Yvonne Tumangday
Yvonne Tumangday’s ancestral name is Kaxte’. She lives in Chilliwack BC. Her reserve is called Skowkale. She is a Skowkale elder and enjoys working with the children and their families. Yvonne believes it is important for the children and families to learn about our cultural ways of living, learning and enjoying life in communities. She believes we have many stories about our land and the creation stories, and that we need to make sure that we pass on our stories to the next generations. The next generations will be our next leaders in the future. She says, “May we live in peace and harmony together.”
Kim Belone
Kimberly is Diné, Kiyaa’áanii (Towering House Clan), born for Dziłtł’ahnii (Mountain Cove Clan). She is a Program Coordinator with the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health in Fort Defiance, supporting the implementation and evaluation of the Family Spirit program. Her background includes community health outreach and youth mentorship, which sparked her commitment to serving Indigenous communities. Kimberly is also a home visitor, an Indigenous Full-Spectrum Doula, and a Breastfeeding Counselor, and she contributes her expertise as a member of the SPIRIT Global Advisory Council. She is currently completing an Associate of Science in Behavioral Science and plans to continue her studies in Global Health at Arizona State University. Outside of work, she loves hiking, camping, kayaking, and fishing with her family.
Guy Penny
Dr. Guy Penny (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa/Tāmaki Makaurau) is a geographer, scientist and engineer with an interest in human-environment systems and the application of values, knowledge and processes to support healthy communities, organisations and environments. He has worked with business, government, Crown Research Institutes, universities and Māori organisations on a wide range of sustainable development, wellbeing and environmental management projects across Aotearoa/NZ, since the mid-1990s, as a researcher, project manager and advisor. He has also collaborated on international projects on several occasions. Much of his work is framed by Māori approaches to wellbeing in the areas of sustainable resource use, building science and healthy housing, community renewable energy systems, climate change and equity.
Ann-Marie Louie
Ann-Marie’s traditional name is Sulsulxumaat and her english name is Ann-Marie Louie. She was born and raised in the Cowichan Valley, on Vancouver Island. She was fortunate enough to be raised by her late Great Grandma - who both her traditional and english names come from. She grew up learning the culture. She watched the dedication her great grandma had, to keep it alive. These last several years she worked in the childcare/service field. She went to University for her Early Childhood Educator certificate. She then worked with moms and babies. In June of 2024 she was hired by Cowichan Tribes to work at Ts'ewulhtun Health Centre as a Family Spirit home visitor. Since then she has been working in her community, with families - sharing the family spirit curriculum with families and the community.
Linda Tuhiwai Smith
Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Porou) is Distinguished Professor at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and a leading scholar in Indigenous studies, Indigenous education, and kaupapa Māori research. She has authored numerous influential publications, including Decolonizing Methodologies, and was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2013 for her services to Māori and education.
Te Rika Liam Benfell
Te Rika Liam Benfell is a Māori leader committed to advancing mana Māori motuhake, kaitiakitanga, and equitable outcomes for Indigenous communities. Their expertise spans Māori governance, land management, programme management, strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and capability development. Te Rika serves on executive boards of national and international foundations, research trusts, and charitable organisations, and acts as a trustee for their marae, hapū, and Māori land entities.
Tracey Bunda
Tracey Bunda is a Ngugi/Wakka Wakka woman and Professor of Indigenous Education at The University of Queensland. She grew up on the lands of the Jagera/Jugera/Yuggerapul peoples.
Jeena Pasacreta
Jeena Pasacreta, is a Splatsin woman, traditionally named Nkw’estsu’t, by her late Kia7a. Jeena is a Home Visitor and Emergent Leader for the Family Spirit Project in the Splatsin and surrounding Secwépemc territory in the interior of BC, in Canada. Her knowledge was extracted by the elders in the community, with an initial focus on language preservation, cultural practices and education on the land, of the land. Jeena went to college and has completed her Early Childhood Education. Currently working at the Splatsin Tsm7aksaltn for the Aboriginal Infant Development Department. She aims to focus on plant medicine and language in her community, as well as traditional upbringing from knowledge gathered by Elders and knowledge keepers of Splatsin. These teachings flow to the families of the Spirit Project through the home visiting sessions.
Aileen Moreton-Robinson
Aileen is an Indigenous Australian academic, Indigenous feminist, author, and activist for Indigenous rights. A Goenpul woman of the Quandamooka people, she is from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) in Queensland. She previously served as Director of the National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network and as President of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Consortium (NATSIHEC). She is currently Professor of Indigenous Research at the University of Queensland and at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures, Australia’s first Indigenous-led Centre of Excellence.
Pat Anderson
Pat Anderson is an Alyawarre woman known nationally and internationally as a powerful advocate for the health of Australia’s First Peoples. She has extensive experience in Aboriginal health, including community development, policy formation and research ethics.
Tamara Littlesalt-Butler
Tamara Littlesalt-Butler has been the Healthy Families Program Manager for the Coconino County Health & Human Services Department in Flagstaff, AZ since October, 2021. She is Bitahnii (Folded Arms) and born for the Todichinii (Bitter Water) people of the Navajo Nation. Her family is from an area locals call, “Where the Horses Roam” near Kayenta, AZ, where Tamara’s early childhood experiences were nurtured. Before coming to the Healthy Families Program, Tamara spent nearly 18 years in the youth development field supporting youth development professionals as they provided services to youth ages 6 to 18 in after-school and summer camp settings. In her free time, you’ll find her exploring the forest with her family of 4, reading a book for an indigenous book club she co-founded with a childhood friend, or listening to podcasts. Tamara has a bachelor’s in American Studies with a minor in History from Stanford University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Phoenix.