Karen Biestman is the Associate Dean and Director of Stanford’s Native American Cultural Center, with teaching appointments at both Berkeley and Stanford Law Schools, and Stanford’s Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity. Previously, she taught at Berkeley in Native American or American Studies since 1983, and held Student Affairs appointments on both campuses, with a year hiatus to serve as Director of Indian Education for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, in San Francisco.
Her expertise includes Federal Indian Law, Environmental Justice, Sacred Geography Protection, Indian Country Economic Development, and American Indian Religious Freedom. She currently serves as Vice President of the Board of the California Indian Museum, and consults widely in Indian Affairs with tribal, governmental, and non-profit organizations.
