Ken was born in Arizona and is of Hopi Indian and Chinese ancestry. He earned a B. A. in English/Secondary Education and also did graduate work in Communications. He has 22 years of administrative staff experience in university Native American and Multicultural student programs and services. He was also editor of a weekly tribal newspaper and has experience in TV news production. His responsibilities in the Multicultural Center include academic advisement and counseling, tribal scholarship assistance, recruiting, multicultural programming, and he is also advisor for the Native Sun Club.

Kumen was raised on the Navajo reservation in Crystal, New Mexico.  He graduated from Utah Valley University with a B.S. in English/Creative Writing.  He has administrative experience in tribal programs and non-profit organizations.  He comes to UVU as an Academic Advisor in Multicultural Student Services.  His responsibilities include:  recruiting, academic advisement, tribal scholarship assistance, and Native Sun Club advisement.  He is a great advocate for our students and we are happy to have him advance our programs and mission. 

Barney Nye earned a B.S. degree in Integrated Studies with emphases in English and Behavioral Science from UVU, and comes to his position with extensive experience working in federal TRIO programs. Originally from Utah County, Barney credits the TRIO programs (of which EOC is a member) with much of his success today. He is among the first generation of his family to graduate from college and is dedicated to spreading the word that higher education is a possibility regardless of one's background. Barney's responsibilities include the entire management of the Educational Opportunity Center which helps 1,000 people annually from disadvantaged backgrounds throughout Utah County and Eastern Utah.

Darah is from Mililani, Hawaii and has been employed with Utah Valley University since 2008. She earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Criminal Justice with an emphasis in Criminal Law from Utah Valley University. She is currently applying for the Educational Leadership & Policy Master's Program at the University of Utah for Spring 2014. Darah is now the administrative assistant in Multicultural Student Services and enjoys working with students. She is responsible for managing the department and serves as the information and communication manager for our center; plans and schedules meetings and appointments; organizes and maintains paper and electronic files; manages projects; conducts research; and disseminate information by using the telephone, mail services, Web sites, and e-mail. She intimately knows and understands how our center functions.

Yudi has been working at Utah Valley University since 1997. She is currently working as a Counselor in the Multicultural Center's Latino Initiative. Yudi Lewis has two Bachelor of Science degrees in the areas of Business and Psychology. She holds a Master in Business Administration (MBA) and is currently working on her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership & Policy at the University of Utah. Yudi oversees the Latino Initiative budget and the UVU Latino Outreach events. She enjoys helping student achieve their academic goals.