“This award is not about me, but about AISES and how we can make the organization successful,” said Stephens. “I have come to know — and blessed to be a part of — how AISES has impacted the lives of so many in providing hope, sharing opportunity, and carrying the torch that lights the pathway forward. While each of our journeys is unique, and not everyone agrees, our common belief in creating opportunity consistent with our shared values is what makes AISES stand out. I have had the privilege of watching AISES grow, but there’s much more to do. I am humbled by the opportunity to receive the Parker Award and look forward to being among the AISES family in Phoenix.”
Stephens, a lifetime AISES Sequoyah Fellow, is emeritus chair of the AISES Board of Directors and recipient of the 2004 AISES Professional of the Year Award. He has also received the National Management Association Gold, Silver Knight, and Excellence in Leadership Awards. He is a National Management Association Hall of Fame inductee and is an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
A former Marine Corps officer, Stephens serves as treasurer of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation and as a board member for Digital Promise. He is a former member of the President’s Council for Tribal Colleges and supported three U.S. cabinet secretaries.
Stephens leads by example in public service, including as a past tribal chairman for the Pala Band of Mission Indians; former city council member and mayor pro tem in Alpine, Texas; past director of World Business Chicago; and past chair of the Orange County Business Council. Together with his wife, Elane V. Scott, founded Raising Families, an organization that focuses on parenting, families, and children. The couple has six children and 12 grandchildren.
Stephens received his BS in mathematics from the University of Southern California, an MS in computer science from California State University, Fullerton, and the majority of his MBA at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.
About AISES
Founded in 1977, The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) is a national nonprofit organization focused on substantially increasing the representation of Indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific Islands in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) studies and careers. This robust nonprofit currently supports individual student and professional members across the U.S. and Canada in critically needed STEM disciplines. Through chartered college and university chapters, professional chapters, tribal chapters, and affiliated K-12 schools, members benefit from diverse STEM-focused programming that supports careers and promotes student success and workforce development in multiple crucial areas. To learn more visit aises.org.
About Raising Families
Our mission is to enable anyone involved in the life of a child to become a confident leader in preparing children and families for a successful future. We embrace future parents, current parents, grandparents, and the beloved friends and community who help us raise all our children together. Raising Families is part of Birth2Work,
a federally recognized not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Visit raisingfamilies.org for more information.
