WE Interns & Staff
WE - ONE MIND FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK
WE - ONE MIND FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK
Valerie Doornbos - Northern Arizona University ITEP Air Quality Intern
Hello! My name is Valerie Doornbos and I am very honored to be the Summer 2022 Northern Arizona University’s Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) Intern for Whiteswan Environmental. I am currently a second-year Master’s Student at the University of Oklahoma in the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability. I am very passionate about environmental justice,Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), and air quality, and am very grateful to have the opportunity to both share and gain new knowledge from this internship. In collaboration with my fellow WE interns during the 8-week program, we will conduct a community survey, and create a series of educational outreach materials which we hope will be impactful and useful to both the Lummi Nation and surrounding communities. While I identify as non-native, I am so excited to utilize this experience as a way to continue to bridge the native and non-native gap and move forward on tackling these important environmental issues together!
Thank you,
Valerie
Thank you,
Valerie
Náng Sḵ'at'áas - Joseph Hillaire, Jr., WE Intern from Northwest Indian College
Now siam ne scheleche. My name in english is Joseph Hillaire Jr. My name in X̱aad kíl (Haida lanugage) is Náng Sḵ'at'áas “One Who Learns”. I come from the Lummi Nation & Village of Hydaburg. Relative to my fellow interns and everyone at Whiteswan Environmental (WE), everything I do when it comes to following cultural ways of life, navigating academia, and advocating for Indigenous sovereignty, etc. is reflective of our ancestors and the work they have done to secure the rights we have today. Working as a team with WE in the mission that we have is one of my greatest honors as prior to joining, just about everyone has been near and dear to me for years. Although I am still a WE Intern through NWIC, due to unforeseen events in my immediate family, my educational journey is on hiatus, it being my final year in the Native Environmental Science program at NWIC. Another hat of mine is being President of the Tlingit & Haida Youth Commission, where we work to create local and state policy change and amplify the voices of Tlingit & Haida Youth. Weaving together the roles in my life presents our ancestors, a sense of place, cultural teachings, and more. All of this secures a future for many generations after this one. Hy'shqe!
Sasha Hayes, WE Intern from Northwest Indian College
Hello,
I am Sasha Hayes from the Spokane Tribe, I am a Mom and a student at NWIC working on my Tribal Governance and Business Management degree, I applied for and received this awesome opportunity to intern for Whiteswan Environmental as an administrative assistant. I feel like I get the chance to actually work in a way that honors my past and my future. I am very excited about the journey ahead of me.
Sasha Hayes WE Intern from the NWIC TGBM program
I am Sasha Hayes from the Spokane Tribe, I am a Mom and a student at NWIC working on my Tribal Governance and Business Management degree, I applied for and received this awesome opportunity to intern for Whiteswan Environmental as an administrative assistant. I feel like I get the chance to actually work in a way that honors my past and my future. I am very excited about the journey ahead of me.
Sasha Hayes WE Intern from the NWIC TGBM program
Sophia Jackson, WE Intern from Northwest Indian College
Ya'at'eeh friends and relatives, I am humbled and happy to announce that I am now an intern for the incredible Whiteswan Environmental organization! I specialize in illustration and graphics work where I'll be working alongside the Lummi people in creating curriculum and tools with my art for cultural and language revitalization. I am proud to work alongside such wonderful, kind and driven people and am honored to do this work for future generations. Thank you WE and the interns for your undying support and belief in our cause for a healthier connection to each other and the land. Ahéheeʼ !
Free Eagle Borsey, WE Intern from Northwest Indian College
Hello, my name is Free Eagle Borsey. I am Lhaq’temish from the Lummi Nation in the PNW Washington State. It is my dream to work with Whiteswan Environmental to learn about our traditional foods and harvesting practices left to us by our ancestors and share it with you all. I am mainly focusing on plants in the surrounding territories of the Lummi Nation because there is an abundance of natural resources in terms of medicines and foods. This not only contributes to the fight for better health for our people but also the fight for sustainability for the environment and the restoration of our traditional knowledge. Please follow Whiteswan Environmental to see the incredible work and dedication we have for our people and these practices. Hyshqe!
Tonya Teton, WE Intern from Northwest Indian College
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Hi, my name is Tonya Teton. I am a member and resident of the Lummi Nation. I have been participating with the Whiteswan Environmental Spirit of the Sxwo'le Stewardship Corps since 2015. My traditional way of life is my medicine. I practice my language, and treaty fishing and hunting rights. I am excited to work with Whiteswan Environmental and have a support network that aligns with what I love to do. My goal is to work on 13 Moon Food Sovereignty, and Field-to-Classroom Curriculum Development, and add my completed projects to the Digital Ecocultural Map, so our future generations can continue to learn more about who we are and where we come from. Hy'shqe!
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Sadie Olsen, WE Co-Founder and WE Intern from Northwest Indian College
Sadie Olsen: With the belief that youth leadership can assure that Indigenous voices are heard and can have a lasting and broad impact in Tribal communities, as well as beyond our communities borders, I have dedicated myself to learning more about myself, where I come from, how to preserve heritage through academic curricula development today, and advocating for Indigenous rights. I am a 2020 Ferndale High School graduate and am also a co-founder of Whiteswan Environmental (WE), a Native-led non profit.
I am committed to my culture and environment, which comes naturally, as teachings have traveled through generations.
I am committed to my culture and environment, which comes naturally, as teachings have traveled through generations.
Jaden Phair-Williams, WE Intern from Northwest Indian College
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Jaden is a member and resident of the Lummi Nation. Jaden has been involved with Whiteswan Environmental since the beginning. He is passionate about the Xwelemi Chosen language, cedar weaving and practicing his fishing and hunting treaty rights. He has helped be a voice for Indigenous issues and survival of ancestral ways of knowing. He spent much time with our late Hereditary Chief and they worked together to show a great example of how to complement cedar weaving with geometry. WE are grateful to always have Jaden's participation with our work, even when it comes to complex issues of equity.
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Christina Kisskeys, WE Intern Assistant
Christina provides consulting services to WE in the area of Cultural Safety Curriculum & Program Management. Within the past few years, my degree program of choice took a turn from Aeronautical Science to being accepted into the Environmental Education program within Huxley College of the Environment. During my studies at Huxley, I was introduced to Whiteswan Environmental (WE) and felt that this organization had been placed on my path for a reason. I couldn’t wait to begin partnering with WE and was very excited when I was accepted as a WE intern, as well as continuing to volunteer after my internship came to an end. Following my graduation in June 2021 with a BA, I was offered a position as support for WE’s Cultural Safety Program to which I humbly and graciously accepted. My gratitude cannot be expressed enough to Whiteswan Environmental and all the individuals who make this organization possible. Individuals who are dedicating themselves to this hard and undeniably needed work for the betterment of all. I am so thankful to be working beside so many truly amazing people!
Lisa Spicer provides consulting services to Whiteswan Environmental in the areas of grant writing, media production, and communications.
[email protected]
Video portfolio: vimeo.com/lisaspicer
[email protected]
Video portfolio: vimeo.com/lisaspicer
WE - Executive Director: Shirley Williams, RN
Kusemaat became a licensed nurse in 2002. Fifteen years were spent working within the scope of a western license. Now, like a salmon swimming upstream, she is focused on Indigenous Public Health. Her passion for holistic healthcare of ancient time began when she started to work for her own community, which is the federally recognized tribe of Lummi Nation, located in the upper most corner of the Pacific Northwest. Today, because of Seli7 etse Sxwo’le – Spirit of the Sxwo’le (reef-net), Kusemaat addresses the root cause of trauma for Indigenous Peoples and Nature. She is bound to protecting the sovereignty of the Salish Sea for 7th generation sustainability. She envisions these ancestral homelands as a medical office based in nature, for without mother earth, we do not have our health.
WE - ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING NEEDS:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Executive Assistant
- Interns
- Operations & Development Associate
- Project Manager
- Program Associates
- Partner Engagement Manager
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Here’s how you can support our mission and vision today:
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