Dr. Stephanie Russo Carroll is Dene/Ahtna, a citizen of the Native Village of Kluti-Kaah in Alaska, and of Sicilian-descent. Based at the University of Arizona (UA), she is Assistant Professor, Community, Environment and Policy Department at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH) and American Indian Studies Graduate Interdisciplinary Program; Affiliate Faculty, College of Law; Acting Director and Assistant Research Professor, Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy; Associate Director, Native Nations Institute (NNI) at the Udall Center; and Director, Collaboratory for Indigenous Data Governance.

Stephanie's research explores the links between Indigenous governance, data, the environment, and community wellness. Her interdisciplinary lab group,the Collaboratory for Indigenous Data Governance Research, develops research, policy, and practice innovations for Indigenous data sovereignty. Indigenous data sovereignty draws on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that reaffirms the rights of Indigenous nations to control data about their peoples, lands, and resources. The lab’s research, teaching, and engagement seek to transform institutional governance and ethics for Indigenous control of Indigenous data, particularly within open science, open data, and big data contexts. The lab primarily collaborates with Indigenous Peoples and nations in the US Southwest and the Arctic, as well an international network of Indigenous data sovereignty and governance experts. Lab members also often partner with communities to which they belong, including Indigenous communities. Stephanie offers Indigenous women-led mentoring of undergraduate through pos doctoral scholars and research staff with the goal of producing policy-relevant research through skill and knowledge acquisition. The lab’s disciplinary breadth includes public health, law, business, geography, sociology, social work, public policy, and environmental and climate sciences.  

Stephanie co-edited the book Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Policy and led the publication of the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance. Stephanie co-founded the US Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network and co-founded and chairs the Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA) and the International Indigenous Data Sovereignty Interest Group at the Research Data Alliance. She Chairs the Indigenous Data Working Group for the IEEE P2890 Recommended Practice for Provenance of Indigenous Peoples’ Data. Stephanie is an ENRICH: Equity for Indigenous Research and Innovation Coordinating Hub Global Chair. Stephanie was also a founding member of the UAs American Indian and Indigenous Health Alliance Club at MEZCOPH and the UA Native Faculty, working to support the recruitment and retention of Indigenous students and faculty at the UA. Stephanie is a founding board member for the Copper River Tribal College in Chitina, Alaska. Stephanie received her AB from Cornell University and MPH and DrPH from MEZCOPH.