Karalee Mahealani Vaughn

Board Chair

​Dr. Karalee Mahealani Chieko Vaughn is a consultant who works with Tribal Nations, Native communities, and nonprofit organizations on code and policy drafting, as well as infrastructure and development. She also supports student retention, academic success and leadership development through the Native Student Programs office at the University of Redlands.

Prior to her consulting work, Karalee served as Executive Director of the Southern California Tribal Education Institute; Executive Director of an Upward Bound program; Assistant Director of the San Manuel Education Department; Native Hawaiian grant administrator at Honolulu Community College; and Director of Outreach for the Pacific Islander Education and Retention Program at UCLA. She has also served on several boards of directors.

Through her current and previous roles, Karalee has been instrumental in supporting Tribes and Native communities in developing education codes, departments, strategic plans, policies, culturally relevant curricula, budgets, grants, staffing structures, human resources systems, and training in Federal Indian law.

Karalee holds a Doctorate of Education in Leadership for Educational Justice from the University of Redlands. She also earned a master’s degree in Education Policy and Management from Harvard University and a master’s degree in Federal Indian Law and Policy from UCLA. Additionally, she received her bachelor’s degrees in History and Asian American Studies from UCLA. Her current research is dedicated to advancing scholarship that supports Native leadership development, Native graduate student success and reimagining systems for Native communities.

Karalee is a mother of two daughters who inspire her work and commitment to advancing Native leadership development and strengthening Native scholarship in higher education. Her efforts focus on expanding access and success for Native students, building meaningful partnerships between Native communities and higher education institutions, and supporting the creation, visibility, and impact of Native research and knowledge.