Yá'át'ééh, I'm Danelle Woodman. I am from Northern Arizona on the Navajo Nation where I was born and raised. I have a unique upbringing because I am a multiracial woman raised by my maternal uncle and aunt. While my biological mother is Diné (Navajo) and my biological father is Black and Hispanic, I take on my maternal uncle and aunt’s clans since they have raised me from birth–and I call them mom and dad. It is for this reason I introduce myself as Tó díchʼíiʼnii (Bitter Water Clan) born for the Tsi'naajinii (Black Streak Wood Clan). It is in this way I identify as an Afro-Indigenous Latina (She/They). 

As a child, I was either digging tunnels in the dirt for my hot wheel cars, pouring my heart and soul into journals, or dreaming up worlds with my Barbie dolls. However, school was a formable place for me. It was where I discovered my desire to absorb everything I could learn; but it was also a place where I was faced with my identity. When I was old enough, I straightened my hair and tried DIY “remedies” for my dark skin. By high school graduation, I recognized how my education and my identity intersect, and that who I was shaped the education I had access to. This realization informed my passion for education equity as I entered college.

I earned my Bachelor's of Arts in English from Azusa Pacific University (APU), where my studies prepared me to be an educator. My summers were spent as a teaching fellow for Breakthrough Collaborative, a national program aimed to address the issue of summer learning loss for middle school students in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here, I had the opportunity to be featured in Tell Me Who You Are: Sharing Our Stories of Race, Culture, & Identity by Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi. As a Multi-Ethnic Leadership Scholar at APU, I was an active campaign organizer for initiatives surrounding cultural appropriation (“Culture, Not a Costume” Fashion show, ‘16,’17, ‘18, and ’19), gender violence (“Red Zone” Workshop), and awareness for indigenous issues (Dakota 38 Film Showing event, Indigenous Circle President ‘17 and ’18). 

Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, I’ve been a teacher, youth mentor, writing coach, education content creator, and family support at schools and non-profit organizations. In 2023, I earned a Master of Arts in Transformative Social Change from Saybrook University where my academic research focused on decolonizing education and creating innovative interventions for classrooms following the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Through my research, I have had the opportunity to develop education materials for organizations across the United States, including the JED Foundation, J. Paul Getty Museum, National Geographic, and the Snap Foundation. Currently, I am pursuing a Doctorate of Philosophy in Anthropology and Social Change at the California Institute of Integral Arts. Here, I’m curious to explore how Dine epistemologies surrounding K’e can heal the impact of trauma.

In my freetime, you can either find me on FaceTime with my mom, at my local yoga studio, ordering delivery food, or planning a new home project. I have a calico cat named Baby, who is the love of my life.