Business
April 25, 2018
By Maddie Pfeifer '21
Graduate student Shyla Spicer is about to become the first member of her tribe to graduate with a Master of Business Administration. A native of Portland and a member of the Yakama Nation tribe of the Columbia River’s Wanapum people of Celilo Falls, she will be graduating this year with an M.B.A. in Strategy and Entrepreneurial Studies from the Pamplin School of Business.
Being the first member of her tribe to graduate with an M.B.A. means a lot to Shyla. "When I found out that I would be the first, it gave me the additional fuel to complete the program and do it well," she stated. "Being the first member of my tribe to earn this degree showed me that this was bigger than just my personal growth and goals—it gives me a chance to light the path for someone else."
Starting out as a pre-med student, Shyla then switched majors multiple times until finally deciding to take a year off and work abroad. She worked in Russia as a crab fisherwoman and eventually ended up in Alaska as a quality control technician for a Japanese owned processing company who taught her about lean manufacturing. "I fell in love with manufacturing, learned lean methodologies using statistical sampling, and learned inventory control from an extremely efficient company," she stated. "I realized that this was what I was good at and I enjoyed the work."
Shyla completed her undergraduate program at Portland State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business with a focus in Supply Chain & Logistics Management. After graduating from PSU, Shyla began her career at Nike, where she worked for twelve years in Operations and Project Management. "Working at such a large company as a Native American woman made me feel small," she said. "But I wanted to learn from the best and give a voice to Native Americans in the company." She went on to become the Co-chair of the Native American Employee Network.
When her time at Nike came to an end, she made the decision to go back to school here at UP. The Pamplin School of Business and UP community have helped Shyla prepare for her future goals and ambitions. She has received an immense amount of support and guidance throughout her time in the PSOB and feels truly grateful to have had such a positive experience. "UP has given me the resources I need to truly be successful," she stated. "The instructors really care about you and are watching out for you, which is something that does not happen everywhere."
Specifically, Shyla believes that the curriculum, paired with nurturing professors, has taught her how to help others—something she constantly strives to do. After graduating, she hopes to greatly impact her tribe and Native Americans everywhere.
One way she has become extremely active with her Native American community in order to help make a difference has been with the Portland All-Nations Canoe Family where she is the Executive Director. This organization is an intertribal and intergenerational group grounded in canoe culture that strives to protect their water and strengthen Native families in the Portland community.
Each year, they participate in a traditional and spiritually significant canoe journey traveling 20-30 nautical miles per day visiting communities to share their culture. This July, they will travel the Columbia River with the surrounding tribal communities to revitalize the canoe culture on the river. There will be several stops along the river before they head North to join the larger Paddle to Puyallup canoe journey.
In the future, Shyla hopes to help improve her tribal community and help her tribe to evolve for the future. She also wants to teach the young people in her tribe about business and financial literacy so that those who want to start their own businesses have a foundation to do so. She has always had a love for helping others and wants to combine this with her ability to find problems and create solutions so that she can continue to positively impact those around her.
About the Yakama Nation of the Columbia River
The Yakama Nation of the Columbia River is located in southwestern Washington along the Columbia River. The tribe was originally located in Celilo Falls, a sacred fishing ground of the tribe, but after the completion of the Dalles Dam in 1957, Celilo Falls was flooded. After the flood, many of the members were displaced and forced to move. Eventually, many tribes from the area came together to create the Yakama Nation.
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