BOARD MEMBERS
Kevin Abourezk
President
Kevin Abourezk is an award-winning journalist who spent 18 years as a reporter and editor for the Lincoln Journal Star, where he wrote thousands of stories and produced numerous news videos. He is the winner of the Associated Press’s Best Enterprise Story Award in 2006 and the prestigious Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism from the Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families for his reporting on the impact of alcohol sales in Whiteclay, Nebraska to residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. A member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Abourezk has spent his career documenting the lives, accomplishments and tragedies of Native American people and in 2017 joined Indianz.com, a Native American news website owned and operated by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. He hosts a bi-weekly podcast for Indianz.com called “Indian Times” that focuses on Native American news. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of South Dakota and a Master of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Kendra Fasthorse-Redshirt
Vice President
Kendra Fast Horse - Red Shirt is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a proud graduate of Oglala Lakota College with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. She has experience leading large data collection efforts for health surveillance and monitoring. She currently serves as a Data Manager for Anpetu Luta Otipi and is responsible for overseeing the quality and management of data.
Kendra is familiar with a number of statistical software packages and is the co-author of several health surveillance reports. She is particularly skilled at making epidemiological data useful for tribal leadership and developing strategies to communicate study results back to the community.
Freedom Thompson
Treasurer
Freedom S. Thompson was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. Over her forty-three years of life, her continual passion for nature, food, arts, and science have fueled her expansion for growth and knowledge. Early in Freedom’s career path, she earned a CNA certification. As a freelance herbalist and holistic wellness coach, Freedom earned her Associates of Science degree in Culinary Arts from Great Plains Culinary Institute. Further, she earned certification in Food Protection Management, Green Chefs Blue Oceans Sustainability, and Mastering of Bar and Beverage Management. She is a proud member of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) and is certified licensed with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF). Freedom is the co-creator of Roots to Rise, a multi-dimensional arts, humanities and environmental studies program designed to empower holistic health, wellness, reinforce myriad life and academic skills. To ignite, uplift and de-colonize, culturally responsive pedagogy within the Native American and Afro-Indigenous youth community. Freedom also proudly serves on two non-profit boards. Freedom serves as Board Treasurer Member for Intertribal Spiritual Lodges which focuses on cultural, and spiritual education, with life coaching within the areas of economic development, social, emotional, mental, and physical health for the indigenous Native American Indian community. Freedom serves as a Board of Director Member for Stand In For Nebraska which focuses on human rights, advocacy, and social justice. She helps organize and mobilize community organizing circles specializing in effectuating nourishment and sustainability of the community. Freedom’s passions are focused on integrative holistic health and nutrition. Her embodied food philosophy features “Mindful concepts for the sacred reverence of food and water historically; with appreciation of cultural connections. All synergizes the foundations and roots of our lives.” Freedom, believes the greatest teacher is always the student, and the student may be the greatest teacher.
Charles “Boots” Kennedye
Secretary
Charles “Boots” Kennedye is an Oklahoma City based filmmaker and member of the Kiowa Tribe. He spent 10 years serving as documentary producer for the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority before joining the Vision Maker Media team in 2014. He has won many awards for his work, including eight Heartland Emmy Awards and five National Educational Television Association Awards including (2008) “Best-of-the-Best.” Boots Kennedye has been awarded the CPB/PBS Producers Workshop scholarship and the CPB INPUT Producer Fellowship. His contributions are seen across many of OETA’s major projects including, a 100-part Oklahoma story collective, Centennial Stories (2007), Oklahoma WWII Stories (2008), The People, Oklahoma Tribes (2009), and The State of Sequoyah (2011). Later he partnered with Rocky Mountain PBS to film and produce Urban Rez (2012) and again with Red Power Energy (2015). Other collaborations include: Words from A Bear (2017) (Director Photography), a VMM co-production with American Masters, Redemption Story (2017) (Producer), chosen for the PBS Online Film Festival, and And We Walked, the Ponca Long Walk (2018) (Photographer), a co-production with Nebraska Educational Television. Boots Kennedyes' commitment to Indigenous Storytelling led him to Vision Maker Media where he served as Producer for Growing Native; a four-part documentary series that showcases contemporary Native American stories while celebrating traditional pathways. In 2018, Boots Kennedye began production on his first independent documentary, Valley of Thundering Water, which explores the status of wild horse populations on tribal lands.