The Office of Strategic Education Programs leads initiatives that address key priorities within the Bureau of Indian Education. This office oversees fiscal and programmatic monitoring, the BIE strategic direction, Johnon O’Malley programming, early childhood learning (preschool) programs, strategic data management, and the BIE Behavioral Health and Wellness Program, among others. It also oversees special projects and grant programs, such as the BIE’s Tribal Education Department initiative, aimed at improving student achievement, teacher quality, and school operations. The office works collaboratively with schools, tribal governments, and other stakeholders to ensure strategic alignment with BIE’s mission and the unique needs of the communities it serves.
Associate Deputy Director for Strategic Education Programs
Travis Clark (Tzi-Zho-Ki-He-Kah) is an enrolled citizen of the Osage Nation and Cherokee Nation and originally hails from Oklahoma. Clark came to the BIE in 2016 and is the Associate Deputy Director for Strategic Education Programs.
Since then, Clark has served in a variety of roles at BIE, including the BIE’s first-ever Chief Performance Officer and as Chief of Staff, leading highly motivated teams responsible for ensuring that the BIE achieves its strategic goals through data-informed decision-making. He became the Associate Deputy Director for Strategic Education Programs in November 2024.
Before his service at the BIE, Clark was an associate attorney representing numerous tribal governments, tribal K-12 schools, and two tribal colleges as general counsel. He was also a law clerk at the Native American Rights Fund and the Office of the Solicitor's Division of Indian Affairs. Before his BIE and legal career, Clark served as a paramedic in the Cherokee Nation.
Clark graduated magna cum laude from Rogers State University, in Claremore, Oklahoma, in 2011 and received his law degree from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2014.
