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OUR STAFF
April has to date
successfully avoided
having her picture taken |
Chair, Board of Directors: April St. Pierre, Enrolled Member, Spirit Lake Sioux
- Executive Director, Spirit Lake Casino
- Former Tribal Finance Manager, Spirit Lake Nation
- Former Business Manager, Cankdeska Cikana Community College
- Fifteen years experience in fund accounting, fiscal management and grants administration
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Senior Consultant, Dr. Carol Davis, Enrolled Member, Turtle Mountain Chippewa
Dr. Davis was Vice-president for Academic Affairs at Turtle Mountain Community College for many years, during which they became nationally-known as one of the premier tribal institutions in the country. During her tenure, she developed and administered a broad range of programs serving Native American youth and adults, including student support service programs, technology initiatives and innovative programs aimed at increasing achievement in mathematics and science.
I firmly believe in setting high goals for Native American students and employees and providing the support to enable them to reach those goals, regardless of disability or any other obstacle. As the parent of a young woman with a developmental disability, my experience and interest in this field is personal as well as professional.
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Project Coordinator, Turtle Mountain Site: Willie Davis
Willie is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in Belcourt, ND. He has extensive education, professional and personal experience with all aspects of the field of disability services. In August of 1980 at the age of 18, he was in a car accident that involved drinking and driving. Injury in the T 7/8 thoracic vertebrate resulted in paraplegia and he has been confined to a wheelchair for the last 25 years.
In 2005, Mr. Davis received the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor of the Year award from the Consortium of Administrators of Native American Rehabilitation. Mr. Davis has also received national recognition for his volunteer work, especially with the disability community and youth.
"I feel that the more I can give back to my community the more positive things can be and the better the future can be for the next generation. "
Mr. Davis is a frequent contributor to our two newsletters focused on disability - the Miniwakan Waonspekiye (Spirit Lake Teacher) and the Miniwakan Tiyospaye (Spirit Lake Family). He often provides a guest column entitled
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Research Assistant My name is BreeAnne Hinojos and I am an enrolled member of the Spirit Lake Nation. In 1981 I was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico where I lived until I was 11 years old. That is when I moved to North Dakota with my mother and have lived here (on the reservation) ever since. I attended Four Winds Elementary School for 5th and 6th grade then transferred to Devils Lake Middle School. After attending Devils Lake High School for 9th and 10th grade I decided to go back to Four Winds to graduate which I accomplished in May of 1999. Without any clue of what I wanted to do career wise, I attended Lake Region State College for one semester but dropped out shortly after that. Then in 2001 I began a job at the Spirit Lake Early Head Start Program. While working there I discovered how much I enjoyed not only working with young children but also how they learn and develop. This is when I decided to go back to college to get more education. I enrolled at Cankdeska Cikana (Little Hoop) Community College and in May 2005 I graduated with an AA in Early Childhood Education. During this time I was already working for Spirit Lake Even Start as an Early Childhood Specialist with Erich Longie as the Director. In August 2005 I enrolled in the Elementary Education Program out of Mayville State University as a full-time student while continuing to work for Even Start. The funding for Even Start will end and I will not be working for that program as of September 1, 2006. Therefore, I will be able to focus more on my education and on my beautiful 2 year old daughter Giselle. My short term goal is to become an elementary school teacher and hopefully someday return to college to get a master’s degree in education. I plan on using my education to help the children on this reservation because I know first-hand how important it is to educate children so that they too can become successful in their lives. |
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Senior Research Associate - Jessica Holmes received her bachelors degree in English from Loyola Marymount University and her M.A. in Creative Writing from Otis College of Art & Design. Prior to her current position, she worked as a graduate teaching assistant and a research assistant. She edits our newsletter, instructors' manuals, test manuals, grant proposals and web pages. Lately, she has taken over many of the writing responsibilities for the Miniwakan News, with the able support of Willie Davis. In her spare time, she also manages our Santa Monica office. |
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