Andrew Berger, MLA

Director of Agriculture and Climate Adaptation Programs

Over the last ten years, Andrew has been devoted to uplifting Indigenous community well-being through design and planning projects, and through related capacity building programs. In his role with Piikani Lodge Health Institute, he directs programs implementing traditional and emerging practices in Indigenous regenerative agriculture, working directly with tribal producers and partners including USDA, BIA, and various NGOs. This work involves implementing and monitoring practices which apply locally and nationally to support water and carbon storage, biodiversity, and measures of community well-being. Andrew’s experience in landscape architecture and planning with Native communities also lends itself towards establishing a thriving regenerative research and Indigenous training center for PLHI and its beneficiaries.  Andrew has had the joy and privilege of working with the Amskapi Piikani (Blackfeet) community since 2017, and he holds a BA in Geography from Macalester College and a Masters of Landscape Architecture from Cornell University.

Laura Caplins, PhD,

Conservation Director and Operations

Laura has had the privilege of working with the Blackfeet community since 2013. These projects have spanned such diverse topics as health, economics, conservation and community well-being. Laura's background includes international work with communities in the Himalayas and Andes among other locations. She has dedicated her life to the promotion of social justice. She has a PhD in Forestry and Conservation Sciences, MS in Recreation Administration and a BA in Geography. Laura helps to keep our programs functioning in a timely and productive way and leads Piikani Lodge’s conservation efforts.

Sarah DesRosier

Financial Manager

Sarah was born and raised on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. She earned an Associate’s Degree from the Blackfeet Community College and then earned a Bachelors in Business with a minor in Accounting at Montana State University-Northern. She is currently training to receive her Notary. In her spare time, she enjoys being with her three sons hiking in Glacier National Park, golfing at the East Glacier Lodge, and maintaining her yard. Sarah is passionate about voting and has spent time volunteering for partisan and nonpartisan events, organizing rallies, forums, and parade floats. Sarah has volunteered her time throughout the Blackfeet and Cree tribes going door-to-door to educate potential voters to help them gain knowledge of why voting is important. Sarah found her career path in non-profits where she finds a sense of accomplishment in their missions when directed toward the betterment of the world and its inhabitants. 

Jaelyn Long Time Sleeping (Pretty Woman)

PLHI Internship Coordinator

Jaelyn Long Time Sleeping (Pretty Woman) Internship Coordinator / Producer Support – Data. Born and raised on the Blackfeet Nation, Jaelyn grew up on the north side of the Two Medicine River at the Long Time Sleeping Ranch, also known as the Mud Head Ranch. Her roots in agriculture run deep—she entered the industry early in life by helping her family on their ranch and continually finding new ways to learn from and understand the land. After graduating from Browning High School, Jaelyn served seven years in the Montana Army National Guard. Following five years away from home, she felt called to return to the Blackfeet Nation. Though she worked two different jobs upon returning, none felt like home until she found her place at the Piikani Lodge Health Institute. At Piikani Lodge, Jaelyn is able to embrace and share both her Native American heritage and her agricultural background. A natural leader in every role she has taken on, she now works closely with youth—teaching them about agriculture, land stewardship, and the importance of the land to the Blackfeet people. Her passion lies in helping the next generation understand not only how to care for the land, but why it matters.

Kim Paul

Kim is the Founder and Co-Executive Director of Piikani Lodge Health Institute, and carrier of the last repatriated Holy Siyeh Ksiskstakii Mopistaan (Holy Bundle). A long-standing member of the Amskapi Piikani Blackfeet Tribe and traditional societies, she was transferred the rights to the traditional Stand Up Warbonnet. She has dedicated her life to activism for equity, the reclamation of cultural identity, climate change adaptation, and “culture as medicine” within areas of community wellness, mental health promotion, suicide prevention, and substance misuse reduction. After dropping out of school in the ninth grade and re-entering academia twenty-eight years later (after singly raising her four children), her western degrees encompass undergraduate degrees in pre medicine and research psychology, Magna Cum Laude MS in environmental chemistry and biomedical science and Summa Cum Laude doctoral coursework in biochemistry, biomedical science and community and public health. She is the first female Piikani warrior to achieve these STEM degrees. 

Anne Racine

Human Resources and Tribal College Outreach Director

Anne Racine is an enrolled member of the Gros Ventre Tribe of Fort Belknap Montana. Her Indian name is Ya-Who-Tha - Hiding Woman; this name was her mother’s name, Theresa Cuts the Rope Werk. Anne serves as the Human Resources Director and Tribal College Outreach for Piikani Lodge and has held this position for five years. Advocacy has been a big part of her professional career as she loves to see people excel in all aspects of their lives. Anne worked in higher education and developed many programs that enhanced the community. Anne was instrumental in obtaining Phases 1 and 2 of the Blackfeet Community College Nursing Program.  She has her Bachelors in Community Service and a Master of Science in Education as these two types of degrees have suited her well in development, mentoring, advocating, and building a career of helping people. Anne looks forward to building an Indigenous knowledge-based curriculum with tribal colleges. 

LOREN RACINE

On-The-Land Guide and Program Manager 

Loren Racine was raised within Blackfoot culture and grew up listening to the stories. Loren is a lover of plants so when the opportunity came up to work for Glacier National Park, he worked for the Vegetation Unit as a Forestry Technician. Through this position, he gained a greater appreciation for the outdoors. With his cultural background and love for the outdoors, he started looking more into the Blackfeet history in the area and is now applying that knowledge in his role as Piikani Lodge’s On the Land Guide and Manager.

Logan Williams

Technical Assistance Specialist

Logan Williams Iikootsiistumik (Red Bull) was born and raised on the Blackfeet Reservation along the lower Two Medicine River on his family’s ranch. Growing up in a ranching family fostered his deep connection to the land and commitment to sustainable agriculture and wildlife management. He earned a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science and a GIS Certification from Salish Kootenai College, where he developed a strong focus on wildlife & environmental science and the use of geospatial mapping to inform land management and monitoring. After interning with Piikani Lodge in 2020, he returned in a professional role. Today, Logan integrates GIS, biology, agriculture, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to support local producers and advance sustainable land stewardship, and contributes to the well-being of his people and the community.

Micaela Young PhD,

Director of Development

Micaela Young’s family ranches and produces hay, corn, beans, and wheat in the Snake River Basin in Southern Idaho which has inspired an enduring interest in land, food and agriculture, and rural/Tribal communities. She earned a Master of Arts in English-Writing and a PhD in American Studies at Montana State University with her studies focused on micropolitical (community-level) strategies for reclaiming Native lands and resources. She spent nearly 20 years working in research and grants and contracts administration at institutions of higher education and seven years conducting development activities for Native-led non-profits. Micaela has dedicated her life to serving rural and Tribal communities to increase local food resilience and sovereignty, rebuild economies, and restore cultures to their fully-flourished potential.