Ariel Richer, LMSW (PhD candidate) | Chief Executive Officer ||Venezuela/Trinidad & Tobago
Ariel Richer, LMSW (PhD candidate) | Chief Executive Officer ||Venezuela/Trinidad & Tobago
Ariel Richer, LMSW (PhD candidate) | Chief Executive Officer ||Venezuela/Trinidad & Tobago
Ariel is a descendant of the Indigenous people of Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. Ariel is a doctoral student at Columbia University School of Social Work working within the Social Intervention Group (SIG), under the direction of Associate Professor Louisa Gilbert. Her focus is on intimate partner violence prevention at the intersectio
Ariel is a descendant of the Indigenous people of Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. Ariel is a doctoral student at Columbia University School of Social Work working within the Social Intervention Group (SIG), under the direction of Associate Professor Louisa Gilbert. Her focus is on intimate partner violence prevention at the intersection of drug and alcohol use, community-based participatory research, and working collaboratively with Indigenous and Native communities.
Previously, she worked as an Impact Evaluator at the Administration for Native Americans where she worked directly with community-based organizations developing logic models, evaluation plans, data collection tools, and processes at a community-specific level and across a diverse set of communities. She is fiercely committed to addressing gender-based issues at large, especially gender-based violence, and has over seven years of experience within domestic violence organizations, sexual assault resource centers, and economic enhancement programs for survivors of trafficking and domestic violence. Ariel is the co-founder of the Indigenous- and womxn-led coalition, Rising Hearts. She earned her Master of Science in Social Work, Social Enterprise Administration from Columbia University School of Social work in 2015 and is a Licensed Master Social Worker.
Logan Tootle, MSW (candidate) | Chief Operating Officer | Cherokee Nation
Ariel Richer, LMSW (PhD candidate) | Chief Executive Officer ||Venezuela/Trinidad & Tobago
Ariel Richer, LMSW (PhD candidate) | Chief Executive Officer ||Venezuela/Trinidad & Tobago
Logan Tootle is a member of the Cherokee Nation. She is currently a MSW student at Columbia University specializing in Social Enterprise Administration. Logan is completing her social work fieldwork with UIC as an MSW Associate. In addition to her studies, Logan is a Research Assistant for Dr. Brooke S. West who focuses on the sociostruct
Logan Tootle is a member of the Cherokee Nation. She is currently a MSW student at Columbia University specializing in Social Enterprise Administration. Logan is completing her social work fieldwork with UIC as an MSW Associate. In addition to her studies, Logan is a Research Assistant for Dr. Brooke S. West who focuses on the sociostructural factors of substance use and HIV/STIs among womxn.Logan recently relocated to New York City from Minneapolis/St. Paul where she worked at the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC). Logan served in various capacities with MIWRC, including roles as an Organizational Strategist, Special Project Manager, and Safe Harbor Youth Worker. As a youth worker, Logan provided individual case management and culturally specific support groups to Native youth ages 24 and under who had experienced or were at risk of experiencing commercial sexual exploitation. In addition to direct service, Logan facilitated a variety of training sessions about commercial sexual exploitation, historical trauma, and more to various stakeholders and community members.Previously, she worked as an Impact Evaluator at the Administration for Native Americans where she worked directly with community-based organizations developing logic models, evaluation plans, data collection tools, and processes at a community-specific level and across a diverse set of communities. She is fiercely committed to addressing gender-based issues at large, especially gender-based violence, and has over seven years of experience within domestic violence organizations, sexual assault resource centers, and economic enhancement programs for survivors of trafficking and domestic violence.
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Gianna Reza-Ortega | Program Manager of Research + Advocacy | Chiricahua Apache (she/her/ella)
Gianna Reza-Ortega | Program Manager of Research + Advocacy | Chiricahua Apache (she/her/ella)
Gianna Reza-Ortega | Program Manager of Research + Advocacy | Chiricahua Apache (she/her/ella)
Gianna Reza-Ortega is a Program Manager of Research + Advocacy at UIC, and a queer person with roots in the Chiricahua Apache tribe and Mexico. She is a recent graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Chemical Engineering, where she spent her undergraduate career planning and executing pro
Gianna Reza-Ortega is a Program Manager of Research + Advocacy at UIC, and a queer person with roots in the Chiricahua Apache tribe and Mexico. She is a recent graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Chemical Engineering, where she spent her undergraduate career planning and executing programming in both physical and virtual spaces to build community and raise voices of young adults from marginalized communities. Gianna is passionate about reproductive healthcare and healthcare access for marginalized communities, especially those affected by carceral systems. She previously worked as a Digital Organizer with the Frontline Election Defenders, directly managing a team of volunteers devoted to make the voting process accessible for everyone eligible to cast a vote as well as bringing language justice to the team by translating all public- and volunteer-facing documents to Spanish. As Program Manager at UIC, she designs ethical research programs that both build the evidence base for community-defined approaches to wellness and increase access to quality health and wellness services for Urban Indigenous folks in the so-called tri-state area. She looks forward to learning from and with the UIC team and communities while working to address their needs.
Tati Cosper |Grants Development & Communication Associate | Mvskoke Creek Nation
Gianna Reza-Ortega | Program Manager of Research + Advocacy | Chiricahua Apache (she/her/ella)
Gianna Reza-Ortega | Program Manager of Research + Advocacy | Chiricahua Apache (she/her/ella)
Tati is a Mvskoke Creek Nation citizen from Kansas and has a robust background working with immigrant communities and non-profits while having lived experience with issues surrounding hunger and poverty. Tati achieved a Bachelor's Degree in Cultural Anthropology with a minor in Philosophy in 2019. While in school, Tati worked at the Inter
Tati is a Mvskoke Creek Nation citizen from Kansas and has a robust background working with immigrant communities and non-profits while having lived experience with issues surrounding hunger and poverty. Tati achieved a Bachelor's Degree in Cultural Anthropology with a minor in Philosophy in 2019. While in school, Tati worked at the International Support Services office offering basic immigration advice to international students while working at the Spencer Museum of Art as an assistant archivist and student administrative assistant. Tati also volunteered at the Watkins Museum of History in the archives and became involved in on-campus Indigenous student groups.
Since graduation, Tati has been living in New York City and was an AmeriCorps VISTA fellow at the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project writing grants, fundraising, and doing various communications projects including writing the monthly newsletter and establishing the blog. Tati now works with Hunger Free America doing research and capacity building tasks and works with Urban Indigenous Collective writing grants, doing various communications projects, and helping out wherever else there is a need. In their spare time Tati likes to read, do photography, hiking, yoga, exploring the city, and expanding their record collection.
Austin Serio | IT Manager | Chicoran Shakori
Gianna Reza-Ortega | Program Manager of Research + Advocacy | Chiricahua Apache (she/her/ella)
Austin Serio | IT Manager | Chicoran Shakori
Austin is a member of the Chicoran Shakori tribe of South Carolina. As part of the Great Migration of the 60s, some Shakori and other peoples of color walked away from sharecropping by migrating to the northeast “for the good union jobs”. Growing up as a Two-Spirit urban native in the Simsbury area of Hartford, Austin has found himself a
Austin is a member of the Chicoran Shakori tribe of South Carolina. As part of the Great Migration of the 60s, some Shakori and other peoples of color walked away from sharecropping by migrating to the northeast “for the good union jobs”. Growing up as a Two-Spirit urban native in the Simsbury area of Hartford, Austin has found himself at powerful intersections between the forces of Technology and Globalization. During and after pursuing his degree in Technology and Globalization at NYU Gallatin, Austin continued to enhance his Product Design skills as the Chicoran Shakori Tribal Web Developer and the Lead Product Designer at Up2Code, ZED Aerospace, and Blue World Inc. While pursuing his degree at Gallatin, Austin worked for Apple at one of their HQ locations, and observed the structural changes presently roiling the global economy firsthand. Finding himself at another powerful global crossroads, Austin is currently focused on the intersections between Indigenous communities, Sustainability, and Product Design.
Austin@urbanindigenouscollective.org