Our Staff

Raul Aguilar, Jr., Executive Director, (Red Lake Nation). He is also Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe and Mexican. He currently leads as the Executive Director of the Indigenous Language Institute (ILI). He has a background in Communication Studies and Leadership in Education from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Prior to this role, he worked in corporate consulting on improving human resources & operations. He previously oversaw American Indian recruitment and retention initiatives at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. He managed the Circle of Indigenous Nations office, programs, and partnerships. He also served as President & Chief Financial Officer of the Minnesota Association of Counselors of Color (MnACC), a non-profit focused on improving access to higher education for American Indian & students of color in Minnesota.

Laura Benavidez (Nambé Pueblo), has been with ILI for over 18 years, and currently serves as the organization’s Office & Operations Manager. She oversaw the ILI’s Digital Storytelling workshops, that helped indigenous communities create short stories through a technology workshop. Prior to ILI, she was Executive Assistant to Governor Tom Talache of Nambé Pueblo. Before that she was office manager / legal secretary in the legal field with 16 years of experience.

Inée Yang Slaughter, is a Consultant and former Executive Director of ILI. Inée led ILI for past 29 years. She received her BA in French Literature from the University of California Berkeley. Of Korean heritage born and raised in Japan, she is fluent in Japanese, Korean, English and has working knowledge of French. She has extensive experience tutoring conversational Japanese, English and French languages to all ages. She conducts training on the topics of language acquisition, oral language development, community engagement and assessment. She has worked in the non-profit sector for 35 years.

Jennie DeGroat, (Diné), is a Consultant for ILI. She is a Bilingual & Multicultural Associate Teaching Professor at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ. Her 40+ years of experience involves Indigenous Language Teacher Education, Reversing Diné Language Shift & Oppression, Oral Language Immersion, and Indigenous Bilingual Education. She has coordinated Diné Language Immersion Camps in Albuquerque, NM, taught language immersion courses for the American Indian Language Development Institute in Tucson, AZ, and continues to present on language shifts, language endangerment, and home language revitalization within Indigenous communities.

Sheilah E. Nicholas, (Hopiit), the Hopi People of the Black Mesa region of what is known as Arizona. She is Sunforehead Clan from Songoopavi Village on Second Mesa. She is a Consultant for ILI. A Professor the College of Education at the University of Arizona, she teaches courses in Indigenous Culture-Based Education, Language and Culture, Oral Traditions, Language Minority Education, and Teacher Research. She also is faculty Instructor for the American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI), a summer program, she teaches courses in Indigenous language revitalization, the Oral Immersion approach to Indigenous language revitalization, and Indigenous language and culture in education, and provides outreach language teacher preparation professional development through AILDI to tribal efforts in community and school- based language programs. Recently with a US Department of Education award, Sheilah named the Director of the West Regional Language Resource Center, housed within AILDI.