Advisory Council
In addition to our partners in Native-led organizations, we are honored to work with Indigenous women who serve as trusted advisors to the Indigenous Justice Circle’s projects. Get to know them!
Gwendolyn Packard
As the Training and Technical Assistance Specialist with the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Gwen has worked for many years in Indian country, both at the national and tribal level. She has served as editor for six national Indian publications. In 1990, she was instrumental in founding the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS). She served as Executive Director for Morning Star House, an advocacy program that works with off-reservation Indian women and children who are victims of domestic and sexual violence.
She also served as Executive Director of the NM Suicide Prevention Coalition and is founder and Co-Chair of Rain Cloud, the off-reservation behavioral health collaborative in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is a survivor of domestic violence, a writer, a grassroots organizer, and community activist.
Aimee Pond
Aimee is an Oglala Lakota tribal member and has an MA in Social Work. She worked for Laramie Head Start as a Family Advocate before returning to her hometown, Pine Ridge, where she worked as a K-12 School Social Worker. After, she joined Thunder Valley CDC, a Native-led non-profit grassroots organization. There, she developed and managed various youth programs as the Youth Leadership Development Initiative Director.
In March 2023, she became the Director of Programs and Partnerships for Friends of the Children He Sapa, Oglala Lakota Nation site. Aimee is committed to building partnerships, fostering relationships, and serving her community with the goal to improve the health and wellbeing of youth and families on the Reservation. She enjoys other activities such as adjunct teaching with Oglala Lakota College, and coaching youth softball, baseball, and basketball. Aimee is passionate about counseling, mental health, and well-being.
Eva Roca
Eva (Eastern Cherokee) has over 20 years of experience in research and development of girl-centered programs around the world. She has worked with the Population Council, UNICEF, and the International Center for Research on Women. She has experience training community-based organizations to use innovative participatory methods to refine the reach and scope of their programs and to monitor and evaluate their effectiveness. Her research interests include gender, poverty, social exclusion, migration, urban health, and adolescent health—particularly among Native/Indigenous girls, refugees, and girls at risk for or experiencing child marriage, HIV, etc.— and access to programs and services that can benefit young people.
Eva has a Masters in Health Science in International Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and is a PhD Candidate in Public Health at New York University.
Janet A. Routzen
Janet is a licensed attorney, currently working as an Associate Judge for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Children’s Court. She is working to implement criminal jurisdiction over Non-Indians for domestic violence, dating violence, and criminal violations of protection orders within the Tribes’ lands. Janet previously served as the Executive Director of White Buffalo Calf Women’s Society, a native-led non-profit that provides survivor services.
She has worked with IMAGEN to develop girl centers on the Rosebud reservation to address the needs of young women. Janet has provided training in various areas including: Domestic Violence and Cultural Healing, Developing a Response to Children with Problematic Sexual Behaviors, Partnerships with Corrections, and Victims Services for PREA. Janet’s life is a prime example of being able to heal from the trauma of child sexual abuse, domestic violence to then make it her life’s goal to help others along the way. She is most proud of her three children and seven grandchildren.