Meet the team!

LaCheryl Ameer-Bey is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in education and program management. She excels in developing, designing, and facilitating customized programming and workshops for organizations. As a master-level presenter and speaker, LaCheryl has a proven track record of delivering impactful and engaging training sessions and workshops tailored to meet the unique needs of diverse audiences.

In her role as Director of Programs at Camber Outdoors, LaCheryl successfully led initiatives that engaged over 200 organizations and 15,000 individuals annually. She played a pivotal role in the Ann Krcik Professional Mentoring program, which has supported over 1,200 mentors and mentees since its inception. Under her leadership, Camber placed 50 interns from underrepresented groups over the past 2-3 years and saw a significant shift in workforce demographics, with representation from underrepresented groups increasing from 17% in 2020 to 41% in 2023.

LaCheryl's expertise in public relations and her commitment to inclusive hiring practices have made her a valuable asset to any organization. Her ability to create and implement effective programs and her dedication to fostering inclusive environments are hallmarks of her professional career.

Danny Bell is enrolled in the Lumbee Tribe and is an active member of the Coharie Indian Tribe. Danny serves the Triangle Native American Society as their representative on the boards of the NC Commission of Indian Affairs, United Tribes of NC, and with other Native, city, and university collaborations.

Danny has devoted his life to promoting the visibility and inclusion of American Indian people, history, arts, and cultural activities in public and private programs. His mission is to foster relationships, mutual understanding, and resource sharing between American Indian Tribes and non-Indian friends, organizations, communities, and governments across North Carolina.

Danny worked for the N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs for 12 years. He served 31 years in the US Army and the 440th Army Band. He recently retired after 27 years with the UNC-Chapel Hill Student Aid Office and the UNC American Studies Department American Indian and Indigenous Studies Curriculum.

Amanda is an enrolled citizen of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. She currently serves on the state of NC’s advisory Council on American Indian Education (SACIE).

In addition, in 2023, she spearheaded the creation of the first celebration of American Indian culture in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district with a mini powwow during Native American Heritage Month.

Amanda has the unique perspective of being a survivor of a brain hemorrhage and a stay-at-home mom who is passionate about advocating for the many layers of education at her children’s schools. She has spent her adult life volunteering and advocating in the realms of politics, disability rights, Native Americans and public school education.

Amanda graduated magna cum laude from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science/ Business Administration. She lives in Chapel Hill, NC with her husband, son, and daughter.

Dr. Lee Francis IV, Ph.D. (Pueblo of Laguna) aka Dr. IndigiNerd is the Founder and Chief Imagination Officer of the Indigenous Imagination Workshop, an organization dedicated to sparking and cultivating the Indigenous Imagination.  He is an educator and entrepreneur and the founder of the Indigenous Comic Con, Indigenous Worlds of Wonder, the Indigenous Futurisms Festival, Native Realities, and Red Planet Books and Comics.

Lee is also an award-winning writer and editor with multiple publications from poetry to short stories to comics. He was the host and lead writer for IndigiGenius on New Mexico PBS and the co-producer for Sovereign Innovations on PBS Digital. He is also the creator of Sovereignty Gardens, a Native American kids puppetry show that teaches youth about gardening and food sovereignty. He continues to be a strong advocate for Native American youth, especially in helping them with creative entrepreneurship. He lives in North Carolina with his family.

Janeen has worked for nonprofit organizations for the past 25+ years, with her focus for the last 10 years being capacity building, leadership development, and change management.

Janeen is a champion of strength-based leadership and coaching, creating connections between organizations and people, addressing issues around equity and inclusion, and assessing and supporting organizational development and transformation.

She has built programs from the ground up for a range of organizations, with budgets from $250,000 to $20M annually, with local, statewide, national, and international scopes.

Janeen is the principal consultant at Marquis-Duggan Non-Profit Solutions, which she founded in 2008 and named in honor of her mother and grandmother. Through her work there, she has helped build the capacity of 55+ nonprofits and their leadership across the country.

Her contributions have always been rooted in the anti-violence movement, and over the years she has conducted executive searches for anti-violence programs, led community-based evaluation and strategic planning processes, and served as a faculty trainer for the Futures without Violence SOS Institute for Executive Leadership.

When she is not working, she enjoys reading fiction and work-related non-fiction, collecting tiny paintings, voting, and hanging out with her daughters Zora and Phoebe.

Ms. Locklear, faculty Emeritus at both Palomar College and San Diego State University, received a B.A. from SDSU in Sociology with a minor in Anthropology. She received an M.S. at SDSU in Counseling Psychology and an MA in Sociology from University of California San Diego. She is a consultant and lecturer on contemporary Indian issues for schools and organizations. She has done Ph.D. work in sociology at UCSD and completed a program in Tribal Law at UCLA.

Her research interests are ethnographic\documentary film with a focus on American Indians, Tribal Advocacy, and American Indian Identity. Although retired, she continues to teach on an occasional basis. She continues to work with the Cham'teela, Luiseño language which she has done for over twenty years. She is involved with high school and college American Indian Students getting their language requirement met with their tribal language.

Heather knows the importance of storytelling and the way it can bring to life the people who are doing important work at mission-driven organizations. She has written stories highlighting nonprofits such as Habitat for Humanity, Hurley’s Waves for Water project, World Housing, and more. In addition to her journalism work, Heather is the author of two novels: Vegas Girls and The Perfect Age.

With a master’s degree in fiction writing from the University of Washington, Heather brings a creative perspective to any writing project.

Currently, she lives in Athens, Georgia where she works as the senior managing editor for the University of Georgia's Division of Marketing and Communications. In her free time, she likes to swim, paddle board, play pickleball, read, drink gin and tonics on outdoor patios and hang out with Kristine.

To learn more about Heather’s work, visit https://www.heatherskyler.com/

Dr. Michelle Watson-Grant unleashes potential and transforms organizations by coaching educational leaders and non-profit directors to engage in self-discovery, elevate their leadership capacity and achieve their goals.

Leveraging her 30 years of experience in education, Michelle is now a certified master coach and the founder of Jonlieu (pronounced “Jon Loo”), a coaching company dedicated to helping emerging and mid-level school system and non-profit leaders succeed.

Michelle is passionate about developing the potential in leaders and offers one-on-one coaching, team coaching, and transformative team development facilitation. Known for her relaxed demeanor, she’s often “the calm” in the midst of her clients’ chaotic storms.

Michelle holds a B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature and received a Master’s in Education, Teaching and Learning and an Ed.D. from Nova Southeastern University. She also holds professional certificates in Design Thinking and Systemic Team Coaching.

In her free time, Michelle enjoys gardening, nature photography, and writing children’s stories.