Event Documents

Weaving Our Future

Prevention Summit 2025

March 5-7, 2025

9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall

320 W Willoughby Ave, Juneau, AK 99801

Zoom link for all three days of the event: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2505547095?pwd=6DkNwhPDy9GdeoHJaAnot44kZdvPFd.1

 

Weaving Our Future

Day 1 – Wednesday, March 5:

9:00 a.m. – Welcome and Introductions – Danielle Redmond, Tony Parker, Genevieve Casey
9:15 a.m. – Yéese Ku.oo Dance Group
9:45 a.m. – Άak’w Kwáan Tribal Welcome: Seikoonie Fran Houston & Kaasei Naomi Michalsen
10:00 a.m. – Break
10:15 a.m. – Panel: Shared Risk & Protective Factors – Michael Powell, Wendi Siebold, Amber Webb, Pat Sidmore
11:15 a.m. – Tabling: Networking Time
12:00 p.m. – Lunch (Provided On-Site)
1:00 p.m. – Panel: Food as a Protective Factor – Kaasei Naomi Michalsen, Christina Love, Calricaraq Team
1:45 p.m. – Activity: Movement Break with DeSchaun
2:00 p.m. – Break
2:15 p.m. – Speaker: Communications – Kelby Murphy from Walsh Sheppard
2:45 p.m. – Closing Remarks / Announcements / Reorganize tables
3:00 p.m. – Spirit of Youth Needs Assessment at PFD Building with McKinley Research Group
3:30 p.m. Suicide Safety Planning – Aaron Surma, National Alliance on Mental Illness at Centennial Hall, Egan Room

Day 2 – Thursday,  March 6:

9:00 a.m. – Speaker: Icelandic Model – Alfgeir Kristjansson
10:15 a.m. – Break
10:30 a.m. – Activity: Evaluation – Breakout #1: Strategic Prevention Solutions at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall. Breakout #2 for DBH Grantees: Saylor & Associates at Centennial Hall Egan Room
12:00 p.m. – Lunch (Provided On-Site)
1:00 p.m. – Panel: Prevention at the Policy Level – Tami Truett Jerue, Christina Love, Geran Tarr, Pat Sidmore, Rose Dominick
2:15 p.m. – Break
2:30 p.m. – Speakers: Calricaraq Case Study – Rose Dominick and Katrina Dominick
3:00 p.m. – Announcements / Reorganize Tables
3:30 p.m. – Evaluation Session Continued with Saylor & Associates at Centennial Hall Egan Room

Day 3 – Friday,  March 7:

9:00 a.m. – Panel: The Role of Prevention in the Housing Crisis – Tressa Millam, Tami Truett Jerue, Jorden Nigro
10:00 a.m. – Break
10:15 a.m. – Activity: Movement Break with DeSchaun
10:30 a.m. – Activity: Wooch Een – Working Together as Coalitions – Haa Tóoch Lichéesh Coalition
12:00 p.m. – Lunch (Provided On-Site)
1:00 p.m. – Panel: Supporting Families – Tressa Millam, Genevieve Casey, Tiffany Webb
1:45 p.m. – Break
2:00 p.m. – Activity: Plant Teachings for Wellness – Kaasei Naomi Michalsen of Kaasei Indigenous Foodways with Support from Haa Tóoch Lichéesh Coalition
3:30 p.m. – World Café: Small Group Conversations on a Variety of Topics
4:15 p.m. – Closing Remarks/ Announcements/ Questions
4:30 p.m. – Conference Closed

 

Tabling

  • Project Hope – Naloxone distribution by Office of Substance Misuse & Prevention
  • Alaska Safe Children’s Act – Pat Sidmore, Department of Education
  • Evaluation – Saylor & Associates
  • Evaluation – Strategic Prevention Solutions
  • Choose Connection – Kelby Murphy, Walsh Sheppard
  • Recover Alaska – Tesia Bobrycki
  • Christina Love Consulting
  • STAR – Standing Together Against Rape
  • Alaska Network on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault
  • Alaska Teens Against Abuse, Geran Tarr and Ambassadors
  • Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium – Jewelz Crandall Stephen
  • Adolescent Health – Jenny Baker, Division of Public Health
  • 988 Suicide Prevention – Mya Robinson, Department of Health
  • Be Sensitive Be Brave – Niki Knowlton, Alaska Training Cooperative, UAA Center for Human Development

World Café Topics

  • Alaska Safe Children’s Act – Pat Sidmore, Department of Education
  • Kaasei Naomi Michalsen – Plant Teachings
  • Colonization – Amber Webb
  • Communications – Kelby Murphy, Walsh Sheppard
  • Alaska Teens Against Abuse consent activity – Geran Tarr and Ambassadors
  • Motivational Interviewing – Genevieve Casey
  • Icelandic Model application in Alaska – Michael Powell
  • Evaluation – Saylor & Associates
  • Evaluation – Strategic Prevention Solutions
  • Suicide prevention – 988

 

Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall: 320 W Willoughby Ave, Juneau, AK 99801 | (907)463-7777

Centennial Hall: 101 Egan Dr, Juneau, AK 99801 | (907)586-5283

 

Options for privacy, quiet space, and wellness

Breastfeeding/overstimulation: curtained off area for privacy at the back of the hall

Sacred Grounds Café inside Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall

Alaska State Museum atrium and café (1 block away)

Single stall, gender neutral bathroom on site

Water bottle refilling station in hallway at EP Hall

 

Outdoor walking options within reasonable distance:

Juneau Sea Walk & Overstreet Park

Perseverance Trail

Juneau Docks via Marine Park

 

References and Documents from Presentations:

 

Speakers for the 2025 Prevention Summit:

Katrina Quqiiq Domnick

Katrina Quqiiq Domnick, member of the Orutsararmiut Native Council tribe, grew up in the community of Bethel in Southwest Alaska. After graduating from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a bachelor’s in health sciences, she obtained her master’s in public health with a specialization in Indigenous health from the University of North Dakota. Still currently living in Bethel with her husband and daughter, she works in Health Research at the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation. Through various research and study intervention experiences, she recognizes the critical importance of having Yup’ik people lead and design health programs and the need for these approaches to be built on the foundation of Yup’ik culture in order to move towards health equity. Having been raised in many of the Yup’ik values and beliefs and understanding the role that the history of colonization has played in the health status of Indigenous Peoples, much of Katrina’s work efforts focus on Indigenous based research or Indigenizing research practices and methods that align with Yup’ik culture. Being a Yup’ik with a Western health education, she truly believes blending these two worldviews is the path to bring wellness.

Rose Dominick

Rose Domnick is a Yup’ik Elder, originally from Saint Mary’s, Alaska, a community of 600 on the Yukon River. She is committed to promoting the health and wellbeing of Yup’ik people through the revitalization of cultural activities and the strengthening of traditional living skills, while also addressing root causes of social issues and healing impacts of colonization. As the of Director of Preventative Services, Behavioral Health, at the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation in Bethel, Alaska, she worked closely with the elders of the region over ten years learning ancestral wisdom and knowledge focused on indigenous healing and healthy living practices. This work led to the establishment of Calricaraq, a traditional Indigenous Yup’ik healing and promotion of healthy living model. She has helped integrate this approach into mainstream western health care services at YKHC. This work was recognized as an Honoree by Harvard Kennedy School, Project on Indigenous Governance and Development (Honoring Nations). She continues work with Calricaraq as a private trainer/consultant with tribes across the state.
Rose currently lives in Bethel, Alaska with her husband, 2 daughters and 2 grandchildren.

 

Tami Truett Jerue

Tami Truett Jerue, as Executive Director of the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center (AKNWRC), brought 40+ years of direct services experience to this journey, beginning with the formation of AKNWRC in 2014. Tami joined a group of Alaska Native women passionate about ending interpersonal violence across Alaska; Tami and the new Board of Directors believe interpersonal violence is a result of colonization and has no place in native culture. Ms. Jerue has testified before Congress and the United Nations, bringing attention to the disproportionate rates of violence experienced by Alaska Native women and the lack of resources faced by tribes. Under Tami’s management, the AKNWRC has become a voice for Alaska Native issues, particularly affecting women, children, and families, telling truths to promote understanding, building partnerships, and, most importantly, supporting Alaska Native tribes as they tackle the complex issues of interpersonal violence.

Ms. Jerue has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a master’s work in Community Psychology. She worked for over 28 years for the Anvik Tribal Council in Tribal Administration, Indian Child Protection, Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault (DV/SA), and Counseling/Advocacy. She is married to Carl Jerue, Jr., of Anvik, and they have four beautiful children and six grandchildren.

 

Alfgeir Kristjansson

Dr. Kristjansson is a Professor of Public Health at West Virginia University (WVU) School of Public Health, Center PI and Co-Director for the West Virginia Prevention Research Center (WVPRC), and adjunct faculty at Reykjavik University in Iceland. He earned his PhD in Social Medicine from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden in 2010 and was a post-doctoral fellow in Health Behavior at Columbia University in New York City between 2010-2012. Dr. Kristjansson has published widely on substance use prevention and the Icelandic Prevention Model, as well as more generally on adolescent behavioral development and the well-being of children, youth and families. Currently, he is the Principal Investigator (PI) of several US-based federally funded studies, including the Young Mountaineer Health Study in WV funded by NIAAA, and the Integrated Community Engagement (ICE) Collaborative funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) via the WVPRC. He has published over 120 peer-reviewed manuscripts in scholarly journals within public health, health education, preventive medicine and multidisciplinary journals focused on adolescents.

 

Christina Love

Christina Love (she/her) is a proud Alaska Native (Alutiiq/Sugpiaq) mother of two who brings her authentic voice and transformative spirit to the forefront as an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, thought leader, award winning advocate and broadcaster. Christina has been at the forefront of strategic initiatives for over 15 years, focusing on equity, organizational transformation, and community healing nationwide. She serves as a Senior Consultant on trauma and intersectionality with an emphasis on centering community and lived expertise. Christina collaborates with state coalitions, tribes, and federal agencies. Her notable contributions include serving as a member of the Trilateral Working Group for the United States, Mexico, and Canada; as a federal commissioner to the Not Inviable Act; and her recent appointment by the president to the federal Council on Human Trafficking. Christina is part of leading a collective movement that works to end violence, oppression, shame, and stigma through healing centered practices, the liberation of education, community care, and storytelling.

Kaasei, Naomi Michalsen


Naomi Michalsen, Kaasei (Tlingit), is Wooshkeetaan, Eagle/Wolf of the Shark House of Berners Bay, Alaska. Her work focuses on wellness and violence prevention through connecting people to native plants and foods, cultural traditions, and community. In 2017, Naomi founded Kaasei Training & Consulting, offering workshops, teacher trainings, and presentations at culture camps, tribal events, and food and plant medicine symposiums.
In addition, Naomi founded the Kayaaní Sisters Council, a group of Alaska Native women committed to increasing wellness and tribal food sovereignty throughout the State. They created the “Respectful Harvesting Guidelines,” which is now being used throughout Alaska. Naomi also led the development of the Alaska edition of the Plant Teachings for Growing Social-Emotional Skills Toolkit, including a book, plant cards, posters, movement videos, activities, and coloring pages. She has created several resources currently being utilized in the state such as the Tlʼátk Káa Yoo Xʼatángi: Lingit Kayaaní Tlingit Plant Cards and Traditional Protective Factors worksheet.
Naomi has over thirty years of practical experience as a professional in the fields of domestic violence and substance abuse prevention work, education and tribal economic development work. She formerly served as Executive Director at Women In Safe Homes, a shelter for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, as Marketing and Economic Development director for the Ketchikan Indian Community, and as an Adjunct Professor and Cultural Specialist at University of Alaska, Southeast Ketchikan. She is certified in Ethnobotany from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and is an Indigenous foods chef. Naomi and her husband live in Ketchikan and have five adult children and nine grandchildren. For more information about her work, visit her website at kaasei.com.

 

Tressa Millam

Tressa Millam is personally and professionally a fierce advocate for healthy lasting relationships. Originally from MN, Tressa came to AK on vacation at 13 and decided she was going to live here as an adult, moving up after completing college at the University of Minnesota. Tressa grew up seeing how strong healthy relationships transform and connect people and committed herself to fostering that connection both personally and professionally. Professionally, she has worked as a Case Manager in Juneau for 15 years for a variety social service agencies, primarily working with families experiencing homelessness and DV or SA. In her personal life Tressa also befriended two neighborhood children whom she later fostered and then adopted. Tressa describes herself as a “relationships nerd” and can often be found exploring the abundant beauty of land of the A’akw Kwáan and T’aaḵu Kwáan peoples or expressing her love for others by crafting little gifts for them.

 

Kelby Holtfreter Murphy

Kelby Holtfreter Murphy, MPH, RDN, is an experienced public health professional and marketer with a diverse background in health policy, strategic communications, and behavioral neuroscience research. She holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Neuroscience and Psychology from Washington State University, where her research focused on the psychology of learning, memory, and substance misuse. Kelby furthered her education at the University of Alaska Anchorage, earning a Master of Public Health with a focus on Health Policy and Health Communications. Her academic, research, and professional experiences have provided her with a deep understanding of the complex interactions between the brain, environment, and behavior.

In her role as Vice President of Client Services at Walsh|Sheppard, Kelby leads the development and evaluation of strategic marketing and public health campaigns for a range of state and nonprofit agencies. She has led initiatives aimed at improving public health outcomes in Alaska, including campaigns for CDVSA, SNAP-Ed, WIC, Seward Community Health Center, Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, Copper River Native Association, the Alaska Highway Safety Office, Recover Alaska, and The Alliance. Her expertise in translating complex health data to inform effective, evidence-based communication strategies has been instrumental in addressing critical issues such as nutrition, substance misuse, domestic violence prevention, and road safety. Kelby will share her experience and insights on the intersection of the environment, social norms, and behavior change, with a focus on a youth underage alcohol use prevention campaign for The Alliance.

 

Brittany N. Freitas Murrell

Dr. Brittany Freitas Murrell is passionate about learning and teaching. As the Executive Vice-President and Research and Technical Assistance Director at Strategic Prevention Solutions, she loves creating engaging training experiences. She often uses real-life examples to make complex concepts easier to understand and apply practical solutions. Dr. Murrell earned her PhD in Clinical-Community Psychology with a focus on Rural and Indigenous populations. She has over 10 years of experience in Alaska, working in mental health, violence prevention, and program evaluation. She thrives in exploring the intersections of violence prevention, health promotion, and mental health – weaving together different perspectives to create a fuller understanding of the context. Dr. Murrell enjoys collaboration and exploring unique experiences and insights, to help enrich understanding and – how the collective knowledge shapes the best solutions.

 

Jorden Nigro

Jorden Nigro, MA (she/her) grew up in rural Southeast Alaska and has spent the past 26 years working in human services, primarily with youth. She believes deeply in creating opportunities through partnerships and connections and through creating space for young people to be seen, celebrated, and safe. She has served as the Youth Services Manager for CBJ since 2015 and in this role has led the development of an emergency shelter, transitional living, and rapid rehousing program for youth in Juneau.

 

Michael Powell

Michael Powell is a Health Program manager with the Alaska Department of Health in the Division of Behavioral Health. He has promoted upstream prevention and wellness his entire professional career with some experience in treatment, recovery, and administration as well. He completed his PhD in Social Work with Columbia University where he documented implementation tools and evaluation strategies for community based tobacco prevention coalitions. Assisted the Division’s Section of Prevention and Early Intervention build and manage an Alaska State prevention workforce and capacity has been the most rewarding part of this work.

 

Brian Saylor

Brian Saylor, PhD, MPH, has been active in Alaskan health affairs since 1974.  He became interested in health care planning and policy as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malaysia in the early 1970s.  Since then, he has been a health systems planner, Legislative staffer, University health services researcher, health care and long-term care facility and hospital administrator, and Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. He served as the Director of the Alaska Psychiatric Hospital. He retired from the University of Alaska Anchorage where he served as the Director of the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies. He continues to teach and conduct applied health services research as the owner and principal of Saylor & Associates, an Alaskan health and human services evaluation research and consulting firm.

He has extensive experience in the evaluation of health and human services in Alaska and had directed and authored numerous evaluation reports. Saylor has participated in Strategic Prevention Framework assessment projects for Center for Safe Alaskans (formerly the Alaska Injury Prevention Center), RurAL CAP, Kawerak, and the North Slope Borough, YKHC and Hooper Bay.

Saylor was a member and former Chair of the Health and Human Services Commission of the Municipality of Anchorage. He is also on the Board of Safe Alaskans, Akeela, Inc, and the Anchorage Community Theatre.

He holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Penn State, a Masters of Public Health from the University of Michigan and a Doctorate in Health Policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University, where he was a Pew Health Policy Scholar.

He was active in the American Public Health Association, serving on the Executive Board, and the Finance, Development and Awards Committees, and was a member of the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Public Health.  Saylor also served on the Boards of Northwest Public Health and the International Association of Circumpolar Health Publishers, the publishers of the International Journal of Circumpolar Health.

Now retired, he designs and builds theater sets in Anchorage, where he was voted the Best Set Designer in Anchorage.

 

Patrick Sidmore

Patrick Sidmore joined the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) team two years ago coming from the Division of Public Health where he was the Healthy Schools Specialist.  He has also worked for the Association of Alaska School Boards and the Alaska Mental Health Board.  His focus is on Title IV-A, the Safe Children’s Act, and other school health related topics.  He has worked with DEED health and safety team for a decade, developing the trauma-engaged schools’ resources and other initiatives.  He has presented on the topics of resilience and trauma more than 250 times across Alaska.  He holds degrees in clinical social work and in economics as well as studying elementary education.

 

Wendi L. Siebold

Ms. Siebold, MA, MPH is the President and Founder of Strategic Prevention Solutions. For almost 25 years, she has collaborated with Tribal and non-Native, urban, rural and frontier communities to prevent and address violence, substance misuse, youth suicide, and bullying. She specializes in interpersonal violence prevention research, organizational development and strategic planning, translational and prevention science, program planning and evaluation technical assistance, community coalition facilitation and evaluation and the assessment of organizational and community capacity and readiness for prevention. She holds degrees in Health Behavior & Health Education and Community Psychology, which afford her a well-balanced approach that emphasizes scientific rigor within a realistic community context. Ms. Siebold is a national speaker and writer on topics related to organizational capacity building, prevention planning and evaluation, and prevention science; and provides evaluation capacity-building training using a participatory approach. She is recognized as a national expert in the prevention of intimate partner and sexual violence, and has participated in national expert panels for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Violence Prevention, and was an invited researcher at the White House, Office of the Vice President’s, Expert Panel on Teen Dating Violence. In 2011, she incorporated Strategic Prevention Solutions to provide a realistic and practitioner-centered research approach to addressing complex social and health problems. The company specializes in community planning and evaluation, including violence prevention research and services evaluation, violence prevention in schools, and substance abuse prevention and treatment among diverse communities, including rural, Native, women and youth populations.

 

Geran Tarr

 

Amber Webb

Amber Webb(Yupik) is a Curyung tribal member from Curyung, Alaska of primarily Yup’ik and Norwegian ancestry who resides at Aleknagik Lake.  Her work is based in Yup’ik history and technologies focused on understanding natural laws and the genius of indigenous people.  She creates from the language of yup’ik designs from clothing, yaaruiq(story knife) traditions, and is learning the complex social protocols that govern design use.  She also explores concepts of safety and identity and what that means for native women as well as fat bodies to be celebrated and safe. All of her work is created in prayer with many pieces representational of the process of recovery from the deeply personal impact of ongoing genocide and intergenerational trauma and healing.  It is heavily dependent on the area known as the Wood-Tikchik lake system; an area that has always been Native Land.  She is best known for the Qaspeq Project in honor of MMIWG2S+ that she hopes to bring to more communities in Canada and the US as an instrument of healing.

Tiffany Webb

Tiffany Webb is a Curyung tribal member chief and the current tribal wellness services coordinator in Dillingham Alaska. Her pronouns are she/her, she is of Yupik, Unangan, Scandinvian, Pennsylvania Black Dutch and Native American (unknown tribe) descent. Tiffany is a mom of five, currently living on her ancestral homelands and practicing as much cultural reclaiming as possible. Her work is informed by our ancestral community structures and ancestral teachings. The belief that reclaiming our collective sense of identity and community safety is important to all of our communities and survival is what drives Tiffany to continue to learn and grow in community work.

 

Yées Ku. Oo

Yées Ku. Oo – Shu Gyad — is a multi-cultural dance group, comprised of many indigenous nations including, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Aleut, Yupik, and other nations.

The Tlingit name, Yées Ku. Oo means “New People/New Beginning.” Shu Gyad is the Sm’algyax (Tsimshian)  translation. The late Clarence Jackson gave the name for the group at AFN in 2003, the year the dance group formed, with Senator Albert Kookesh as a witness.

“Our purpose is to share our songs with everyone.  We strive to show the utmost respect to all, and to teach the children through our songs and dances– so that they will feel the pride of being indigenous.”

The group has performed in many venues, including the Governor’s Inaugural Balls, the Juneau Maritime Festival, Washington, DC events, Gold Medal, the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention, as well as many local events. This year the group will celebrate its 22nd Annivesary.

 

Haa Tóoch Lichéesh Coalition:

Haa Tóoch Lichéesh is a community-based coalition that follows a trauma-informed, survivor-centered approach to preventing violence and promoting healing across Southeast Alaska. Our work centers on building and rebuilding interpersonal connections as we reckon with the impacts of societal inequities that stem from centuries of unchallenged colonization, racism, patriarchy, and capitalism.

Haa Tóoch Lichéesh Coalition represents a diverse network of 26 plus organizations working to serve our communities and people throughout Southeast Alaska and beyond. We seek collective impact through our interconnected work. Together, we are imagining and creating a region free from violence.

Team Members joining us for the Prevention Summit include:

Heather Evoy follows her multigenerational matrilineal line of Tsimshian women from the Laxsgiik or Eagle clan.  She grew up in Taanta and Sanyaa Kwáan territory, otherwise known as Ketchikan.  Her childhood was full of all her free time spent with her family in their home community of Metlakatla (Alaska’s only Native Reserve).  That is where she said she learned to be a kid connected to the natural world around her.  She was fortunate growing up to get to spend so much time with her grandparents and other elders from across the Southeast region.  For the past decade she has lived and worked on the ancestral homelands of the Aak’w Kwáan also known as Juneau. She has always enjoyed advocacy work for her region and her people whether that be through her time working in the Capitol or her current work as a community leader and organizer.  She is a proud mother of two wonderful children. She enjoys raising them in a community where their culture is so rich and surrounds them through everyday song and dance, art, language, harvesting and other ways to heal and connect to the land.

Renee Tl’aagunk Culp, a distinguished Community-Clinical Psychologist, brings a wealth of experience with over 30 years in the social services field. Her journey has been a multifaceted one, ranging from prevention services to mental health clinical care, showcasing a comprehensive understanding of the sector. Renee has forged a path marked by success, particularly in program development and implementation. Her professional focus centers on trauma-informed care and culturally-focused healing, areas where she not only possesses expertise but also a deep-seated passion. Renee is dedicated to crafting healing environments that empower individuals, families, and systems to break free from harmful cycles. Beyond her professional pursuits, she carries a personal commitment to addressing and healing her own generational trauma.

Dr. Sonia Ibarra is Apache, Caxcan, Mexicana, and grew up in the traditional territories of the Nomlaki in Northern California. Currently, Dr Ibarra is a Postdoctoral Fellow and Tamamta Program Coordinator at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, at the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences in Áakw’ Kwáan (Juneau). She prioritizes research with Indigenous communities as part of an effort to center their needs, values, and knowledge systems within Western higher education institutions that often ignore, erase, and dismiss Indigenous peoples and their knowledge. She prioritizes work with Indigenous communities that reflect their needs, values, and knowledge systems while actively working towards her healing process of reconnecting with her own ancestors.

David Abad is Ilokano (Filipino), queer, and first-generation born and raised on Áakʼw Aaní, colonially known as Juneau, AK. Since 2019, they have supported and uplifted Haa Tóoch Lichéesh’s direction, work and coalition. His passion lies in building thriving communities centered in joy, authenticity, healing, and interconnectedness, which they does through many roles as a community organizer, trainer, facilitator, mentor, and advocate.

S’eiltin Jamiann Hasselquist, Tlingit Deisheetaan of the Ravens Bones House (Yéil S’aagi Hit) in Angoon, was born and raised on Aakw Kwaan land in Juneau, Alaska. Since 2012, she has walked an intergenerational healing path, gaining deep lived experience. She continues to dismantle personal colonial mindsets and understand the genocide of Indigenous peoples through United States Indian policies.

Koon Ya Nagoodi Ati Nasiah is Ashkenazi Jewish and Northwestern European (Norse and Celtic) and is honored to be a guest on the unceded territory of the Áakʼw Ḵwáan and neighboring Takuu Ḵwáan for the past twenty years.  She was brought in by the Gaanax.adi, and is Raven Starfish from the House that Drifted Ashore. She is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Haa Tóoch Lichéesh and is dedicated to reckoning with and reimagining our world.  She honors our grief as the soil we stand upon, and envisions co-creating our greatest dreams and transforming that into readiness for change. She is dedicated to her own ancestral and intergenerational trauma healing, is a healer, community organizer, harvester, mother, sister, auntie, and friend.