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Urban Indigenous Collective
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    • Home
    • Español
      • Inicio
      • Reconocimiento
      • Salud y Bienestar
      • Apoyo con COVID-19
      • ShockTalk
    • About Us
      • Acknowledgment
      • Board of Directors
      • Advisory Board
      • Leadership
    • COVID-19 Support
    • ShockTalk
      • Project Overview
      • Sign Up
    • Research
      • Community Health Survey
      • MMIWGT2S NYC+
      • Our Ethos
      • Resources
    • Partnerships
      • Community Partners
    • Technical Assistance
      • Request Support
    • Policy & Advocacy
    • Events
    • Media
    • Donate
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FOR URBAN NATIVES BY URBAN NATIVES

EXECUTIVE Leadership

Sutton King, MPH | President & Executive Director | Menominee/Oneida

Jarrad Packard, MSW (candidate) | Vice-President & Director of Strategic Partnerships | Yankton Sioux/Oglala Lakota

Jarrad Packard, MSW (candidate) | Vice-President & Director of Strategic Partnerships | Yankton Sioux/Oglala Lakota

Sutton King, Nāēqtaw-Pianakiw, is the President and Executive Director of UIC and the Co-Founder of ShockTalk. She is Afro-Indigenous, and a descendant of the Menominee and Oneida Nations of Wisconsin. She currently resides in the Sutton King, MPH, Afro-Indigenous of the Menominee and Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. She is an Indigenous Healt

Sutton King, Nāēqtaw-Pianakiw, is the President and Executive Director of UIC and the Co-Founder of ShockTalk. She is Afro-Indigenous, and a descendant of the Menominee and Oneida Nations of Wisconsin. She currently resides in the Sutton King, MPH, Afro-Indigenous of the Menominee and Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. She is an Indigenous Health Advocate, Researcher and Social Entrepreneur dedicated to developing and scaling innovative solutions to improve Indigenous health equity across sectors. Her focuses center decolonial approaches and culturally appropriate methodologies within technology, healthcare and business. She supports research to increase the visibility surrounding Indigenous health outcomes and access to mental health care for Urban Natives through her roles as President and Executive Director of the Urban Indigenous Collective a grassroots organization dedicated the health and wellbeing of Urban Natives and Co-Founder of ShockTalk a telebehavioral application connecting Native users to Native therapists. She is the Chief Impact Officer for Journey Colab, a biotech company decolonizing their approach to drug development. In her role as Chief Impact Officer for Journey Colab she supports the design and implementation of a stakeholder model and ensures social impact through company accountability. 


Sutton@urbanindigenouscollective.org

Jarrad Packard

Jarrad Packard, MSW (candidate) | Vice-President & Director of Strategic Partnerships | Yankton Sioux/Oglala Lakota

Jarrad Packard, MSW (candidate) | Vice-President & Director of Strategic Partnerships | Yankton Sioux/Oglala Lakota

Jarrad Packard, MSW (candidate) | Vice-President & Director of Strategic Partnerships | Yankton Sioux/Oglala Lakota

Jarrad Packard is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for UIC. Jarrad is an enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota and is also Oglala Lakota from Pine Ridge, South Dakota. He is currently an MSW graduate student at Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work in New York City. He previously studied Heath Care Ma

Jarrad Packard is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for UIC. Jarrad is an enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota and is also Oglala Lakota from Pine Ridge, South Dakota. He is currently an MSW graduate student at Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work in New York City. He previously studied Heath Care Management and Policy and received a Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University in May 2008. Jarrad worked at the Indian Health Service headquarters in Rockville, MD from 2010 until 2018 in the Office of Management Services. In his time there, Jarrad served on several committees and was the President of the Employees Association where he enjoyed working with the employees and the DMV Urban Native community at large. Jarrad moved to New York City in March 2018 and served as a Case Manager for an Urban Indian Health Program servicing the largest population of Urban Natives in the country. He is excited to be attending school and to be a part of the UIC team serving Urban Natives in New York City and the surrounding area. 

Jarrad@urbanindigenouscollective.org


Ariel Richer

Ariel Richer, LMSW | Director of Research & Advocacy |Venezuela/Trinidad & Tobago

Ariel Richer, LMSW | Director of Research & Advocacy |Venezuela/Trinidad & Tobago

Ariel Richer, LMSW | Director of Research & Advocacy |Venezuela/Trinidad & Tobago

Ariel Richer is the Director of Research and Advocacy for UIC. She 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 

Ariel Richer is the Director of Research and Advocacy for UIC. She 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.

Ariel@urbanindigenouscollective.org

Austin Serio | Director of Technology & Globalization | Chicoran Shakori

Ariel Richer, LMSW | Director of Research & Advocacy |Venezuela/Trinidad & Tobago

Ariel Richer, LMSW | Director of Research & Advocacy |Venezuela/Trinidad & Tobago

Austin Serio is the Director of Technology and Globalization for UIC. 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 urba

Austin Serio is the Director of Technology and Globalization for UIC. 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

SUPPORT STAFF

Logan Tootle, MSW (candidate) | MSW Associate | Cherokee Nation

Gianna Reza-Ortega | Community Outreach & Planning Associate| Chiricahua Apache Tribe and Mexico |

Darby Galligher, MPH (candidate) | Project Manager | Miami Tribe of Oklahoma

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 workedat the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC). Logan served in variouscapacities 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.

Darby Galligher, MPH (candidate) | Project Manager | Miami Tribe of Oklahoma

Gianna Reza-Ortega | Community Outreach & Planning Associate| Chiricahua Apache Tribe and Mexico |

Darby Galligher, MPH (candidate) | Project Manager | Miami Tribe of Oklahoma

Darby Galligher is a member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma. In May, she graduated with her BS in public health from Miami University (in Ohio). She is currently a graduate student at NYU’s College of Global Health, working towards her MPH with a concentration in Global Health. She is also interested in raising awareness about IHS and othe

Darby Galligher is a member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma. In May, she graduated with her BS in public health from Miami University (in Ohio). She is currently a graduate student at NYU’s College of Global Health, working towards her MPH with a concentration in Global Health. She is also interested in raising awareness about IHS and other opportunities that are available to indigenous peoples. Growing up, she experienced a disconnect from her tribe, and only after enrolling into Miami University and getting involved in the Myaamia community on campus, was she able to feel connected to the tribe. Prior to her senior year of college, she was unaware of IHS, and other health and wellness opportunities that were available to her as a tribal member. Her main goal of working in indigenous health is to increase awareness of those services to those who may not know about them, as well as making those services more readily available

Gianna Reza-Ortega | Community Outreach & Planning Associate| Chiricahua Apache Tribe and Mexico |

Gianna Reza-Ortega | Community Outreach & Planning Associate| Chiricahua Apache Tribe and Mexico |

Gianna Reza-Ortega | Community Outreach & Planning Associate| Chiricahua Apache Tribe and Mexico |

Gianna Reza-Ortega is 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; she spent her undergraduate career planning and executing
programming in both physical and virtual spaces to build commu

Gianna Reza-Ortega is 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; 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 looking to transition to working in public
health, and is passionate about reproductive healthcare and healthcare access for migrants, as
well as the intersections that exist with carceral systems. She has worked as a Digital Organizer
with the Frontline Election Defenders, directly managing a team of volunteers to make the voting
process accessible for everyone who was able to cast a vote and bring language justice to the
team by translating all volunteer-facing documents to Spanish. She looks forward to learning
from and with urban natives of the tri-state area while working to address their needs in mental
and physical wellbeing.

Andrea Torres, MS | Partnerships Associate | Colombia

Tati Cosper |Grants Development & Communication Associate | Mvskoke Creek Nation

Gianna Reza-Ortega | Community Outreach & Planning Associate| Chiricahua Apache Tribe and Mexico |

Andrea Torres is a queer individual whose ancestry is of the Indigenous peoples of Colombia. In 2017 she graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BA in political science and minor in sociology. Her focus has been on environmental justice and its related health implications, with a more recent focus on food and land sovereignty for Indigenous p

Andrea Torres is a queer individual whose ancestry is of the Indigenous peoples of Colombia. In 2017 she graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BA in political science and minor in sociology. Her focus has been on environmental justice and its related health implications, with a more recent focus on food and land sovereignty for Indigenous people. Her previous research emphasized the importance of grassroots organizations that provide a platform to mitigate the health impacts faced by the financially and racially oppressed communities in the South Bronx. In May 2020 she graduated with a Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management from The New School, with a focus on food sovereignty, food justice, and decolonization. More recently she researched how the health needs of the Indigenous diaspora from South America, Central America & the Caribbean in NYC can be addressed by community organizations, health centers, and legal organizations.  This research has looked at the medical and social work field through a critical lens to understand how to meet the health and wellness needs of the Indigenous diaspora in culturally relevant ways. She has spent her time in school collaborating with her peers to carve out a space for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students who are seeking to find a place for discussions and healing around experiences with climate change, capitalism, white supremacy, anti-queerness, and all other forms of oppression. Her ultimate goal is to address climate justice in a holistic manner that centers decolonial approaches such as land rematriation, food justice, and BIPOC health and wellness as strategies for climate change mitigation. 


Tati Cosper |Grants Development & Communication Associate | Mvskoke Creek Nation

Tati Cosper |Grants Development & Communication Associate | Mvskoke Creek Nation

Tati Cosper |Grants Development & Communication Associate | Mvskoke Creek Nation

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.

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