Alumna and professor wins national Future Leaders Award

The K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award honors the legacy of an educator known for expanding access to higher education and championing innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Since the award recognizes graduate students who embody that same spirit, it is fitting that UAA alumna and assistant professor Jessica Ross is among this year's recipients.

Ross is a dental hygienist who is currently teaching in the Department of Human Services. Drawing from her own professional background in clinical practice, her curriculum helps students connect theory to reality while providing them with room to ask questions, be curious and make mistakes. Since joining UAA as faculty in 2016 in the UAA dental programs, Ross' work has expanded beyond health and human services and into Alaska Native studies. In this capacity, she teaches general education requirement courses on Indigenous history and perspectives, highlighting UAA's unique location on the ancestral homelands of the Dena'ina, Ahtna, Alutiiq/Sugpiaq and Eyak/dAXunhyuu Peoples.

All of Ross' teaching areas are best exemplified by the Nughejagh Project , named from the Dena'ina word that means to become whole . Established by Ross in 2023, the project provides culturally responsive and trauma-informed training to health care professionals and caregivers. The Nughejagh Project team also researches ways to generally improve Indigenous health care delivery systems, such as through the creation of a traditional healing database that preserves traditional knowledge for future generations to access.

"Not only do I see my being here as a way to encourage Indigenous youth to pursue a path down higher education and health," said Ross, "but I also feel passionate in bringing forward the history that explains that our knowledge has been contributing to a lot of what we have today. So it's valid, it's effective and it's worthy of celebrating."

Having taken UAA's dental hygiene classes herself, and as a member of the Dena'ina community, Ross' understanding of the importance of her role is personal. Her family initially hesitated to support her academic aspirations due to the intergenerational trauma associated with boarding schools . Despite these reservations, Ross felt a strong desire to complete her education. That determination ultimately led her to become the first in her family to graduate from high school and later from college, experiences that now inform her commitment to mentoring students who face similar barriers.

After graduating from high school, Ross served in the United States Navy, where she gained leadership skills and a renewed appreciation for education as a pathway to professional and personal growth. When she returned to Alaska, she knew she wanted to pursue a career in health care, motivated by a desire to help others and improve access to care. Torn between nursing and dental hygiene, Ross chose the latter after running into a family friend who had always been able to light up a room, but had since become withdrawn due to an inability to access dental care, literally dimming her smile.

"What that experience revealed to me was the impacts that poor oral health can result in, and not only health-wise," said Ross. "I didn't understand the science behind the issue at the time, but I saw what it did to a person's spirit and personality. That was the turning point, seeing the potential dental hygiene has in helping people maintain their ability to be themselves and express themselves freely."

Following earning her A.A.S. and B.S. in dental hygiene, Ross entered clinical practice, primarily serving patients with limited access to care. The experience strengthened her clinical skills and deepened her understanding of systemic barriers in health care. It also revealed her passion for teaching, as she found fulfillment in mentoring students and sharing knowledge. She returned to UAA as faculty, eventually expanding her academic credentials with an M.Ed. in teaching and learning.

In addition to teaching, Ross is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Indigenous studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, focusing on the integration of traditional Indigenous healing practices into contemporary health care systems. On track to defend her dissertation in fall 2026, she will be the first Ph.D. recipient in her village, representing a meaningful shift from earlier generations' traumatic experiences in the education system.

"Traditional Indigenous healing practices have contributed a great deal to modern medicinal practices, from pharmacology to bone-setting practices to cognitive therapy to some surgical procedures," said Ross. "That recognition has never really been given to Indigenous people, and I hope that I can continue to be an advocate for the Indigenous perspective in health and well-being at UAA in the College of Health, as well as Alaska Native Studies."