doctoral degree in developmental cognitive psychology provides a unique combination of expertise that works well to explore how American Indian children’s engagement in cultural and spiritual activities shapes cognitive development and well-being. Her most recent publications have examined the protective nature of caregivers' cultural connectedness for urban American Indian children's mental health, and the development of mental health and executive functions in relation to toxic stress (measured as cortisol levels in children’s hair). Her research fully integrates both the theoretical pursuit of knowledge and the application of this knowledge to public policy. Her latest public policy brief focused on the impact of COVID-19 on the education of American Indian/Alaska Native children. Dr. Tsethlikai received her undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame. She earned her doctoral degree at the University of Kansas in Psychology. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, a William T. Grant Scholars Award, the Ford Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation.
Felix Muniz, Ph.D., is from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and is Onk Akimel O'odham, Tohono O'odham, and Hualapai. He holds a B.S. (2015) in Psychology, a B.S. (2017) in Mathematics (Statistics), an M.A. (2020) in Psychology (Quantitative Research Methods), and a Ph.D. (2024) in Psychology (Quantitative Research Methods) at the Arizona State University. He is now an Assistant Scientist at the Center for Indigenous Health, Division of Social and Behavioral Interventions, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His research focuses on prevention and intervention methods, psychometrics, measurement theory, mediation analysis, and promoting Indigenous wellness through culturally grounded and community driven research.
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