Kendra Becenti is from the Diné (Navajo) Nation and was raised in New Mexico by her two mothers. She is born for the Black-streaked wood people clan and born to the German clan. Her biological maternal grandfather’s clan is Water Flows Together and her non-biological mother’s clan is Anglo. Kendra is a rising senior and Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow at Stanford University where she is working towards a dual Bachelors degree in Native American Studies and Psychology.

Kendra is the Generation Indigenous & Special Projects Fellow at the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute. She leads the Remembering Our Sisters Fellowship; an initiative that aims to empower female and femme Indigenous youth to advocate and raise awareness for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-spirits+ crisis through digital storytelling and visual arts. This project supports her aspiration to

pursue a career in research and advocacy that benefits Native communities and focuses on the overall wellbeing of Indigenous people, decolonial methodologies, and positive and accurate political and social visibility of Indigenous people. She has worked on research initiatives that center and amplify Indigenous issues, including co-authoring a publication with acclaimed Indigenous researcher, Dr. Stephanie Fryberg, and supporting data collection and evaluation for the recent Indigenous Futures Survey. She hopes her current and future work can help challenge stereotypes, promotes Indigenous self-love, and supports Indigenous sovereignty, resilience, and excellence.