DeeAnna Dennis
Secretary
DeeAnna Garcia Dennis is Mexican by ethnicity and a Huu-ay-aht First Nation citizen by marriage. Her Mexican identity is as a colonized Indigenous People. Her Huu-ay-aht name is Cha chum ah ook “she who makes things right”. She has her Master of Social Work Degree with over 20 years professional experience in direct practice and leadership in the field of Social Work. Most of her professional practice has been in child, youth and family mental health services and organizational development. Her leadership experience has been in the area of staff supervision, training facilitation, graduate school faculty instruction and as Director of Diversity & Inclusion in one of the largest Child and Family Mental Health Organizations in the State of Oregon. Following in the tradition of her pre-colonial ancestors of strong Indigenous women, she has focused her time over the past 10 years on raising her children and nurturing a thriving family life grounded in the Creator’s t’ašii hašah (pathway for keeping) through homeschooling and helping her children discover their life passion and purpose, empowering them to be transformational leaders for the next generation. Together Brad and DeeAnna have led their family in learning to decolonize their way of life wherever possible, while learning to navigate and acquire skills needed in mainstream culture in order to further the advancement of Indigenous Peoples in their sphere of influence. Their family mission is to play, learn, grow, serve, and thrive together as a family for our Creator’s Kingdom.