Board and Staff Biographies
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The Nakani board and staff are responsible for defining the organization’s mission, vision and values and for providing overall leadership and strategic direction to the organization. We are integral in designing and implementing programs and policies through guidance with our strategic plan and community partners.
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Our Board of directors
Our multicultural board weaves their experiences together to expand consciousnesses to Native ways of being.
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LISA POWERS NumunuMy name is Lisa Powers, and I am Numunu, Comanche originally from Oklahoma. I am a retired Social Worker, having worked with the State for 32 years in Indian Child Welfare and for two more years with the Tulalip Tribes in their Child Welfare program, beda?chulh. My focus was to advocate for Native children to remain connected to their families and tribes; that they have continued opportunities to participate in cultural activities. I was responsible for organizing 'Cultural Days' for the Native foster children but also so the mostly non-Native foster parents could be exposed and appreciate our culture. I provided training specifically for non-Native foster parents to help them understand "Why Culture is Important for Native Children". The hope being the foster parents would then want their Native foster children to continue to be involved in pow-wows and other tribal activities. My belief was and continues to be that foster care is the new Boarding School system.
I retired from the state in 2017 and I don't believe the State ever tried to continue that program even though it was very successful. I currently reside on the Tulalip reservation with my two Tulalip children. I became involved with the Nakani Native Program through Ellany. She often talked about the good work of the organization. I became a NNP board member in October 2021. I became Board Chair in June, after our previous Board Chair suddenly passed away. I have been designated as the Interim Executive Director as of August 13, 2022. |
Vicki grayland
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jessica crofoot |
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Ann BatesIs an anthropologist with many years experience working with Native Americans.
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Jonathan Betz-ZallIdentifies as Ashkenazi Jewish American. He was part of the American Friends Service Committee’s Northwest Region Executive Committee, and served six years as a member of the AFSC’s Corporation, representing North Pacific Yearly Meeting. He was also a long-term volunteer with the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice and continues to build a justice-oriented version of “Ecotopia”.
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Our Program Staff
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linzie crofoot, director, traditional medicine programLinzie Crofoot is a member of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit/Raven/Beaver) and Colville-Okanagan descendant who has been a lifelong guest on the traditional homelands of the Coast Salish people, specifically the Snoqualmie, Snohomish, and Duwamish people. She holds a Master of Natural Resources with a focus in Ecological Restoration and Habitat Management from the University of Idaho and a Bachelor of Science in Native Environmental Science from Northwest Indian College. Linzie is currently the Traditional Medicine Program Director for Nakani Native Program and has been teaching Natural Sciences and Cultural Sovereignty Topics at Northwest Indian College on the Tulalip Reservation since 2017. Linzie truly believes that restoring Native peoples to their natural role on their ancestral landscapes supports both healthy tribal people and healthy ecosystems. Her work is focused on increasing tribal peoples' sense of place and belonging within the tribal community and in the natural environment by helping them revitalize their cultural relationship with the traditional natural resources that have sustained their people since time immemorial.
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TAYNA GREENE, PROGRAM ASSISTANT, TRADITIONAL MEDICINE PROGRAMTayna Greene is an enrolled member of the Tulalip Tribes of Washington; she is descendant of the Snohomish, Sauk-Suiattle, and Colville-Wenatchi People. She has grown up and always resided on her ancestral Coast Salish homelands, specifically the lands of the Snohomish and Sauk-Suiattle Peoples’. She holds a Bachelors of Community Advocacy and Responsive Education in Human Services with a focus in Tribal Communities and an Associates Direct Transfer degree from Northwest Indian College. Tayna is currently the Traditional Medicine Program Assistant for Nakani Native Program and has been a Teacher’s Assistant for Natural Sciences and Cultural Sovereignty Topics courses at Northwest Indian College at the Tulalip Reservation campus since 2021. She is also a licensed massage therapist (LMP), birth doula, and certified Indigenous breastfeeding counselor. Tayna’s work is focused on increasing tribal peoples' health and creating a sense of belonging within the tribal community by helping them learn to practice in their native rights and revitalize their cultural relationship with traditional healthcare practices, foods, and medicines that have supported their people since time before contact.
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