FACILITATOR

Donna is from Hotevilla and is Pipwungwa (Tobacco Clan). She started as a Hopitutuqaiki board member 18 years ago and became a mentor. She is currently the Facilitator for Hopitutuqaiki and has many years of work experience in private non-profit and local tribal sectors. She is trained in mediation and is also a professional consultant.

Today, Donna focuses on being an artist, quilter, designer & mentor. She resides in Hotevilla with her husband, a renowned wood sculptor, and carver.

“I hope to guide the process of rejuvenating fading culture and loss of languages so our future Hopi generations can participate and articulate Hopi well, all the while acknowledging our current elders and those who’ve come before us on this vital journey.”

MEMBER

Ramson is the first and only full-time Hopi Glassblower, a traditional katsina doll carver, jeweler, published poet, and consultant. He is also an educator on several levels. Early in his career, he was a middle school and high school teacher and served as adjunct faculty at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, for many years. Ramson currently teaches glassware for Hopitutuqaiki, an arts apprenticeship program located on the Hopi reservation. Ramson earned his B.A. degree from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont, in 1981.

MEMBER

Mary Lynn Duwyenie, Hopi Artist and Educator from the Village of Mishongnovi, is a Butterfly Clan member. She came from a family of traditional Hopi artisans and grew up seeing art in her daily life. Mary’s art tells Hopi history in creative expression works with meaning and personal symbolism of life. She is also a teacher at Hopi Jr./Sr. High School.

MEMBER

Marvin Pooyouma is skilled in textile weaving, which he learned from his grandfather and passed down to future generations. Marvin has taught weaving classes at Hopitutuqaiki for years and is a master teacher. Marvin is from the Corn Clan of Hotevilla.

MEMBER

Robert “Bob” Rhodes has lived and taught on the Hopi and Navajo reservations since 1971. He has served as a teacher from preschool through graduate school, researcher, administrator, and consultant. His book, Nurturing Learning in Native American Students, has been used throughout the nation. Other publications include two additional books and 15 articles. Bob is the founder of Hopitutuqaiki and has led a team of Hopi individuals in creating what’s now the Hopi Arts Program and Language Immersion Preschool. His dedication and vision are being carried throughout the school. Bob resides in Hotevilla with his wife, who is a renowned jeweler.

MEMBER

Sonwy is Hopi and a member of the Sun-forehead clan. She is an Internal Auditor for a tribal community in Southern Arizona and has 20 years of experience in the regulatory and banking industry. She has been a board member of Hopitutuqaiki for over a year. She gained an interest and passion for Hopi language immersion through her father, Leigh Kuwanwisiwma. Seeing direct results from Hopitutuqaiki’s Preschool Language Immersion program through her children’s participation has motivated her ambition to ensure Hopi children can continue learning the Hopi language.