NEWSLETTER
April 2021
MEET OUR NEWEST BOARD MEMBERS
We welcomed three new members to our Andrus Center Board of Governors this month! 
Mark Echo Hawk
Mark maintains a general litigation practice as the founding partner of Echo Hawk & Olsen. After graduating from ISU, Mark studied law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU and served as a law clerk for the Idaho Supreme Court. Mark focuses his practice on Indian Law and has advocated for numerous Tribal governments for over two decades. He has extensive experience with Tribal economic development, helping Tribes with federal contracting, gaming, and innovative health care solutions for Tribes. He also has expertise in Treaties, land use, taxation, gaming regulation, jurisdiction, education, rights of way, lobbying, housing, contracts, Tribal court and Tribal code. He serves as a Tribal Court Judge, speaks Spanish fluently, and is an enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation.
Chris Mathias
Chris represents District 19 in the Idaho House of Representatives. Originally from New England, Chris served in the U.S. Coast Guard before landing at Boise State. Thanks to the G.I. Bill, he graduated from Boise State before going on to earn a JD at one of the nation’s premier environmental law schools. He also holds a Ph.D. in law and public policy, specializing in Idaho’s incident management system.

Chris’s life-long commitment to service is powerfully intertwined with Boise State. In addition to serving as student body president, he also served as a Policy Manager in the President’s Office and as an adjunct professor in the School of Public Service. He currently serves on the School of Public Service Advisory Board.  He is also a former U.S. Senate law clerk and served as the Chief Academic Officer for the Idaho State Board of Education.  
Robert Sanchez
Robert is Vice President of Idaho Business for Education (IBE), working closely with local public school administrators and business leaders throughout Idaho in advancing IBE's School House strategy to promote early childhood literacy, student achievement, and college/career readiness. Robert holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and an MBA in Management and Marketing from Northwest Nazarene University. He also has a M.A. in Strategic Studies from the Command and General Staff College of the U.S. Army at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Robert is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel with 24 years of active duty service at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels of the U.S. military and Department of Defense.
Many thanks to Mark, Chris, and Robert for your willingness to share your professional expertise, your experience, and your perspectives with the Andrus Center and our mission work.
MEET THE ANDRUS SCHOLARS CLASS OF 2021
The Andrus Scholars program was launched in 2019 to support our future environment and public lands leaders through meaningful work experience and skill development. In 2019 we honored one student, three students in 2020, and this year we are excited to award six students with this distinction!

Our Andrus Scholars Class of 2021 doubled in size thanks to a collaborative endeavor with Boise State University's Biology Department and a National Science Foundation Idaho EPSCoR Program. The GEM3 EPSCoR grant funded three additional environmentally focused Biology students alongside our traditional three School of Public Service Environmental Studies students.

Andrus Center Scholars with Biology majors who are funded by the EPSCOR grant include Allen Chatfield, Lauren Kirschner, and Sydney Patterson. Andrus Center Scholars with an Environmental Studies degree focus are funded by our generous Andrus Scholars Fund donors and include Amanda Grimsted, Cheyon Sheen, and Maggi Szelez.
Congratulations Andrus Scholars Class of 2021!
Environmental Studies Students - Andrus Scholars
Amanda Grimsted
Cheyon Sheen
Maggi Szelez
Biology Students - Andrus Scholars
Allen Chatfield
Lauryn Kirschner
Syd Patterson
Look for interviews with our 2021 Andrus Scholars in the next Andrus Center Newsletter!
2021 YOUNG WOMEN AND LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
Keynote speakers, Tai Simpson and Liyah Babayan, on stage at the 2021 YWL Conference.
The 3rd annual Young Women and Leadership conference was hosted virtually on February 23, 2021. Students from 9th-12th grades heard from area role models Tai Simpson and Liyah Babayan and participated in unique skill-building workshops designed to help instill the characteristics of leadership in the youth of today – our leaders of tomorrow.

Thanks to individual donors, partnering organizations, and sponsors, we were able to offer more scholarships for students than ever before, which greatly expanded participation to 26 different schools this year! 

Over 75% of participants said they would attend an Andrus Center event again and we look forward to the future these teens will undoubtedly influence.

If you know of any high schoolers interested in attending next year, please direct them to our website and encourage them to save the date- March 15th, 2022. We plan for next year to be hosted in-person, but this may be subject to change in the presence of our evolving COVID-19 precautions.
SAVE THE DATE-2021 WOMEN AND LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE (VIRTUAL)
The 9th Annual Women and Leadership Conference -- to be held Wednesday & Thursday, September 29-30, 2021 -- will remain an all virtual event due to the uncertainty of COVID dictated large group gathering protocols. Save the Date!

The Andrus Center hosted last year's 8th annual Women and Leadership conference virtually and nearly 1,300 registrants from 37 states, the District of Columbia, and 4 countries! The response to our virtual pivot was so positive, we are committed to maintaining an online component to our conference even after gathering in person is once again safe.

Registration and further details will be available in the next Newsletter!
A COMMEMERATION OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. JOHN FREEMUTH- PUBLIC LANDS: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
On May 2nd, 2020, Dr. John Freemuth, Boise State University Distinguished Professor and Cecil Andrus Endowed Chair of Environment and Public Lands, passed away suddenly. He was scheduled to teach an undergraduate public lands course for Environmental Studies in Fall 2020. Rather than cancel the class, Dr. Emily Wakild and PhD. candidate Mackenzie Case re-designed the course as a one-of-a-kind learning experience honoring the decades’ worth of relationships John had built around his life’s work for public lands.

Speakers representing a wide range of expertise were asked to conduct virtual classroom discussions and panels for the commemorative course.

Over 24 classroom discussions and panels were recorded, ranging from such topics as "Politics vs. Science: John’s Common Sense Approach," "Water is for Fighting," to "Tribal Self-Determination and Rebuilding the West," and many more. The public will have access to the recordings and resources of this course on the Andrus Center for Public Policy website by May 2021. We are honored to provide this record and continue to celebrate John’s incredible contributions to the Andrus Center, public lands policy, and future leaders.

Recordings and resources will be available in the next Newsletter!
SUPPORT THE ANDRUS CENTER
The Andrus Center for Public Policy is dedicated to independent, non-partisan policy formulation on critical issues and challenges confronting Idaho, the American West, and the United States.

Become a Friend of the Andrus Center today and help ensure our continued success. Use the link to the left to make a one-time, recurring, or pledge donation. If you prefer to donate by check, checks should be made payable to “Boise State University Foundation” with “Andrus Center” in the memo line and mailed to:
 
Andrus Center for Public Policy
Boise State University
1910 University Drive
Boise, ID 83725-1935
  
The Andrus Center for Public Policy is an independent nonprofit entity within Boise State University’s School of Public Service. All gifts to the Center are managed by Boise State University Foundation, a tax-exempt Idaho organization under 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code (#82-6010706), and are eligible for federal and state charitable income tax deductions. The Andrus Center is overseen by its Board of Governors. Tracy Andrus serves as President and Chairman.

Your support is sincerely appreciated.