Carolee Dodge Francis

Position title: Leola R. Culver Professor in Nonprofits and Philanthropy; Department Chair

I strive to intertwine my community engagement and research scholarship as a reflection of my cultural understandings within a contemporary context that is focused upon the well-being of Indigenous populations.

I have over 30 years’ work experience in community and public health, health education, program development, evaluation, curriculum adaptation, and qualitative and community-based participatory research within urban and rural American Indian communities nationwide.

For the last eight years, I have been one of four national Principal Investigators funded under the High School NIH-NIDDK (R25) Short Term Research Experience for Underrepresented Persons (STEP-UP) funding stream. I continue in this capacity, aiming to increase and strengthen the shortage of American Indian/Alaska Natives pursuing the fields of biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research in the areas of diabetes, endocrinology, metabolism, nutrition, and obesity.

I am a member of a global evaluation committee EvalIndigenous. This global committee focuses upon ensuring that policies and evaluation practices for Indigenous peoples are based on equity, fairness, and justice. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) frames our work, moving from an evidence-based focus towards a shared global understanding of ethical and cultural practices for Indigenous peoples and our rights within the field of evaluation.