Traci (McClellan) Sorell

We gratefully acknowledge the outstanding achievements that Traci McClellan Sorell has made in the areas of Academics, Public Service, and Arts. The first in her family to graduate from college and an enrolled Cherokee Nation citizen, Traci has focused her academic and professional efforts on supporting Native Americans. Traci has taught and guest lectured at the University of New Mexico and the University of North Dakota School of Law. She has served as the Executive Director of the National Indian Council on Aging as well as the Legislative Director of the National Indian Health Board. A poet and author of fiction and nonfiction books for children, Traci has won numerous awards for her work including the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor and the Sibert Honor for her first book, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga. Traci earned her BA in Native American Studies at UC Berkeley and her MA in American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona along with her JD from the University of Wisconsin.