StrongHearts Native Helpline Introduces Its New Board of Directors
Board Members Will Work Together to Strengthen the Organization’s Mission
Following StrongHearts Native Helpline’s historic launch as the first Native American and Alaska Native organization of its kind, StrongHearts is pleased to announce its board of directors.
As the first 24/7 national domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual violence helpline for Native Americans, StrongHearts board members will work together to strengthen the organization’s mission of restoring power to Native Americans impacted by intimate partner violence by weaving together a braid of safety, sovereignty and support. By offering culturally-appropriate peer support, crisis intervention and referrals to Native-centered services StrongHearts envisions a return to traditional lifeways where relatives are safe, violence is eradicated and sacredness is restored.
Caroline LaPorte, Chairperson
Immediate Descendant Little River Band of Ottawa Indians
Caroline LaPorte is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law (cum laude) and is an Associate Judge for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. She is an attorney/Judicial Advisor for the Seminole Tribe of Florida Tribal Court and adjunct instructor at the University of Miami, where she teaches Native and Indigenous studies. Previously, LaPorte was the Senior Native Affairs Policy Advisor for the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) in D.C., and now returns to NIWRC as the first Director of its Tribal Safe Housing Center. Her work focuses on housing, human rights, children, firearms and criminal justice all within the gender-based violence framework. She serves on the American Bar Association Victim’s Rights Task Force, co-chairs the Victim’s Committee for the Criminal Justice Section of the ABA, is a member of the Lenape Center’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force and helped start the National Working Group on Safe Housing for American Indians and Alaska Natives. LaPorte was named a Henry Bandier Fellow and was the Natasha Pettigrew Memorial Award Winner for her time as a fellow in the Children and Youth Law Clinic at the University of Miami School of Law.
Lenny Hayes, Vice Chairperson
Sisseton Wahpeton-Oyate
Lenny Hayes, MA, is the owner and operator of Tate Topa Consulting, LLC and is currently in private practice specializing in Marriage Family Therapy. He has extensive training in mental and chemical health issues that impact the Two-Spirit/Native LGBTQ and Native community. Hayes has traveled nationally and locally training and presenting on the issues that impact both the Two-Spirit/Native LGBTQ individual and community. These issues include the impact of historical and intergenerational trauma on this population, violence of all forms, child welfare issues, and the impact of sexual violence on men and boys which is a topic that is rarely discussed.
Hayes is the former Missing and Murdered Two-Spirit Project Assistant for Sovereign Bodies Institute. He is a 2020 graduate of the Human Trafficking Leadership Academy Cohort 5. He was selected to be a 2018 recipient of the Bonnie Heavy Runner Advocacy Award at the 16th National Indian Nations Conference “Justice for Victims.” Additionally, Hayes was a nominee for the 2021 NIWRC Women Are Sacred Tillie Black Bear Award.
“We know that domestic, dating and sexual violence impacts all our communities. In my personal and professional experience, I work to serve the Two-Spirit/Native LGBTQ Community which is often a forgotten or underserved community. I strive to bring inclusiveness, acceptance, understanding, awareness, and healing for all Two-Spirit/Native LGBTQ people across Indian Country.”
Tami Truett Jerue, Treasurer
Anvik Tribe
Tamra (Tami) Truett Jerue currently lives in Fairbanks after moving from Anvik, Alaska, a small Deg Hi’tan Athabascan community on the Yukon River. Currently, Jerue serves as the Executive Director of the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center (AKNWRC). She is the mother of four children and grandmother of five grandchildren. She has worked in the field of domestic violence and sexual assault and intersecting issues for the last 40-plus years in various capacities.
Her education includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, Community Psychology and Secondary Education. She has been involved with many non-profit boards over the years and has worked most of her professional life in rural Tribal Alaska in many fields such as Therapist, Sexual Assault Counselor, Teacher, Tribal Administrator, Indian Child Welfare Act Social Worker and Trainer.
“Many family and friends who have experienced domestic and sexual violence have kept me passionate in helping facilitate change at a community level, within systems and families to help survivors live a violence-free life.”
Gwendolyn Packard, Secretary
Ihanktonwan Dakota
Gwendolyn Packard, Senior Housing Specialist, NIWRC, has worked for many years in Indian country, both at the national and Tribal level. She has served as editor for six national Indian publications. In 1990 she was instrumental in founding the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS). Packard served as Executive Director for Morning Star House, an advocacy program that works with off-reservation Native women and children who are victims of domestic and sexual violence. She also served as Executive Director of the New Mexico Suicide Prevention Coalition and is founder and Co-Chair of Rain Cloud, the off-reservation behavioral health collaborative in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is a survivor of domestic violence, a writer, a grassroots organizer and a community activist. She has three children and one granddog.
“I am committed to social change in working to address social and economic justice issues that affect the health and well-being of Indian people.”
Seeking Nominations for Leaders in the Field of Domestic Violence 
