Chris Nelson

Dr. Chris A. Nelson (she/her) is from the K’awaika (Laguna Pueblo) and Diné (Navajo) tribal communities. She is the Vice President of Diversity Affairs and Special Advisor on Tribal Relations. After 10 years of being faculty at the University of Denver, she has leveraged her expertise and scholarship on how higher education institutions organize and operate to better understand how institutions can live out their commitments to supporting Indigenous visibility and presence. Chris also holds a full professor appointment in the College of Education, where her scholarship utilizes a blending of critical theory and Indigenous relationality theory to explore the purpose and function of higher education.

When she isn’t sitting in front of the computer or teaching students, she is a mother to Olin, a partner to talented artist, Johnny, a cat mom to Lucky Cat & Fletcher, and recently a first-time dog mom to Marshall. Chris has been an avid player and spectator of soccer since she was 4 years old.