Institute for Native Justice :: Staff and Consultants

Institute for Native Justice, A Subsidiary of the American Indian Resource Center, Inc.

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Institute for Native Justice Staff & Consultants
Staff
	Darrell Dowty (Cherokee) has 25 years experience as a felony prosecutor and trainer. Seventeen of those years have consisted of courtroom experience in major felony prosecution, specializing in homicide and sexual abuse cases. Justice Dowty spent seven years in the headquarters office of Oklahoma’s prosecution system, where he was responsible for training all of the State’s prosecutors and support personnel. Since 1999, Justice Dowty has served on the bench of five Tribal courts and is a member of the Supreme Court of the Cherokee Nation. Since 2004, he has provided legal representation for qualifying victims of domestic abuse in the State courts as Senior Contract Attorney for the Oklahoma Native American Domestic Violence Coalition, “Spirits of Hope.” Justice Dowty currently is a Project Director of the Tribal Response and Court Enhancement Strategies Program, under a federal grant with the Institute for Native Justice and is also in private practice in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. He received certification in Fox Valley Technical College’s Tribal Faculty Development Workshop and Community Analysis Process for Planning Strategies (CAPPS). Justice Dowty holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Tulsa University and his Juris Doctorate from Denver University.

	Robin Gann(Cherokee) offers more than ten years' experience in the operation and management of tribal and rural based services. She has extensive administrative experience gleaned from her 20+ years working in the private sector as a legal secretary. She has worked with tribal entities and is well versed in working within the confines of tribal context. Ms. Gann also worked extensively with victims of crime and served as the Director of a Tribal Victim Advocacy program and as a Victim Witness Coordinator in the District Attorney’s office. In March 2001, she received Victim Assistance professional certification from Washburn University, and recently completed the Tribal Faculty Development Workshop conducted by Fox Valley Technical College and the National Tribal Judicial Center. Her advocacy experience prepared her for the work of empowering nonprofits and working with tribal and rural entities to become more effective.

	Heather Hale is the publications/web director. She has worked for AIRC for over ten years as an administrative assistant, and recently earned her bachelor's degree in graphic arts with an emphasis in web design. Ms. Hale brings a wealth of knowledge and skill in technology and graphic design to the staff.

	Pam Moore, Director, has more than twenty-five years experience in the field of victim assistance. She served as the executive director of a rural domestic violence shelter and eight years as director of victim services in a multi-county District Attorney’s office; both organizations are located in Indian Country. Ms. Moore has been a trainer for the Oklahoma Regional Community Policing Institute, Unified Solutions Tribal Victim Assistance project, and the Office for Victims of Crime. She holds a Bachelor’s degree and has Victim Assistance Professional certification through Washburn University. She has current certification as a Certified Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Intervention Professional through the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. She is also a FLETC (Federal Law Enforcement Training Center) certified trainer in domestic violence response.

	John W. Sawney (Cherokee) has worked in criminal law for more than 12 years with experience both as a prosecutor and indigent defense attorney. He has successfully prosecuted domestic violence and sexual assault cases in Indian Country. Mr. Sawney also served as the managing attorney for the District 27 Drug Task Force and for the child support enforcement office in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, respectively. Mr. Sawney is currently a training and technical assistance provider and curriculum development director for the Institute for Native Justice. Prior to his career in law, he taught public school for seven years and has a post-graduate degree in school administration. he is a veteran of the US Army, having served most of his time in Germany.

	Wathene Young (Delaware) is the Executive Director of American Indian Resource Center, Inc. and the Institute for Native Justice. She has more than 33 years’ experience directing federal programs and has managed over $20 million in grants and contracts with federal, state, and tribal agencies as well as private foundations. She has worked in both public schools and on the university level with Native American students, serving as a supervisor to teacher interns. She also has experience as an education consultant, providing technical assistance in student leadership, program evaluation, needs assessment, resource development, and program planning and design.

Consultants
	Dianne Barker Harrold (Cherokee) has practiced law for the past twenty-one years, most of them in Indian Country. She served as tribal judge for thirteen Indian tribes in Oklahoma and went on to serve as the elected District Attorney for eight years in northeastern Oklahoma. For the past four years, she has served as Attorney General, General Counsel and Director of the Legal Assistance for Victims Program for the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, currently holding the position of Advisor to the Chief. She also serves as the Associate Tribal Judge for the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. Ms. Harrold was one of the founding mothers of the domestic violence shelter, Help-in-Crisis, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. She has been a tireless advocate for battered women and victims of crime, which has earned her several awards.

	Amy Blackburn is a retired professor and a former department head for the College of Social and Behavioral Science at Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. She has supervised and critiqued graduate students' research and writing. She also has developed the graduate counseling program and field experiences, and has won several awards. She is also a founding mother of the Help-In-Crisis domestic violence shelter, where a service award bearing her name was created in 1990. Dr. Blackburn is currently serving as a curriculum specialist and trainer for the Arkansas State University - Newport, where she currently resides.

	Rande Christiansen developed an interest in investigating domestic violence crimes while working for the Seattle Police Department. He was promoted as a detective in the domestic violence unit in 1995, and currently continues to investigate crimes of domestic violence, expanding his investigation to crimes of stalking. His vision to train police officers & advocates on stalking crimes became essential and he began training at the academy level, progressing to state training. Detective Christiansen began consulting and training for the Stalking Resource Center, a part of the National Center for Victims of Crime. He advanced his consultation and training for the Native American Circle, giving training for Indian participants about the investigation of stalking and threat assessment. Currently, he is an active trainer, giving training for Indian groups at conferences and reservation locations. These training have dealt with stalking, domestic violence, threat assessment, law enforcement and advocates working cooperatively, and trauma to victims.

	Deana Franke is the Executive Director of Help-In-Crisis, where she was one of the first volunteers when it was organized in 1980. Under her leadership, it has grown tremendously with the help of many supporters and the community. In 2000, a new shelter was completed and a new office building was purchased. In 2005, an extension to the shelter that included an aerobics/indoor play area, an outdoor play area, paving, and landscaping was completed. In 2005, the Children's Advocacy Center was established in Sequoyah county and plans are underway for another center in Tahlequah. Ms. Franke has served as the Board Chair of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault on two separate occasions. In addition to serving on the board, she was an advisory board member of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, and a founding member of the Oklahoma Commission on Women. She has provided numerous workshops and training sessions on domestic violence and sexual assault.

	Bob Hicks (Muscogee Creek) is a graduate of the American Film Institute. His major was film directing, but he also studied producing and screen writing. His final project was writing, producing and directing The Return of the Country, which was submitted to the Academy Awards, narrowly missing a nomination in 1983. He has also written, produced, and directed many movies and plays for television and feature films. Presently, Mr. Hicks is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the First Americans in the Arts. The organization, located in Los Angeles, annually awards scholarships to Native American film students and honors Native Americans for their outstanding achievement in film, television, music and theater with the First American Award.

	Pam Iron is the Executive Director of the National Indian Women's Health Resource Center, has worked for over thirty years in the field of Indian Health. She is an expert in developing and presenting curriculum and educational materials that focus on the importance of cultural competency for health care workers in Indian Country. She is co-author of Strategies for Cultural Competency in Indian Health Care, published by APHA. Recently, Ms. Iron served on the National Advisory Committee for VAWA, representing the interests of Native people and communities to the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW).

	Michael Kaiser is currently the Executive Director of the National Cyber Security Alliance. He is the former Director of Development for the National Center for Victims of Crime, overseeing the Teen Victim Project, the Stalking Resource Center, and other special projects. He recently was named to the U.S. Department of Commerce's NTIA Online Safety Working Group. Mr. Kaiser has been involved in developing new programs and expanding the capacities of communities to respond to victims of crime. Among those accomplishments are developing programs and approaches to serving teens; conducting a nationwide effort on stalking to improve the law enforcement, victim services, and prosecutorial response; developing model policies in the areas of police response to domestic violence and training law enforcement executives on policy creation and implementation, developing housing alternatives for intimidated victim/witnesses; developing emergency, transitional, and permanent housing options for battered women; creating training programs and service delivery protocols and mechanisms for a Health Maintenance Organization to screen for and serve domestic violence victims; and developing child abuse/neglect prevention programs for women experiencing domestic violence.

	Shawn Soulsby (Pawnee/Kiowa) is the CEO and one of the founding members of the Technology Alliance of Indigenous Women of the Americas (TAIWA), established to bring Fortune 500 technology talent and management experience to organizations and tribes serving Native America by helping them do appropriate technical needs analysis and using technology solutions to better serve native people, specifically focusing on providing technical solutions to rural communities. Ms. Soulsby has worked in the technology industry for the past 20 years. She established and managed the first global eLearning program for Nortel Networks and has an extensive background in eLearning development and technology and tools deployment. She is a member of the ASTD (American Society for Training & Development) and the Masie Foundations Learning Consortium, which are organizations that focus on state of the art learning tools, technologies and techniques.

	Gayle Thom is a retired victim specialist for the FBI Rapid Deployment and Evidence Response Teams. She is a graduate of the Professional Certificate in Victim Assistance: Critical Analysis program, established by the Joint Center for Victim and Violence Studies. She serves on the Tribal Victim Assistance Advisory Committee and the Children's Justice Act Advisory Committee. She is an FBI certified trainer who has lectured and trained throughout the U.S. and Canada. For seven years, she was assigned to the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, assisting victims of crime. She was also assigned to New York City, after 9/11, and Louisiana, providing services to Hurricane Katrina survivors. She feels honored to assist victims and their families.

	Nathan Young (Pawnee/Delaware) is the owner of Native Airspace, a Native American film and production company that specializes in documentaries. Mr. Young has experience writing, filming, producing, editing, and animating movies for video and the web. A filmmaker since 2002, he has worked in public schools and conducted workshops in animation and film making. He currently is working on a video training project, featuring Native American actors and filmed in tribal communities.