New & Renewing Members Individuals Turquoise:
Abalone: Barbara Bolton Camilla Chouteau Melissa Chrans Gwendalle Cooper Mark Crawford Carol J. Deverney Marne Grusing Wendy Harris Lori Irwin William A. Metcalfe Linda Oberle Jovi Radtke Jacqueline Red Leaf
Melanie Sage David Sanborn Lindsay Sarracino Ashley Sarracino Steven Sochay Carla Jeanne Tenorio Jo Anne Tipps Rory Wheeler Wynette Whitegoat Erica Wondrasek Yvonne Yazzie
Melissa Akason Beverly Anderson Cheryl Baldomaro Lucas Laura L. Bentle Robyn Black Feather Cyndi Bush Luna Evander Delgado Julie Ellefson Brooke Loring Wesley Martin Jeanette Ninham
Dale Powless Ahniwake Rose Carol L. Silva Dorothy Wait Coral: Carole Butzke Terry Cross Denise Goodman Trina Hofbauer Robert Prue
Tribes & Organizations Cedar (*was Turquoise): Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska Chickasaw Nation Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cook Inlet Tribal Council Itasca County Health and Human Services Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida Navajo Nation Division of Social Services Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota
Spirit Rock Consulting United Auburn Indian Community Sage (**was Coral): Ak-Chin Indian Community Comcast Corporation Handel Information Technologies Mescalero Tribal Human Services Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians Seminole Media Productions Seminole Tribe of Florida
Member Profile: Melissa Yazzie Melissa Yazzie is a second-year master of social work student at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St Louis. She is from Denver, Colorado, and has a rich Scottish/Irish and Diné lineage. She is passionate about preserving Native families and building resilient tribal communities. Melissa believes that education is the building block that will strengthen tribes and contribute to lasting economic development and tribal nation building. She earned a degree in political science from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Passionate about making improvements for Indian Country, Melissa was tenacious and applied for, and was successful in securing the 2016–2017 Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial MSW Scholarship, the Buder Foundation Scholarship, and the Navajo Nation Graduate Fellowship, which allow her to continue her education. Melissa is currently conducting research on American Indian and Alaska Native people pertaining to incarceration, youth, and delinquency. She also intends to examine issues surrounding access to mental health services and destigmatization of mental health issues in tribal communities. After completing her degree, Melissa plans to return to her community and, with her policy and direct practice training, commit her career to listening to and meeting her community’s needs. We are so proud of Melissa and thankful that she is one of our great members! National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
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