CHEYENNE RIVER YOUTH PROJECT - Key Persons
As finance manager, Crystal is responsible for managing all of CRYP's grants and tracking the organization's spending. Her professional career has given her a critical skill set, including accounting, bookkeeping and payroll, and she brings tremendous value to the CRYP team.
Crystal holds an associate's degree in accounting from Western Dakota Technical Institute, and she's currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in human resources from DeVry University. She will complete this degree program in March 2018.
Danielle Finn is a citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (Hunkpapa Lakota/Inhanktowan Dakota/Hohé Nakota) and is an Associate Judge for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Finn received her Juris Doctorate from Arizona State University's School of Law and later earned a Masters of Law in Indigenous Peoples Law from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Finn is passionate about the betterment of the Oceti Sakowin and in particular the youth.
Job Titles:
- Office Assistant
- Member of the Mandan
Diana is an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes, located on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in central North Dakota. She was born in Bismarck, North Dakota, and grew up on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, where she currently lives with her husband, son, and three stepchildren.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of the Great Plains Tribal Chairmans Association
As CRYP's public relations manager, Heather writes all of the organization's press releases, produces its e-communications campaigns, oversees social media messaging, handles media relations, contributes to the website, and assists with social enterprise initiatives, fundraising, outreach, and other development activities. She volunteered at The Main in the summer and fall of 2006 and became a staff member in 2007.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism, Heather has more than 25 years of experience in communications. She has worked as an associate editor for two national magazines, editor-at-large for a regional title, and founding editor for a custom travel publication. She also has served as a public-relations specialist for two nationally recognized advertising agencies, public affairs manager for a nonprofit contemporary arts center, and volunteer consultant on the marketing committees for a maritime museum and a humane society.
Heather has operated her own full-time freelance writing business since 2004. An award-winning journalist, she continues to serve as a contributing editor for three nationally circulated magazines, and her articles have appeared in a variety of regional and national publications, including "Indian Country Today" and "Cowboys & Indians Magazine." Heather makes frequent trips to Eagle Butte from her home in Beaufort, South Carolina.
Jeffrey Meyer graduated from the University of South Dakota with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, with an emphasis in finance. He also earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in finance, with honors, from San Diego State University. Jeffrey is a Chartered Financial Analyst® charterholder and is a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute. He also holds the designation of Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner. He joined SeaCrest in 2008 and has more than 20 years of service in the financial services industry. Since moving home to South Dakota from California 10 years ago, Jeffrey has served on the board of directors for Catholic Social Services, and he remains on the finance committee. He has been an active member of Rushmore Rotary; in his time with Rotary, he has worked to support Storybook Island and served as youth exchange coordinator, member of the board of directors and member of various fundraising committees.
Job Titles:
- Timber Lake High School Counselor
Job Titles:
- President
- Member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
Jeremy Patterson is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (Minicoujou/Itazipco Lakota) and is a founding partner of Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson, LLP, a law firm specializing in the practice of Federal Indian law. Mr. Patterson received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin Law School and holds a Master of Laws degree in American Indian and Indigenous Law from the University of Tulsa. As part of his Master of Laws thesis, Mr. Patterson developed a legal history of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the first published comprehensive legal history of an American Indian tribe that fully documents the evolution of a tribe's legal, economic social and political systems.
Mr. Patterson focuses his practice on representing American Indian tribes and tribal organizations in a vast array of areas including tribal government representation, tribal economic development, revision of tribal constitutions, management of water resources, and water rights settlement claims. Mr. Patterson also assists Tribal clients with energy development and policy issues, oil and gas development agreements, midstream projects and other permitting and regulatory compliance matters. Mr. Patterson is the past recipient of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED) Native American 40 Under 40 Award, has been listed in the "The Best Lawyers in America©" and recognized by Denver based 5280 Magazine as a Top Lawyer in Native American Law for 2017 and 2018.
Job Titles:
- Programs Director
- Member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
A member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Jerica was born and raised on the reservation. Upon her 2007 graduation from Takini High School, she began taking courses in Early Childhood Education at Oglala Lakota College. She began working with the youth in 2009, through Department of Social Services and Child Protection Service centers within the community. Through the daily challenges in her role there, she enjoyed helping the youth the reservation. Jerica began working as a Programs Assistant at the Cheyenne River Youth Project in 2014; she quickly was promoted to Programs Coordinator, and in 2018, she became CRYP's Programs Director. Because she has many younger siblings and relatives, she feels that she has a good understanding of the needs and interest of youth. Jerica hopes to bring her passion and experience to her role at CRYP, serving as a positive role model for children and teens.
Job Titles:
- Development Associate
- Independent Grant - Writing Consultant
Jody Sarkozy-Banoczy is an independent grant-writing consultant based in the Washington D.C. area. Her expertise lies in the arts and in native community development. She has 15 years of experience and success writing grants to many foundations and federal agencies, including the CDFI Fund, Administration for Native Americans, USDA, HUD and others.
Jody is the former director of development for First Nations Oweesta Corporation, and her work supports organizations focused on native artist entrepreneurship, small business development, youth, leadership and affordable housing.
Joseph Elia recently completed his Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He is currently working on a second master's degree, in Literature and Textual Studies, at Bowling Green. He started volunteering with CRYP in summer 2021, and he began teaching classes at our Čhokáta Wičhoni (Center of Life) teen center that fall.
An enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Julie Garreau has been the executive director of the Cheyenne River Youth Project since its 1988 inception. She has seen the project through its exhilarating development from a tiny, one-room youth center in a former Main Street bar to a comprehensive youth and family services organization that includes "The Main" youth center for children ages 4-12, the Ċokata Wiċoni (Center of Life) teen center for youth ages 13-18, the Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count) Lakota Youth Arts & Culture Institute, the Winyan Toka Win (Leading Lady) Garden, and three social enterprises-the Keya (Turtle) Cafe & Coffee Shop, the Keya Gift Shop & E-Store, and the Leading Lady Farm Stand.
Julie is a dedicated youth advocate, and she hopes that CRYP will become a model for other communities to follow as they develop effective, sustainable, culturally relevant youth programming. She has received the South Dakota Volunteer of the Year Award (1992), the Presidential Points of Light Award (1993), the Lakota Nation Invitational Tournament Public Service Award (1993); the Father Hogebach Service to Native American Children Award, presented by St Joseph's Indian School (1995); the North American Indian Women's Association Fellowship "Among All Peoples" Award (1999); the Garden Supply Company's First Place "Garden Crusader" Award (2005); the Spirit of Dakota Award (2009); and the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development's prestigious Tim Wapato Public Advocate of the Year Award (2019).
In 2002, the South Dakota Coalition for Children named CRYP a "Champion for Children," and Julie was named to an honor roll that recognized its 16 members' outstanding dedication to South Dakota's children. In addition to serving as a Suicide Crisis Referral Hotline Counselor from 1994 to 2000, she testified before the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee Hearing on Youth Suicide Prevention in 2005. Her name appears on the Honor Wall at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.
Julie served on the Fairy Godmother's Fund Council from 2008 to 2010; that year, she also ran as the District 28 candidate for the South Dakota State Senate. In 2011, Julie completed Hopa Mountain's Native American Nonprofit Leadership Program. She then went on to complete a series of fellowships: Bush Foundation Native Nations Rebuilders Fellow (2012), Cordes Fellow (2015), and Bush Fellow (2016-18). She was part of the Gratitude Network's 2021 Gratitude Fellowship cohort, and this year, she is a 2022 Vital Village Fellow.
That's not all. Julie served on the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Advisory Council in 2007, and Gov. Dennis Daugaard appointed her to the South Dakota Commission for National and Community Service in 2011. She also has been a member of the South Dakota Attorney General's Indian Advisory Council.
In 2014, she became a founding member of the Native American Food Systems Alliance; she completed her term as NAFSA president in 2021. She established the farm-to-table Keya Cafe & Coffeeshop, the Keya Gift Shop & E-Store, and the seasonal Leading Lady Farmer Stand at the CRYP campus, and she continues to spearhead sustainable agriculture initiatives for children, teens and the Cheyenne River community.
In the last six years, Julie and her staff launched the innovative, groundbreaking Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count) Lakota Arts Institute, Waniyetu Wowapi Art Park and RedCan Graffiti Jam (recipient of Americans for the Arts' 2017 Robert E. Gard Award) at the CRYP campus. In 2019, RedCan was one of 50 projects honored through Americans for the Arts' PAN Year in Review program; that same year, Julie received the Americans for the Arts' Arts Education Award, and she joined Arts South Dakota's Board of Directors. In 2022, she received Americans for the Arts' Selina Roberts Ottum Award for Arts Leadership.
Karla Abbott teaches behavioral health nursing. An enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Karla is involved in research that preserves the health of Native Americans and increases Native American participation in the STEM fields. Karla is faculty advisor to the Augustana Nursing Student Association (ANSA). She received her B.S.N. from Michigan State University, her master's in nursing from Augustana, and her DNP from Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN.
Kibbe McGaa Brown is a member of the Oglala band of Lakota. A Registered Dietitian, Kibbe has served over 25 years in Indian Country, Primarily with Indian Health Service (IHS). Currently the Nutrition Consultant with the Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention, IHS, Headquarters. Kibbe and her family reside in Hill City, South Dakota.
Laura Schad has been a Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA) team member since 2009 and works in the Northern Plains offices located in Rapid City. Serving as the Program Manager of Long Terms Solutions (LTS), the team collaborates with tribal partners through capacity building and community investments to build strong communities. For 12 years, she served as PWNA's Program Information Coordinator, working as a bridge between programs (direct services), the development team and PWNA's program partners to create positive change.
Laura is a Cheyenne River Lakota tribal citizen and since returning to the Black Hills in 1990, she has focused her academic and career choices in tribal communities. As an adopted child growing up far from her own community and culture, Laura's life work has been to connect with and serve tribal nations and their residents. She has maintained employment with Native owned businesses and Native led non-profits the entire thirty plus years since returning to South Dakota. Receiving her degree in Early Childhood from Oglala Lakota College, she worked as an Early Head Start Director, and transitioned into helping other program directors through the National Training and Technical Assistance network for the American Indian/Alaska Native Programs Branch of Head Start.
Laura has been a resident of Rapid City for over 30 years, raising three daughters with her husband Ralph. She has served as a board member of the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce, Rapid City Area Schools Board of Education, Black Hills Area Community Foundation, and the Black Hills Community Loan Fund. She enjoys gardening (even though gardening doesn't enjoy her), cooking, home improvement projects and traveling with family.
Laure began her journey with CRYP in 2010 as a long-term volunteer. She signed up to serve for two months, extended it to four months-and in the third month, she was hired to be the youth project's assistant programs director. She continued to volunteer even after she moved back to her home state of New York; since 2017, Laure has been coordinating the annual Wo Otúh'an Wi Toy Drive, returning to her second home in Eagle Butte every winter to ensure that the children of Cheyenne River experience the joy of the holidays.
Laure has built a career in the nonprofit world, working with adults with developmental disabilities in New York and continuing to serve as a special projects manager for CRYP. She is passionate about her work and the youth project's ongoing mission in the Cheyenne River community. Laure earned a degree in Community & Human Services from SUNY Empire State College, and her work experience over the years has included administration, operations, and program management.
Recently appointed to the Cheyenne River Youth Project Board of Directors, Lonnie has been a proud supporter and advocate of the youth organization for years. As owner and operator of two Dairy Queen franchises, one located in Eagle Butte, Lonnie brings a wide variety of business and management experience to the organization. Also serving on the Four Bands Community Fund board, he is committed to advancing opportunities for youth and community members on the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation. Lonnie resides in Pierre, SD with his family.
Morgan initially came to CRYP as a public health intern from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, eager to learn from the leadership of indigenous women in a grassroots organization devoted to lowering health disparities. In August 2022, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in public health with a minor in business.
After Morgan completed her volunteer service, CRYP hired her to serve as internship manager. In this role, she works closely with the program assistants to improve the internships' curricula so Lakota youth will be ready for the workforce, develop the skills they need for future schooling, and learn how to promote their mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
Along with her knowledge of health, Morgan has experience working with young people due to her college volunteer work with numerous childrens' organizations and her employment at a residential treatment facility for young women with mental health issues. She is committed to mentoring young people who can be challenging to work with or who have previously been neglected by institutionalized forces.
She is thrilled to have a chance to live in South Dakota and learn more about its history, cultural richness, and beautiful landscape. She is originally from San Antonio, Texas, and she has spent most of her adult life in Utah.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
- Programs Assistant Trainee
An enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Nation Cowins grew up in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. He discovered CRYP's Cokata Wiconi (Center of Life) in March 2020, at age 13.
Nation immediately got involved in the teen center's internships. He completed the Native Wellness, Native Food Sovereignty, Indigenous Foods & Cooking and Art internship tracks, and he says he especially enjoyed working in the Winyan Toka Win (Leading Lady) Garden and in the teen center's commercial-grade kitchen.
In January 2022, Nation joined the CRYP staff as our first programs assistant trainee. He says he's grateful to have the youth project as a resource on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, because he feels CRYP provides the opportunities and mentorships teens need to pursue their education and careers after high school.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Cheyenne River Youth Project Board of Directors
An enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and resident of the Cheyenne River Reservation, Peggy has served as a Speech Language Pathologist for the US Bureau of Indian Affairs/Bureau of Indian Education for 30+ years. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Language Pathology, Audiology, Psychology and a Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology.
She has served as a member of South Dakota Parent Connection, State Youth Dakota Task Force to establish benchmarks for Early Childhood, the Community Advisory Committee for the University of South Dakota/Center for Disabilities and co-authored published research on Cultural Relevancy of Language Assessments. She has also worked to establish, coordinate and provide assessments in collaboration with the University of SD/Center for Disabilities for the CR Developmental Clinic here on Cheyenne River.
Currently retired from the Bureau of Indian Education, she continues to provide limited oversight and technical assistance to the Cheyenne River Infant and Toddler Program, that she directed for many years, through a consultant contract with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.
Peggy has been a member of the Cheyenne River Youth Project board of directors for 30+ years.
While working with CRYP, Wendell has completed coursework towards a degree in criminal justice from Oglala Lakota College. He is currently in charge of CRYP's wellness program; he plans and executes all fitness-related activities, including daily workouts and weekly fitness challenges, and he helps coordinate teen programming for the Wellness Internship Program.