Amber Hoon

Tribal Dementia Care Program Coordinator & Dementia Care Specialist (DCS)

Amber Hoon is the Tribal Dementia Care Program Coordinator and Dementia Care Specialist (DCS) for the Aging and Disability Services Program at the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, Inc., which serves the federally recognized Indian tribes in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Dr. J. Neil Henderson

Faculty

Neil Henderson, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Medical Anthropology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth campus, and former Executive Director of the Memory Keepers Medical Discovery Team. He is Oklahoma Choctaw.

Neil’s research areas focus on aging issues of American Indian people. Specifically, his work is on biological and cultural influences regarding recognition and treatment of dementia and diabetes, dementia caregiving, cultural constructions of disease, and community health interventions and education in the context of cultural diversity. Dr. Henderson was honored by the award of the Leadership in Prevention for Native Americans by the Loma Linda University School of Public Health and the Award of Achievement by the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, College of Public Health, as well as being named a Presidential Professor by the University of Oklahoma,
College of Public Health.

Neil is the former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology and past-President of the Association for Anthropology and Gerontology. He has authored many articles in the scientific press and is a contributor to the Alzheimer’s Association and CDC’s new Healthy Brain Initiative’s Road Map for Indian Country (2019), principal author of The Savvy Caregiver for Indian Country (2013), co-author of the text, Social and Behavioral Foundations of Public Health (2001) and is senior editor of The Culture of Long-Term Care (1995).

Chandra Wilson

Faculty

Chandra Wilson, MSW, was raised primary by her grandmother, and is Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin-Pauite of the Klamath Tribes of Oregon and was raised on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. She is a health professional and social worker with a clear personal and professional goal to do work that will improve the health status of Native American people, and bring awareness and education of dementia, brain health and memory loss especially to tribal community caregivers, elders and families. Her interests and work are committed to developing programs and policies that will support my community and address the persistent health disparities that tribal communities’ experiences.

Chandra currently serves as the program manager for the Northwest Tribal Elders Project (NTEP) at the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. NTEP administers the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure initiative. As the program manager, she manages and is responsible for supporting the goals and objectives for the BOLD grant and oversees and manages the overall work for both the NTEP and BOLD program initiatives.

Previously, Chandra has worked as a Human Resources Professional with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and the National Indian Child Welfare Association. Chandra believes leading with faith, grace and humility, creating space and opportunities for others and communities to be their best. She is a Mother of two daughters, and a Grandmother to two.