Denise Juneau

Denise Juneau
Superintendent of Public Instruction of the state of Montana
Assumed office
January 2009
Preceded by Linda McCulloch
Personal details
Born (1967-04-05) April 5, 1967
Oakland, California, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Residence Helena, Montana
Alma mater Montana State University (B.A.)
Harvard University (M.Ed.)
University of Montana (J.D.)
Profession Teacher and Attorney

Denise Juneau (born April 5, 1967) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Montana elected as the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.[1] The State Superintendent of Public Instruction heads the Montana Office of Public Instruction. A member of the Democratic Party, Juneau is the first American Indian woman to be elected to statewide executive office in Montana.[2][3][4] She is an enrolled member of the Mandan and Hidatsa tribes, and descendant of the Blackfeet Tribe.[5][6]

On November 4, 2015, Juneau announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in the 2016 Congressional Election, against one-term incumbent Ryan Zinke.[7]

Early life and education

Juneau was born in Oakland, California.[8] She attended Montana’s public education system from elementary school through higher education and worked in Montana public schools through most of her professional career. Juneau attended Head Start and first grade in Billings, Montana while her parents completed their undergraduate degrees–both in education. The family then moved to Juneau's father’s hometown of Browning, Montana, where her parents were teachers, and she graduated from Browning High School.[9] In November 2015, Juneau confirmed she had twice been arrested for driving under the influence while a college student.[10] At Montana State University – Bozeman, Juneau received a Bachelor’s Degree in English. She went on to the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she completed her Master of Education Degree.[11] Juneau then attended the University of Montana Law School, completing her J.D. in 2004.[11]

Early career

Denise Juneau's teaching career began in New Town, North Dakota on the Fort Berthold Reservation. Juneau's mother, Montana state Senator Carol Juneau,[12] grew up in that area, and Juneau is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes. The Mandan and Hidatsa tribes are a part of the combined nations, known as the Three Affiliated Tribes. Juneau's first teaching job included teaching English to every 9th and 10th grader in the school, as well as coaching the speech and debate team.

Prior to running for public office, Juneau worked at the Montana Office of Public Instruction as the Director of Indian Education where she oversaw the implementation of Montana's constitutionally-mandated Indian Education For All program to deliver education in the public schools on Montana's American Indian heritage.[13][14]

Following law school, she was a law clerk for Montana Supreme Court Justices Jim Regnier and Brian Morris, then went on to work as an attorney for a national law firm that specialized in Federal Indian law.[11]

Political career

In 2008, Juneau ran for Superintendent of Public Instruction. She first won a four-way Democratic primary in June.[15] In the November general election, the final vote tally was 234,483 for Juneau (51%), 201,091 (43.7%) for her GOP opponent, Elaine Sollie Herman, and 24,236 (5.3%) for Libertarian candidate Donald Eisenmenger.[16]

In 2012 she ran for reelection against Republican Sandy Welch. Juneau won for a second term.[17] Due to term limits, she will be ineligible to run again in 2016.

Juneau had been named as a possible candidate for Senator Max Baucus' (D-Montana) seat which will be vacated upon his retirement in 2014, but on August 5, announced she would not run.[18]

On Nov. 4, 2015, Juneau announced her candidacy [19] for Montana's lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Accomplishments

Since Juneau took office in 2009, Montana's graduation rate increased 4.7 percent, while the dropout rate decreased 1.3 percent.[20] Juneau also oversaw the development of Montana's "Schools of Promise Initiative", an $11.5 million three-year project aimed at improving the state's persistently lowest-performing schools.[21]

In 2009, Montana's leadership in Indian Education was recognized when Juneau was named Educator of the Year by the National Indian Education Association.[3][5][22][23]

In 2010, Carroll College awarded Juneau an Honorary Doctorate.[24] Also in 2010, Juneau launched "Graduation Matters Montana", a statewide program to help students "graduate from high school prepared for college and the workforce".[25]

Juneau gave a speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in which she praised U.S. President Barack Obama for emphasizing schools.[26]

In 2015, Juneau was awarded the Alumni Council Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education, from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.[27] She also received the National Education Association's Leo Reano Memorial Award.[28]

Juneau is openly gay.[29]

References

  1. ↑ "Montana OPI Media Center". mt.gov. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  2. ↑ Montana under new management
  3. 1 2 Missoulian State Bureau (September 11, 2009). "Denise Juneau, Joe Medicine Crow named educator, elder of the year". missoulian.com. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  4. ↑ Denise Juneau, NIEA member is Montana's new Superintendent of Public Instruction
  5. 1 2 Publisher. "NIEA names Denise Juneau Indian Educator of the Year". nativetimes.com. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  6. ↑ "125 Montana Newsmakers - Denise Juneau". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Denise Juneau launches campaign for Montana's U.S. House seat". The Billings Gazette. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
  8. ↑ "Denise Juneau bio". missoulian.com. January 24, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  9. ↑ Denise Juneau's official bio
  10. ↑ Cates, Kristen (November 16, 2015). "Juneau Confirms 2 DUI Arrests In College". Great Falls Tribune.
  11. 1 2 3 "Montana OPI Media Center". mt.gov. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  12. ↑ Carol Juneau bio, MEA-MFT Website
  13. ↑ ROB CHANEY Missoulian (December 30, 2008). "Native stories, our stories: Agency to design Indian education". The Billings Gazette. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  14. ↑ ROB CHANEY Of the Missoulian (December 7, 2008). "Teachers look to get Indian info into classroom". The Billings Gazette. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  15. ↑ CHARLES S. JOHNSON Gazette State Bureau (June 19, 2008). "Differences come to fore in OPI race". The Billings Gazette. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  16. ↑ 2008 Statewide General Election Canvass. Montana Secretary of State
  17. ↑ http://sos.mt.gov/elections/2012/2012_General_Canvass.pdf
  18. ↑ Capriccioso, Rob. "Denise Juneau Says No to US Senate Run in Montana". Indian Country. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Democrat Denise Juneau will challenge Zinke for Montana's Congressional seat". www.krtv.com. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
  20. ↑ Deedy, Alexander (January 13, 2015). "[UPDATED] Montana Graduation Rate Hits All-Time High". Helena Independent Record.
  21. ↑ Yager, Sarah (March 23, 2012). "Making New Promises in Indian Country". The Atlantic.
  22. ↑ "National Indian Education Association". niea.org. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  23. ↑ "10/30/09 - Montana Leads the Region in Key Education Policies". mt.gov. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Juneau". archive.greatfallstribune.com. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
  25. ↑ "Graduation and Dropout Report 2014" (PDF). Montana Office of Public Instruction. Retrieved November 2015.
  26. ↑ Ujifusa, Andrew (November 4, 2015). "Montana Chief Denise Juneau Announces Run for Congress". Education Week.
  27. ↑ "Juneau to Receive Alumni Council Award". Harvard Graduate School of Education. http://www.gse.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-19. External link in |publisher= (help)
  28. ↑ "NEA" (PDF).
  29. ↑ "U.S. House hopeful Juneau is Montana's first openly gay candidate for federal office". KTVQ. February 3, 2016.

External links

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