about me

I am a mixed-race, Indigenous (Blackfeet, Red River Métis) and white writer and researcher dedicated to community-driven research to advance Indigenous health equity.

Currently, I am a public health PhD student at the University of Minnesota, a Qualitative Analysis Assistant for the Enhanced Perinatal Programs for People in Prison research project, and a Graduate Research Assistant at the Center for Indigenous Health’s Great Lakes Hub.

I have also worked as a freelance writer since 2017, publishing articles in Bitch, Yes! Magazine, Talk Poverty, Health Affairs Blog, and other national media. My writing is featured in the 2022 book Aftermath: Life In Post-Roe America from She Writes Press and the forthcoming book Artists Remaking Medicine from Procedure Press. 

I have received numerous national and local awards for my work, including the National Indian Health Board’s Local Impact Award. I have also been interviewed by the Star Tribune, Teen Vogue, the Associated Press, St. Louis Public Radio, and several podcasts.

I’m an enrolled citizen of the Little Shell Chippewa tribe and a descendant of the Blackfeet tribe. I was raised in Salish country in Montana and currently live in Dakota and Ojibwe country in Minneapolis.

education

PhD Student

Health Services Research, Policy, and Administration, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

MPH

George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St Louis

BA, American Studies

Macalester College, St Paul MN

research

Center for Indigenous Health - Great Lakes Hub

 

Enhanced Perinatal Programs for People in Prison

I currently serve as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Center for Indigenous Health, assisting with Healing Pathways, a longitudinal, community-based participatory research project on American Indian and First Nation youth health. June 2023 to present.

I currently serve as a Qualitative Data Analyst for the Enhanced Perinatal Programs for People in Prison, assisting with a supplement examining the impacts of COVID-19 on health services and social support for pregnant and postpartum people in prison. March 2023 to present.

Social Policy Institute

As a Research Manager at the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St Louis, I led project management for six research projects focused on improving access to and quality of care for people receiving Medicaid and Marketplace insurance. 2020 to 2022.

Urban Indian Health Institute

As part of my master’s in public health, I completed a practicum at the Urban Indian Health Institute. My work there focused on culturally and scientifically rigorous program evaluation and building public health infrastructure in urban Indian communities. Summer 2019.

Blackfeet Food Sovereignty

With a grant from the First Nations Development Institute, I conducted oral-history research with elders on Blackfeet traditional foods and food systems - the first research of its kind. 2016 to 2017.

Accolades

Reentry Housing in Illinois

A joint project of the Metropolitan Planning Council and the Illinois Justice Project, I assisted with research for the publication “Reentry Housing Issues in Illinois: The Current Situation, Challenges, and Possible Solutions.” 2017 to 2018.

Read the report here.

community

STL Reentry Collective

In July 2020, I co-founded the STL Reentry Collective, which manages a mutual aid fund and reentry resource guide for justice-involved people in St. Louis community. At the height of  the COIVD-19 pandemic, the mutual aid fund redistributed over $70,000 to formerly incarcerated community members.

Media

Prison Education Project

I worked for the Washington University in St Louis Prison Education Project from 2018 to 2020. In this role, I independently designed and implemented program evaluation; co-led writing and dissemination of regional reentry resource guide; and tutored undergraduate students at Missouri Eastern Correctional Center on a weekly basis.

POC Online Classroom

I founded POC Online Classroom a social justice resource website, in November 2015. I independently manage the website and social media content. Through POC Online Classroom, I have published two zines, created four unique syllabi, and curate hundreds of resources on  8 topic-specific content pages. The website reached 57,000 people in 2022 and has over 14,000 followers on social media. 

Accolades