Carolyn Rodriguez (she/her) is a member of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. In 2021, she received her Master’s in American Indian Studies from UCLA. Carolyn is a PhD candidate in her fifth year at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, Social Research Methodology program. She examines tribal-university relationships and how the Amah Mutsun community uses research as a tool for tribal sovereignty and cultural revitalization. Her dissertation centers on the collaboration between the Amah Mutsun Land Trust (AMLT) and CDLS. She examines how AMLT and CDLS practice educational tribal sovereignty to support Tribal efforts in revitalizing Indigenous teaching methods at the yearly AMLT Youth Summer Camp to teach Amah Mutsun youth about Indigenous land and water stewardship. Her research highlights the importance of storytelling, Indigenous science, and upholding indigenous knowledge systems. Carolyn also works with tribal youth to create a space to learn about their cultural and traditional ecological knowledge to strengthen their Native and scientific identities. She believes in supporting Amah Mutsun youth’s academic success and interest in science fields while mentoring them in social and environmental justice activism to protect the land, water, sacred sites, and all more-than-human relatives.