Lance Lehmann is a Rapid City native and is also an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. He has years of for-profit sector with years of experiences in the hospitality sector as well as construction management. Lance is currently a small business owner and is also the current Rapid City Common Council Vice President, having been elected to serve in 2019 at the age of 30. Lance felt there was a growing disconnect with the challenges of the community and joined journey on in late 2020 to assist in the capacity building of the organization to address some challenges in the community.

Jess is a Rapid City Native and is an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. She is currently Corporate Counsel for Black Hills Energy, having previously served as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Rapid City. Jess is active in the Rapid City community; she has served on the OneHeart board and as a Commissioner with the Rapid City Human Relations Commission. Jess is passionate about helping build a better Rapid City, particularly for the often-overlooked Native community.

Ms. Two Heart identifies as an ikce winyan, or ordinary woman. Ms. Two Heart was born in Pine Ridge, SD and grew up in the Pejuta Hutka Haka (Medicine Root) community on the Pine Ridge Reservation. She is Oglala Lakota with Hunkpapa Lakota ancestry. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from UCLA and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in leadership/management from Bentley University. She has worked and volunteered in Native American serving non-profit work in various capacities since 2008. She considers herself a nerd in project management, grant writing, psychology, and leadership. Ms. Two Heart has been with Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board (GPTLHB) since October 2019. As Director of Community Behavioral Health, she provides leadership to and serves as the Principal Investigator for the following programs: Great Plains Native Connections, Great Plains Tribal Opioid Response, Connecting With Our Youth, Connecting With Our Youth Extension, and Great Plains Circles of Care. Outside of her work at GPTLHB, she practices fashion design as a Rapid City Local Lakota artist.

Dr. Rich Braunstein is a professor in the Department of Political Science, Criminal Justice and International Studies at the University of South Dakota (USD). Braunstein is a faculty member in the W.O. Farber Center for Civic Leadership, a research associate for the Government Research Bureau and coordinator of the USD Nonprofit Studies Program.

In addition to his academic appointments, Dr. Braunstein serves as the Principal Investigator for the Rapid City Police Department’s Community Building and Crime Reductionprogram (CBCR) funded by the US DOJ Office of Justice Programs (2020-2024). Braunstein also serves as the Principal Investigator for the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board’s Connecting With Our Youthprogram (CWOY) funded by the US DHHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2019-2024).

Throughout his 20 years USD, Dr. Braunstein has worked as a research partner/consultant for completed projects of the South Dakota Governor’s Office, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, Wakpamni District of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and the City of Vermillion in South Dakota. Dr. Braunstein has also completed research contracts as an evaluator for the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, South Dakota Department of Health, South Dakota Department of Transportation, South Dakota Department of Education, South Dakota Nonprofit Association, South Dakota Service Commission, and a wide range of nonprofit organizations providing direct services to at-risk populations. In 2021 Braunstein serves on three nonprofit boards focusing on unique dynamics of youth wellness. Dr. Braunstein’s teaching interests include race and justice in America, conflict resolution, nonprofit administration and American political development.