SAIO 50 for 50: Leo John "LJ" Bird

This Week's Spotlight:  Leo John “LJ” Bird ('17, CSRE & Native American Studies)

Bird (Asmkapii Piikani, Haida-Tlingit) is a TRiO Success Coach at Salish Kootenai College and a student in the University of Montana’s Master of Public Health program with a focus on suicide prevention. In fall 2021, he will begin pursuing a Ph.D. in Indigenous Studies at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in language and culture revitalization and its intersections with health and healing. Bird has previously served as an Academic Success Specialist at Blackfeet Community College.

At Stanford, Bird was a Stanford American Indian Organization Co-chair, a 2-time resident of Muwekma-Tah-Ruk, a member of the 17th Undergraduate Senate, a Native American Cultural Center Social Justice Coordinator, Stanford Native Immersion Program staff, and a member of Stanford American Indian Science and Engineering Society. In the Senate, Bird authored a resolution that was instrumental in pushing the University to rename campus buildings and streets that reified Junipero Serra, one of the founders and early leaders of the California Mission system. 

LJ's Interview