Pearl Kiyawn Nageak Brower


Pearl Kiyawn Nageak Brower is an American academic administrator. She is president of Iḷisaġvik College.

Early life and education

Brower was raised in Utqiagvik, Alaska and Northern California by a family of Iñupiat, Armenian, and Chippewa descent. Her indigenous grandmother was a member of the North Slope Borough School Board and education advocate. Her grandfather was a culture bearer who lived in the Alaska North Slope. Brower graduated from Shasta College. She completed two B.A. degrees in Alaska Native Studies and Anthropology in 2004 and a master's degree in Alaska Native and Rural Development in 2010 at University of Alaska Fairbanks. Brower earned a Ph.D. in indigenous studies with an emphasis in indigenous leadership from UAF in 2016.

Career

Brower managed a culture and education grant for North Slope Borough and was a museum curator at the Iñupiat Heritage Center. She joined Iḷisaġvik College in 2007, where she worked in institutional advancement, student services, and marketing. She served as the director of external relations and development at Iḷisaġvik before becoming president of the college in 2012 after serving for three months as the interim. In 2015, Brower was named by Alaska Journal of Commerce as one of Alaska's top 40 under 40.

Personal life

Brower is married to Donald Jesse Darling Jr. They have two daughters.