About Lakota YouthStay

Joy Harris Founder and Executive Director Joy is an occupational therapist, world traveler, and outdoor enthusiast with a deep interest in the world, other cultures and nature.  Her connection to Pine Ridge Reservation and the Lakota people begin in 2012 when she, along with a group from her community in Medford, MA, volunteered to work on building projects for a week on the reservation.  That experience changed her perspective on life and deepened her interest in Native American issues in a profound way.  She continues to volunteer on Pine Ridge each year and frequently organizes/leads groups of volunteers from her local community and beyond for a week of service to the people of Pine Ridge.  Joy provides educational presentations on Lakota history, culture and volunteer opportunities in her local community at churches, libraries, schools and other local venues with the goal of increasing awareness of current issues affecting Native Americans.  The Lakota YouthStay program idea was borne out of this passion and her commitment to provide opportunities that will inspire hope and a sense of purpose for Lakota youth.

Aimee Pond Lakota Youthstay Advisor I was born and raised on the Pine Ridge reservation and graduated from Pine Ridge High School. I continued my education at the University of Wyoming where I studied Social Work. After completing my master’s degree, I returned to Pine Ridge School where I worked as a K-12 School Social Worker for three years.

I enjoy coaching basketball, volleyball, and softball as well as participating when I get the chance. I enjoy spending time with my family and being outdoors. I am the mother to two sons – a 3 year old and a 1 year old.

I started as the Youth Leadership Program Coordinator during the summers at Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation on the reservation and am now the Youth Leadership Development Director there.

I am excited to be a part of the Lakota YouthStay program as it connects so well with our mission at Thunder Valley Youth Leadership Initiative. As a youth, I tried to be involved in as many off-reservation opportunities as possible and I feel those experiences really prepared me for what I had to encounter when I went to college. I want to help make those experiences possible for other youth on the reservation.

Kaity Spider, Lakota Youthstay Advisor    My name is Kaity Spider.  I was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. I am Oglala Sioux. I have two children and a dog. I have my bachelors degree in Elementary Education, I’ve been a teacher for five years, going on my sixth year. I’m currently in the middle of a masters degree program.

Sarah Montoya Lakota Youthstay Advisor Yá’át’ééh shik’éí dóó shidine’é. Shí éí Sarah Montoya yinishyé. Bilagáana nishłį́, Nóóda’i Dine’é bashishchiin, Bilagáana dashicheii dóó Naakaii dine’é dashinalí. Ákót’éego diné asdzáán nishłį́ Hello everyone! My name is Sarah Montoya. I am an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and I was born for the Ute Clan. I am a student at Amherst College majoring in Environmental Studies. I am also President of Amherst’s Native American Student Group and am proud to say that I successfully campaigned for Amherst College to recognize Indigenous People’s Day for the first time in the 2019-2020 academic year. In my free time, I recreationally and professionaly play jazz.

I got involved with Lakota Youthstay in 2018 and have enjoyed talking with the youth about educational opportunities for Native people. I strongly believe that every Native student that wants to, should be able to go to college and also that they should know about the resources that exist for them. I am very thankful to get to know all of the incredible youth.

Rob Crooks Lakota YouthStay Advisor Rob is a retired environmental scientist who had over 40 years’ experience as an applied environmental researcher, consultant and environmental policy and regulatory specialist.  He worked for governments, the private sector and international development institutions in Australia, the US and 15 countries in the South Asia and Southeast Asia regions.  He was born and raised in Australia, graduated from Sydney University and came to the United States in 1992 to work with the World Bank in Washington DC on its Asia environmental program.  He later became a US citizen, married a Minnesotan and moved to Medford in 2014 to retire.  More than 20 years of his professional experience was in developing countries, often very poor countries, which has given him an abiding interest in how disadvantaged communities find ways to overcome the development challenges they face and manage the environment around them.

Rob and his wife, Elisabeth have been thrilled to host children from Pine Ridge in each of the two years that the program has been running to date and are looking forward to continuing their participation in the program to continue and grow its success.

John Austin Lakota YouthStay Advisor  A graduate of Northeastern University, with degrees in both Accounting and in Finance, John Austin is currently in his 18^th year as the Director of Finance & Operations at the Meadowbrook School of Weston, a private K-8 elementary school serving 310 children. Prior to that he served as an Operations & Finance Manager for 8 years at the New England Center for Children – a non-profit autism education and research institute serving children and their families. His choice of working for these two organizations was deliberate in the sense of strongly believing in the value of education and of wanting to make a social difference in the world by working for non-profit organizations.

John has long had an interest in Native American history and culture, deepened by his love of the Native American flute. The flute opened doors to meeting people who freely shared their gifts and teachings and inspired in John a deep desire to pay back the gifts he had received in kind. In recent years John has been active with an organization called One Spirit – a Native American service organization founded to assist and support the Oglala Lakota in South Dakota. He also supports the Oglala Lakota College on the Pine Ridge Reservation as well as the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC.

In all of this, there is a strong commitment to “Be the change you wish to see in the world” and in the Lakota Youthstay Program John believes that there is a real opportunity and ability to live, and model, that credo.

Marjorie Kroeger Lakota YouthStay Advisor Marjorie Kroeger is a psychotherapist in private practice in Newton, MA, specializing in the treatment of compulsive behaviors.  She has worked in community mental health and in private practice for 20 years.   Prior to her career in the field of mental health, Marjorie worked in journalism and publishing.    She grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota in a family dedicated to social justice work, welcoming hundreds of displaced or homeless citizens from around the globe into their home for short and long-term residence.

After college she worked as a journalist covering local politics for two daily newspapers. When her two children started school, she enrolled in a graduate program in counseling psychology. Marjorie worked as an outpatient clinician in college counseling, in community mental health and as a psychiatric emergency clinician. Currently, she runs a small counseling practice in Newton, MA dedicated to the treatment of compulsive behaviors and intimacy disorders. Marjorie is passionate about social justice issues, and has spent much of her life volunteering for a variety of organizations. She has served on two non-profit boards and has recently finished a two-year term on the board of Food Link, a food rescue organization which distributes nourishing food from local retailers to underserved populations.   Along with her partner, John Austin, Marjorie hosted two Lakota Youth Stay participants in the summer of 2018.  She has two adult children and a granddaughter.

Shannon Freed Lakota Youthstay Advisor Shannon Freed has over 30 years of experience working with children. She is a former youth soccer coach, ski race team coach, camp counselor and pre-school teacher. She has a degree in Human Development and Family Studies with a focus in Early Childhood Education from Colorado State University and recently graduated with a Masters in Lakota Leadership and Management from Oglala Lakota College. She has been leading up a small community organization on Pine Ridge for the past 6 years called Earth Tipi who’s stated mission is “Connecting people and resources to create sustainable housing and grow food on Pine Ridge”. Their most recent project was an overnight summer camp for girls ages 5-11 and was co-sponsored by a youth group from California. Shannon and her partner Adam (who is a Wildland Firefighter for the BIA in Pine Ridge and from Manderson, SD) have 3 young daughters, Raven, ChetanWin and Ayla.