UW–Madison alumnus David O’Connor, an education consultant with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s American Indian Studies Program, recently received a certificate of commendation from Governor Tony Evers and a legislative citation from Wisconsin State Senator Mark Miller and Representative Melissa Sargent for his work.
O’Connor holds a master’s degree from the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis.
Both honors recognize that O’Connor was named a “Native American 40 Under 40” award winner for 2020 by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. They describe his dedication to education as stretching “far and wide, across the entire state of Wisconsin and beyond.”
The awards also recognize O’Connor’s desire to expand opportunities for kids to “learn, grow, and be successful in their K-12 education.”
O’Connor is originally from, and is a member of, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe) in northern Wisconsin. In his role with DPI, he supports school districts’ efforts to provide instruction on the history, culture, and tribal sovereignty of Wisconsin’s American Indian nations and tribal communities, and the education of Native American students.