Dr. Lexie Tom Appointed Interim President of Northwest Indian College
The Northwest Indian College Board of Trustees appoints and welcomes Dr. Lexie Tom as the Interim President of Northwest Indian College, effective Oct. 10, 2024.
Prior to this appointment, Dr. Tom served as Acting Director of the Lummi Nation Educational System, which includes Lummi Nation K-12 School, the Early Learning Programs, Head Start program, Johnson O’Malley education program and partnerships with all public schools that enroll Lummi children. In that position she oversaw: Tribal, Federal, state regulations and standards; financial management including managing and allocating funds; maintaining academic standards and curricula; providing leadership to school teams towards academic achievement; and personnel management; while also supporting language and culture in the schools and working with the school board as partners in education.
Dr. Tom holds a doctoral degree in Indigenous Studies from the University of Alaska Fairbanks for her dissertation, “An Indigenous Teacher Preparation Framework.” She has a Master’s in Public Administration from Evergreen State College, a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Western Washington University and is a proud graduate of Northwest Indian College.

Dr. Tom worked for Lummi Nation as the Chairman’s Policy Analyst and later as a member of the Lummi Indian Business Council where Lexie focused on education, Tribal sovereignty, and preservation of language and culture.
At NWIC, Dr. Tom was part of a team of Native faculty who collaborated, researched, and wrote the first Bachelor of Arts in Native Studies Leadership with the support of the late William E. Jones. While serving as Department Chair, Dr. Tom, Greg Mahle, Brandon Morris, and Don McCluskey authored the Lummi Nation School K-12 Language Standards with assessment tools that recognize Tribal values.
In Dr. Tom’s own words: “I grew up at Northwest Indian College. I always heard our elders tell the story how our Tribal leaders as an act of sovereignty voted to create a charter that established what is now Northwest Indian College. I will always remember and recognize the sacrifices our founders and elders made. It’s with their support that education will continue to thrive in our Tribal communities. It’s an honor to continue their vision of Indigenous education towards mission fulfillment in contemporary times. I will continue to listen and learn as we move forward together.”
The Board of Trustees has confidence in the leadership that Dr. Tom can provide as Interim President. The Trustees will continue to design and carry out a process to search for the next college president.