Michele was an ƵNative Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP) and Louis Stokes
Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Scholar at the University of ƵAnchorage,
where she earned a BS in Civil Engineering in 2005 and an MS in Engineering Management
in 2009.
After earning her BS, she began working in Alaska's construction and engineering industry,
specializing in water and sewer projects in remote villages across the state. She
also served as ANSEP Deputy Director from 2007 to 2012.
Professor Yatchmeneff went on to her PhD in Engineering Education from Purdue University,
focusing on the motivation and success of pre-college ƵNative STEM students.
Her current research expands that doctoral work to focus on belongingness, Alaska
Native education, preparation, and retention.
In 2018, Michele received the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER
Award, honoring her work on “ƵNative Belonging in High School Math and Science
Classrooms.” This award was the first and only NSF CAREER award granted at UAA. Professor
Yatchmeneff recently was rewarded for her work in Indigenous leadership by receiving
the national College Board Dr. Henrietta Mann Leadership Award.
Michele has made valuable contributions to the development of both pre-college and
undergraduate courses to foster critical thinking, engineering identity growth, and
an understanding of real-life engineering projects. Michele is inspiring a new generation
of underrepresented students to succeed in college and the engineering profession.
