Dr. Johnny Poolaw

Dr. Johnny Poolaw is a citizen of the Delaware Nation and is also a descendent of the Chiricahua Apache, Comanche, and Kiowa Nations. He serves as the Director of Student Success for AISES. In this role, Dr. Poolaw oversees the Student Success Division within the Programs Department in the development and implementation of student success programming, including developing and providing a holistic suite of college student services focused on supporting academic success, career exploration, and successful transition into the workforce, developing scholarship and internship policies and procedures, engaging in collaborations with partner organizations and coalitions, and collecting data to track outcomes and evaluate AISES’ student support programs to explore the impact of AISES’ college programs.

Dr. Poolaw has a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from the University of Oklahoma, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Cameron University, and Master and Doctorate Degrees in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Oklahoma. For the past 20 years, Johnny has served his Indigenous community and primarily Indigenous students in higher education in various roles. Prior to working with AISES, he was the Acting Tribal Liaison Officer for the University of Oklahoma and before that role, he served as an instructor, Dean of Student Services, and as the Vice President of Student and Academic Affairs at the Comanche Nation Tribal College in Lawton, Oklahoma. Of all the roles he has held, he has always thought of the heartwork he does with Native students as the most rewarding.

Dr. Poolaw’s research explores Indigenous student success and Indigenous Men in Higher Education.