Cleora, who is also known by her Apsaalooke name Bassáa Itchish (Good Leader), is from the Apsalooke’ (Crow) Nation of Montana. She is an Executive Manager with more than twenty-six years of management/leadership experience specializing in funding streams available to Indian Country and is humbled to be serving the National Indian Boarding School Healing Coalition.

Over the years, Cleora’s experience has navigated the intersections between Native communities in social, political, and historic environments developing philosophies, dependent on healing modalities, and historical inherited knowledge using a female lens. She has traveled extensively in Indian Country for work and has had the opportunity to visit over 150 Native communities and reservations where she works to create healing pathways for Native communities in the board rooms. “I have a passion to see Native Communities succeed on our terms, I do this the best way I know how and it drives every decision I make.”–Cleora