Derrick is an enrolled member of the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Tribe in Kansas as well as a descendent of the Navajo Nation. He was born and raised in Lawrence, Kansas and attended Haskell Indian Nations University (Indigenous and American Indian Studies) as well as the University of Phoenix (Master of Arts in Education). He has been working in Indigenous Education since 2010, and has served in roles from K-12 through Higher and Adult Education. Like many educators, Derrick wears many hats in his career focusing on the core element of service-leadership to Indigenous students and their communities. His projects have included successful accreditation, charter reauthorization, policy and procedure writing, fundraising and continually working to listen to communities to ensure their schools are a true reflection of the future needs of their community members.

Derrick worked for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community from 2012 to 2019 and subsequently relocated to New Mexico where he worked for 2 years for a public school district overseeing a federal grant aimed at college and career readiness before transitioning to NISN.

Currently, he works for the NACA Inspired Schools network and is based out of Rio Rancho, NM where he lives with his daughter. Derrick serves as the Director of the NISN School Design Fellowship where he is currently leading the work to collaboratively develop two new Indigenous Schools with 3 more on the way. The core of the School Design Fellowship focuses on developing Community-Led schools where students can learn academically relevant coursework that supports their cultural identity development and promotes holistic wellness.