Marcy Averill began work as Carleton’s inaugural Indigenous communities liaison in September. The position was created as the college, which unveiled a land acknowledgment statement in 2020, endeavors to further strengthen its partnership with local tribal governments and promote the well-being of Indigenous members of the campus community.
An electrical engineer by training, Averill most recently served the Office of Education Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. There, she worked on reconciliation between Mayo and Dakota nations, developed a Native American Pathways Program for undergraduate and high school students interested in health careers, and directed a large federal grant on American Indian/Alaska Native cancer research.
Averill, who has a long-standing working relationship with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, also led a project at IBM to expand high-speed internet services and access on reservations. She is of Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa descent and was raised in St. John, North Dakota, on the Turtle Mountain reservation.