Mary Beth Jäger feels excited and privileged to be working with fellow Citizen Potawatomi member Dr. Whyte, Tishman Director Martinez and fellow staff and students of the Tishman Center. Jäger serves as a research coordinator and telecommutes from the Seattle area.  

Before starting at Tishman, Mary Beth worked as a decade long telecommuter and research analyst at the Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona. Over the last several years, Jäger served as a co-lead for the Indigenous Foods Knowledges Network, (NSF-OPP Award#1745499), a research coordination network bringing together Indigenous individuals from the Arctic and US Southwest around food sovereignty and resilience. Currently, she serves as an experienced co-lead for the Fostering Indigenous-led Research Convergence Work Group hosted by the NSF funded Navigating the New Arctic-Community Office. One key aspect of these two projects is co-producing knowledge with fellow Indigenous collaborators. Jäger believes in advancing justice and equity through co-production and collaborating with Indigenous communities and communities marginalized to leverage research to their benefit. She looks forward to opportunities of this at the Tishman Center. 

Outside of work Jäger is a tamale enthusiast, food on the water admirer, sweet on pan dulce, fangirl of the Three Sisters and the list goes on. Besides being a big fan of food, Jäger believes food is medicine and central to culture.