Indigenous Wellness Research Institute

INSPIRE - Scientific and Community Leadership Council


December 7, 2020

Lonnie Nelson, PhD


Denise A. Dillard, PhD


December 4, 2020

Tommi Gaines, PhD

Tommi Gaines, PhD

August 15, 2017

Nancy Rumbaugh Whitesell, PhD

Dr. Whitesell’s work focuses on child and adolescent development within the contexts of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities. Her research projects apply developmental science to inform preventive interventions to improve outcomes for both young children (birth to five years) and young adolescents (10 to 14 years). Through her leadership role in the Tribal…


E. Roberto Orellana, PhD

E. Roberto Orellana joined the University of Washington School of Social Work as a professor in 2021. Before joining the School faculty, he was professor and associate dean for research and sponsored projects in the School of Social Work at Portland State University (PSU) where he also served as an affiliate faculty in Public Health…


August 3, 2017

Melissa L. Walls PhD (Bois Forte and Couchiching First Nations Anishinabe)

Melissa L. Walls Ph.D. (Bois Forte and Couchiching First Nations Anishinabe) is a social scientist committed to collaborative research and has over a decade of experience working with tribal communities in the United States and Canada. Her involvement in community-based participatory research (CBPR) projects to date includes mental health epidemiology; culturally-relevant, family-based substance use prevention…


July 28, 2017

John Lowe, PhD (Cherokee)


Michelle Johnson-Jennings, PhD (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma)

Photo of Dr. Michelle Johnson-Jennings

Geri Donenberg, PhD


July 26, 2017

Myra Parker, JD, PhD (Mandan & Hidatsa)



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