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Current IWRI Students

Ramona Beltran (Mexican-American/Yaqui)

obtained her MSW from Portland State University in 2005. She has over ten years of experience working with diverse youth and families in clinical and programmatic capacities. The majority of her work has centered around services to Latino and Native American communities with an emphasis on the use of creativity and art in programming including film and photography. Her recent area of research focus is on the question of how space and place gets embodied physically and spiritually in indigenous communities.  As a doctoral student and NIMH Prevention Trainee, Ramona is applying her research question by working with Dr. Karina Walters on an NIH funded project to design and test a culturally appropriate, feasible, and generalizable cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prevention program for American Indians (AIs) in the Northwest.  In addition, she works on a NIMH funded project developing ratings of traumatic events in the lives of American Indian Vietnam Veterans.

Nancy “Lynn” Palmanteer-Holder (Colville)

earned her M.Ed., from Washington State University in 1990. She brings 20 years of professional experience in education, community development and administration on American Indian reservations. She is a doctoral student and NIMH Prevention Research Trainee working with the Seattle REACH, a Racial & Ethnic Approach to Community Health, and the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute. Her interests include the reduction of mental health, alcohol and substance abuse disparities among American Indian/Alaska Natives by means of cultural competent, community-based participatory governance. Lynn’s vision is to foster traditional knowledge within contemporary practices to facilitate Tribal sovereignty, a unique federal status with the US government

Neena Makhija

Neena Makhija is a second-year MSW and is doing her parcticum with IWRI.

Roy Old Person (Blackfeet, Ohkay Owingeh)

is a CSWE research fellow with the HONOR Project and doctoral student. His interests include Mental Health discourses that impact policy and mental health practices in Native American communities. In addition, he is also interested in HIV/AIDS intervention and prevention in these communities.

David Huh

is a doctoral student and works with IWRI