Senior Manager, Native American Student Supports

Rose Marie McGuire is the Senior Manager of the Native American Culture and Education Department (NACE.) Rose had been with in her current position at NACE since 2000, and prior to that she was a school nurse with DPS. She grew up on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Nation in South Dakota. After graduating from Boston University with a BS degree in education, she moved to Colorado where she established and directed the Circle of Learning preschool for Native American children at the Denver Indian Center Inc.

At the same time that Rose was promoting the Circle of Learning preschool, she continued her education, earning a BS degree in Nursing and Nurse Practitioners from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. She subsequently studied at the University of Denver, earning a Master of Arts degree in Native American Studies. Throughout her career, Rose’s goal has been to obtain the knowledge and credentials to work with her people, particularly young Native students, and to inspire the next generations of Native Americans to achieve a good education and satisfying employment. An important part of that inspiration is to encourage Native students to embrace and take pride in their cultural identity. To support this, Rose instituted (in 2012) Lakota language course and continues to promote a Native languages at DPS.

To achieve these goals, Rose has been involved with the Native American Community both locally and nationally. Presently, as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Denver Indian Center Inc., she has achieved success in physical renovations to the building and also in expanding culturally relevant programs. Her connections and memberships with broader Native American organizations such as the National Indian Education Association and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, have helped advocate for Native people in education, health and youth voices on a national level. As an example, the Colorado State University Native STEM project connects with Native high school students and encourages them to follow STEM studies; this project grew from an effort that Rose initiated with the CSU Native Culture Center.

Rose and her husband Robin have two grown sons and one granddaughter.