Meet the Leadership Team

Photo of Teresia Paul

Teresia Paul

BIE Program Lead

Oglala Sioux Tribe

Teresia M. Paul, a proud member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, serves as the Student Health Program Specialist for the Bureau of Indian Education under the Office of the Director. She primarily focuses on issues relating to behavioral health and wellness policy, programming, crisis support and partnerships for the BIE. She is also the national program lead for BIE’s Behavioral Health and Wellness Program. Before joining BIE, Teresia served as a Mental Health Therapist for an Indian Health Service substance use treatment center for Native youth and has over 15 years of behavioral health experience. Teresia has a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling with a Certificate in Behavioral Addictions.

Photo of Evonne Wilson-Hight

BIE COR

Evonne Wilson-Hight

Diné (Navajo) Nation

Evonne Wilson-Hight is the Contracting Officer Representative for the BIE BHWP contract and is also the Special Assistant for the Associate Deputy Director, Bureau Operated Schools with the Bureau of Indian Education. Evonne has served as the Special Assistant since 2019. Evonne earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from San Jose State University. Her duty location and office are located in Albuquerque, NM. She is an enrolled member of the Diné (Navajo) Nation.    

Photo of Lori King

Lori King

Med, PMP

Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians

BIE BHWP Senior Project Director

Lori’s expertise includes classroom management, project management, and educational administration. Lori has a Bachelor’s in Secondary Education in Mathematics and a master’s in educational administration. With over 14 years of experience in the classroom, she has also served as a Principal and an Assistant Principal. Since 2004, Lori has been working on a national level by administrating federal contracts from a variety of agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education, the Office of Indian Education, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Native Americans and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Education. She is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. She is actively involved in her Tribal community, served as a foster family provider, and has sat on the Tribal Indian Child Welfare Committee for her Tribe. She truly understands the importance of implementing supportive services for students, educators, and administrators.

Fawn Sanchez

Shoshone-Bannock

BIE BHWP Project Manager

Fawn Sanchez is Shoshone Bannock from Fort Hall, Idaho, and Carizzo-Comecrudo, an Indigenous tribe in Mexico. Serving as the Project Manager for BHWP, Fawn has over 15 years’ experience in Project Management and Process Improvement. Fawn is a diversity thought leader; member of the AISES Board of Directors, and an AISES Sequoyah Fellow, spending her time championing for representation and access to educational programming for Native professionals and students. Fawn is a 3rd generation Army Veteran and served during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Fawn has a BA in Journalism, MA in Human Resource Management, an MBA, a PHR Certification, and is a Certified Cloud Practitioner and Certified AI Business Practitioner, and is a Six Sigma Yellow Belt. Fawn lives in the Seattle area with her children, Eli (8) and Isabella (16).

Photo of Mitzi Pope

BIE BHWP Deputy Project Manager of Clinical and Crisis Response

LCSW

Mitzi Pope

Euchee and Muscogee

Mitzi is Euchee and a citizen of the Muscogee Creek Nation from Oklahoma. She is a licensed clinical social worker and certified Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapist. Serving as the Deputy Project Manager of Clinical and Crisis Response, she brings over 12 years of experience serving Tribal communities. She is skilled in trauma-informed counseling and has conducted suicide crisis intervention. She has also facilitated both substance abuse and women’s trauma groups. Prior to her work as a mental health professional, she was a youth advocate and educator on teen-dating violence for the Muscogee Nation.

Photo of Communications DPM, Brandi Harris

Brandi Harris

BIE BHWP Deputy Project Manager of Communications

Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma

Brandi Harris is a proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. She serves as the Deputy Project Manager of Communications, bringing over 10 years of experience in behavioral health and public health in tribal communities. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Master of Arts in American Studies with a focus on Cultural and Indigenous Studies. Brandi’s diverse experience includes classroom teaching, experience as a Behavioral Health Case Manager and Behavioral Health Wellness Coach. She has also acted as the coordinator for school-based surveys with a focus on collecting data on risk and protective factors. Brandi has acted as a Community Presenter for NEAR Science – Beyond ACES, and as a mentor on trauma informed practices in a public health setting. She brings experience in public awareness and educational campaign design and managing social media accounts and content creation across all platforms. Residing in Oklahoma, Brandi cherishes her role as a partner to Jeff, and mother to 4 children and 3 bonus children.

BIE BHWP staff members are…

Culturally aware of Indigenous practices and traditions and the majority represent the Native communities BIE BHWP supports.

Image of young man leaning against a brick wall.Text on image says "Do you Need Help?", "It's Okay to Not be Okay.", "Call 1-844-275-2497)", "Immediate Individual Crisis Support and Virtual Counseling"