Bush Fellows Learning Logs

Nevada Littlewolf was the first Anishinaabe woman ever elected to the Virginia City Council and, at age 31, the only council member under the age of 55. That influential experience encouraged her to establish Rural and American Indigenous Leadership (RAIL), a nonprofit focused on growing women’s leadership in rural and indigenous communities. She wants to grow her ability to build RAIL into a nonprofit capable of serving a national audience. Nevada’s Bush Fellowship will provide her with the time and resources to finish her bachelor’s degree, explore positive women’s roles in other global indigenous cultures and seek additional training and coaching to build leadership skills.

Hsajune Dyan often reminds himself and his students that a thousand miles begins with a single step. A Burmese refugee, he has embraced determination and persistency in his own life and work with Saint Paul Public Schools. He is a passionate advocate for English Language Learners, serving as a bridge between newcomers and the school system. He is equally passionate about the success of his small but growing Karen community in Minnesota. With his Bush Fellowship, he will strengthen his leadership and planning skills and enhance his network to better help immigrants and refugees become well-educated, prosperous members of their new community. He will pursue an Ed.D. in education leadership at Bethel University.

Tomi Phillips wants to transform the way we educate Native students. She seeks to instill in teachers a deeper understanding of different world views and learning styles. Her goals are to inspire positive changes in tribal education, encourage more Native people to become teachers and deepen the pool of non-Native teachers who are in tune with the relational way Native children see the world. After years of being a principal, she seeks to expand her knowledge, network and influence by earning a doctorate degree in educational leadership.

Julie Garreau has been the driving force behind the Cheyenne River Youth Project (CRYP), developing it from a fledgling experiment to one of the nation’s most successful Native youth development programs. After years of leading CRYP, she now wants to ensure its future success by mentoring emerging Lakota leaders who can succeed her. Julie will use her Bush Fellowship to study Lakota teachings and effective Western leadership models, leveraging both to foster the next generation of leaders.

As a member of the Granite Falls City Council for nearly four decades and mayor for 20 years, Dave Smiglewski knows first-hand the challenges and joys of community service. He is witness to an alarming decline in civic and community engagement particularly in rural areas, and wants to encourage young adults in his region to reverse the trend. Through his Bush Fellowship, Dave will finish his bachelor’s degree and pursue post-graduate education, studying the best methods to incubate, model and drive civic engagement. 

Catherine Squires wants to transform schools into spaces of intentional, intergenerational learning and healing. She seeks new ways to design learning programs that bring together underserved youth, adults and elders to reflect, share stories, reclaim their heritage and repair broken bonds. She wants youth to learn directly from the stories of elders and to make connections between historical challenges and contemporary issues. With her Bush Fellowship, she deepen her understanding of the connections between healing and storytelling at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality and Healing, the Loft Literary Center and site visits to intergenerational healing programs in the U.S and Canada.

Abdirashid Abdi envisions classrooms where the cultural values of English Language Learners are seen as an asset for learning, not a deficit. He seeks to improve academic performance by helping teachers better understand how a student’s cultural background shapes learning style. He wants to develop his leadership skills to coach K-12 educators and provide them with tools to transform the classroom experience for ELL students. He will use his Bush Fellowship to pursue a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction to enhance his leadership and expertise in the education arena. He also will conduct formal field research to impact teacher training.

Melissa Boyd wants to help lead the movement to re-stabilize and renew the Ojibwe language in the homelands of her people, starting in the classrooms of youngest learners. Her goal is to create Ojibwe schools recognized for both cultural and academic excellence. She will explore how to replicate in her community the ways the Hawaiian nation created nearly 20,000 proficient indigenous speakers. To master her craft and advance her leadership skills, she will use her Bush Fellowship to finish her bachelor degree in elementary education, complete a certificate of contemporary indigenous multilingualism at the University of Hawaii and study behavior design through Stanford School of Medicine and the engagedIN behavior design firm.

Lorrie Janatopoulos is the long-time planning director at Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency, a social services nonprofit. She also is an LGBT activist on the Iron Range who recognizes that true community change requires relationships, long-term engagement and cross-sector collaboration. With her Bush Fellowship, Lorrie will pursue post-graduate work at Stanford Graduate School of Business and Harvard Kennedy School. She will also work at the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board to expand her network and learn more about rural economic and community development.

Michael Walker’s goal is to awaken the greatness within young black men. As director of the Office of Black Male Student Achievement for Minneapolis Public Schools, he wants to change the way young men believe in themselves and how the community views them in return. He envisions a community where young black men define their own values and dreams, achieve their rightful success and are seen as productive members of society. To advance his expertise and leadership, he will use his Bush Fellowship to finish his doctoral degree, strengthen his research skills and become a certified trainer on Psychological First Aid and Trauma in the Black Body.

Dara Beevas believes that books can save lives, open doors and build bridges, especially in communities of color. As co-founder of the publishing company Wise Ink, she encourages authors to share powerful stories that ignite change, tolerance and growth. She believes that leadership comes down to a single virtue: courage. With her Bush Fellowship, she will grow her abilities to be a bolder, braver and more balanced leader. She will seek mentors who have demonstrated courage in their work and invest in training through the Center for Courage and Renewal, Yale Women’s Leadership Program and Women’s Leadership Retreat in Uganda.

Emmanuel Oppong knows that the words “mental health” are not found in many cultures, including that of his native Ghana. Yet as a counselor working with immigrants and refugees, he understands that many of these newly arrived people need support to deal with trauma and culture shock. He wants to build cultural sensitivity into and increased access to mental health services in Minnesota. In his dual role as Community Engagement Coordinator in the Mayor of Saint Cloud’s office, he also seeks to improve race relations in a city growing in diversity. With his Bush Fellowship, he will pursue learning and networking opportunities with experts in the fields of diversity, inclusion and trauma-informed therapy. 

Vaughn Vargas knows that an effective police force needs to reflect the racial makeup of the community it is sworn to protect. He is coordinator of the first-ever cultural advisory committee in South Dakota for a law enforcement agency, an appointment he took on while completing his engineering degree. He wants to help diversify law enforcement agencies through focusing on organizational behavior and culture. With his Bush Fellowship, he will develop new methods to recruit and retain Native American police officers; he will also attend the Harvard Extension School for leadership training. His personal development will focus on research in historical Lakota leadership and diplomatic relations.

Corey Martin is driven to build resiliency, vulnerability and compassion into healthcare systems, schools, police departments, businesses and homes. He is a physician whose journey of self-reflection and growth led him to found the Bounce Back Project, a community initiative to promote health through happiness. He also is lead physician in Allina Health’s response to clinician burnout. He wants to incorporate positivity and resilience practices into his local health care system and improve mental health throughout his community. He will use his Bush Fellowship to pursue advanced leadership training, build his own mindfulness practice and become a certified facilitator in The Daring Way and Center for Courage and Renewal.

Gene Gelgelu envisions a Minnesota where African immigrants play a major role in the economy. He wants African immigrants to build wealth and sustainability as they become more deeply engaged in the region. An immigrant from Ethiopia, he understands the challenges of and opportunities for building full economic participation in a new country. Under his leadership, African Economic Development Solutions has incubated numerous culturally specific businesses and launched Little Africa, a creative placemaking effort in the heart of Saint Paul. With his Bush Fellowship, he will broaden his knowledge of regional economic policy, build a local and national network to lead more effectively and contribute to solving racial disparities in Minnesota.

Heather Dawn Thompson wants to engage the private sector to assist the Great Plains Tribes in their efforts to build their strength and self-sufficiency. She is a national expert in Indian law and economic development who seeks greater expertise to respond to dwindling federal assistance and limited grant opportunities for Native nations. She believes that long-term self-sufficiency can come with growth in the financial proficiency needed to compete in a complicated private marketplace. She also believes strong leadership requires the wisdom that the Lakota language and values provide. She will use her Bush Fellowship to pursue corporate finance training, combining it with a focus on traditional Lakota values of leadership, language and self-sufficiency.

Karina Perkins sees an opportunity to improve addiction treatment services and systems, which currently reach just 9% of people who need care. With her Bush Fellowship, she will build the leadership skills necessary to champion a systemic change to treat addiction with a disease management approach. She will deepen her knowledge of substance abuse treatment models and innovations in disease management, increase her ability to transfer knowledge to practice and seek mentors in policymaking and health care reform. She will pursue advanced certification in substance use disorder treatment and trauma-informed care, as well as key certifications through Harvard University’s Online Leadership & Management Program.

When Mukhtar Ibrahim emigrated from East Africa to the U.S. in 2005, he spoke little English. Today, as a reporter with Minnesota Public Radio, he is the first Somali-American journalist in the state to work at a major news outlet. He is also the founder of Sahan Journal, an independent news source for East Africans and Somalis who live in the Twin Cities metro area. He wants to close the cultural gap between long-time and new Americans through more balanced, in-depth and fair storytelling about immigrants. With his Bush Fellowship, Mukhtar will complete a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University to advance his knowledge of long-form narrative writing, investigative reporting, digital storytelling and radio documentaries.

Martin Wera sees the relationships between good food and good jobs through his focus on hunger relief and workforce development at Ameriprise. He is passionate about exploring ways to unite the food service industry and the nonprofit sector to create a more sustainable future for consumers, employers and workers. Martin will use his Bush Fellowship to learn from other communities that have successfully engaged multiple sectors to mutually solve food insecurity and labor shortage issues and bring this knowledge back to the Twin Cities.

Nausheena Hussain is immersed in civic life, serving on boards, her local charter commission and as an election judge. She founded Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment (RISE), a leadership development nonprofit, to elevate Muslim women. Nausheena continues to examine why there are so few Muslim women in positions of power and wants to understand what could potentially be holding them back. She will use her Bush Fellowship to strengthen her nonprofit leadership and management abilities, seeking out mentors at the intersection of gender, race and religious identity.

Terry Austin knows that a child’s relationship with his or her father has lifelong effects on health and development. He wants to grow his knowledge of systems and policies that impact fathers’ ability to be supportive resources for their children and build a counter narrative that combats widespread negative stereotypes of black fathers. With his Bush Fellowship, he will study interdisciplinary approaches that challenge men to show up, spend time and have fun with their children. With that knowledge, he will develop public events and a robust social media platform for a new fatherhood movement that tells a different story from the one that’s typically told.

Carmeann Foster is laser focused on one major goal: reduce the number of black youth in the juvenile justice system. She knows from personal and professional experience that African American youth and communities of color are disproportionately represented in corrections. Carmeann recently launched a nonprofit to create and provide innovative, community-centered rehabilitative solutions. Through her Bush Fellowship, she will investigate the most promising, culturally specific interventions for youth, complete her Ph.D. and grow her leadership network.

In 1992, Abdi Roble found a manual camera at a flea market. Captivated, he began taking photography courses at a community college and documenting the Somali immigrant and refugee experience. Ten years later, he founded the Somali Documentary Project with more than 10,000 images of Somali people in the Twin Cities, Rochester, Saint Cloud, Willmar and Pelican Rapids. Through his Bush Fellowship, he will acquire the skills to create a professional archive that digitizes and catalogues these images — the first of its kind in the world. Guided by the motto “Ummad aan dhigaal lahayni, waa dhaayo aan arag lahayn," - "A nation without archives is like eyes without sight,” he also seeks leadership training to support and inspire young people to document and archive their communities.

State Representative Kim Norton introduced legislation and rallied support for the Destination Medical Center (DMC), an economic development project aimed at positioning Rochester as a premier location for health care. Kim wants to help lead Rochester through the dramatic changes ahead, making sure that DMC works for the entire community. Her Bush Fellowship will allow her to complete a master’s degree at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and grow her transformational leadership skills through the Women in Power executive education program at Harvard Kennedy School.

The drum, the heartbeat of Native nations, restored Floyd Jourdain as a young man 30 years ago when he sought sobriety. It carried him through his 10 years as tribal chair of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa. Now he wants to explore how the drum can teach and promote healing and unity throughout Indian Country. With his Bush Fellowship, he will complete his bachelor’s degree, focusing on emerging research that shows how drumming can address the challenges of addiction while strengthening cultural identity in Native communities.

As one of Minnesota's civic leaders, Hamse Warfa is concerned about structural integration challenges new immigrants face, particularly immigrants in the Somali community. He bridges cultures through leadership and peacebuilding training, and wants to increase his ability to influence cross-cultural understanding. With his Bush Fellowship, he will develop a new platform that links more immigrants to mainstream systems on issues of education, health, economic empowerment and civic leadership while leading civic conversations that create more vibrant communities for all Minnesotans.

As executive director of Sacred Spirits First Nations Coalition, a program serving Native women, Lisa Brunner advocates for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and sex trafficking. She wants to learn more about how other indigenous communities protect and heal their people through their cultural beliefs and practices. With her Bush Fellowship, she will travel to indigenous communities across the U.S. and Canada to investigate successful community-based practices, and how she can apply them to her ongoing advocacy and leadership work.

Betty Gronneberg is a new American and a software engineer with one big goal: She wants girls to engineer the world they live in — quite literally. Betty sees the gender disparities in computing and engineering jobs, and knows girls can be the driving force in technology, not just the basic consumers of it. In response to what she sees, Betty wants to foster opportunities for girls to connect with the world of coding and introduce them to careers in technology by creating an enrichment program. She will use her Bush Fellowship to strengthen her leadership expertise, study model organizations in the field and research ways to attract more girls to science, technology, engineering and math.

Yuko Taniguchi was inspired by how fisherwomen in her native Japan used art to heal from the devastating grief and trauma of a tsunami. That inspiration fuels her work with the Arts at the Bedside Program at the Mayo Clinic, where she helps patients tap into their creativity to express fear, anxiety and grief. Through her Bush Fellowship, Yuko will explore the connections between art and resiliency both at the individual and community level. She will study with national experts who use the arts to connect mind, body and people.

Born in Peru, Yuri Nakasato lived through a devastating earthquake, violent civil conflict and epidemics of tuberculosis and cholera. Despite the obstacles, he went on to earn degrees in medicine and business administration. With a “never give up and always get up” philosophy, he seeks to lead effective, large-scale change within the Sanford Health System to help patients get better, faster and on budget. To help him acquire the leadership skills to lead this change, Yuri will use his Bush Fellowship to pursue a master’s of consulting and coaching for change through a joint executive education program with Oxford University and école des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Paris.

Psychologist Tami Jollie-Trottier knows that the arts offer a creative outlet for a young person to build self-confidence and cultural identity. Her goal is to create a beautiful and safe haven where the young people of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa can discover self-expression and connect with elders through the arts. With her Bush Fellowship, she will devote time to growing her knowledge of Native arts and expressive art therapy, and develop an art studio open to the community on her reservation.

Trista Matascastillo is one of few to have served in three branches of the U.S. military. Often, she was the only woman in her command. After 16 years of service in the Navy, Marine Corps and National Guard, she was compelled to form the Women Veteran’s Initiative, a nonprofit advocacy and networking organization. She wants to respond to the growing number of women vets nationwide and to guide her organization as it grows from a working group to a robust nonprofit. With her Bush Fellowship, Trista will pursue post-secondary and graduate degrees to strengthen her leadership skills.

Susan Beaulieu teaches about adverse childhood experiences — ACEs — in Native American communities. Defined as traumatic events, ACEs can negatively impact child health and development and have long-term effects into adulthood. Susan is inspired by the power of resiliency and plans to explore traditional indigenous practices around mindfulness as strategies to promote greater wellbeing for Native American youth. She plans to use her Bush Fellowship to finish her Ph.D. and to invest in her own wellbeing, understanding that she must practice what she teaches to truly have a ripple effect in her community.

Larry Tucker devotes his professional career to helping people change the direction of their lives and, he says, “write a different story.” Despite childhood adversity and becoming a parent when he was just 17, Larry earned both his bachelor’s and post-graduate degrees, and then founded Kente Circle, a successful mental health organization serving the community with a special emphasis on the needs of African Americans. With his Bush Fellowship, he will acquire the advanced leadership and business skills he needs to train the next generation of culturally competent mental health professionals.