Staff

Corrine Oqua Pi Povi Sanchez, PhD, of San Ildefonso Pueblo is Tewa Women United’s Executive Director. She is currently on sabbatical until July 2025.

Dr. Sanchez holds a doctorate in Justice Studies from Arizona State University. She has contributed to building Indigenous Knowledge through her work with Tewa Women United for the past 30 years, including co-creation of TWU’s research methodology and the Theory of Opide, a braiding of practice to action. She has extensive training and experience in the fields of sexual assault prevention, educational awareness, advocacy, and trauma informed care. Dr. Sanchez has presented at many national conferences on Sexual Assault in Indian Country, Advocacy Needs of Native Sexual Assault Survivors, Forensic Interviewing of Native Children, and Child Witness to Violence.

Dr. Sanchez currently serves on the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s Advisory Council and is a Board member of the Attach Your Heart Foundation. Most recently, she has been selected to serve on the Governor of New Mexico’s Advisory Council on Racial Justice.

Nathana Bird, M.A., is from Ohkay Owingeh and Kewa Pueblo, a life-partner to Ray Naranjo (a talented chef) and a mother of four. She enjoys taking care of her plants, spending time with family, road trips, and organizing.

Nathana first became involved with Tewa Women United as a board member in 2007. In 2014, she transitioned onto staff as the Coordinator of the A’Gin Healthy Sexuality & Body Sovereignty Project, and became the organization’s Associate Director in 2019.

Nathana began organizing in Northern New Mexico and regionally through various youth organizations and continued on this path for many years, focusing primarily on environmental justice issues and education. Her educational background includes an MA in Language, Literacy & Socio-Cultural Studies with a concentration in American Indian Education, and a BA in Integrated Studies in Psychology.

Nathana is passionate about continually connecting back to the teachings of her people and to embody the wisdom that has been passed down to her from the mothers and grandmothers in her life.

Email: nathana@tewawomenunited.org

Bernadette is an enrolled and active member of the Pueblo of Nambé and has resided there her entire life along with her daughter, Hayle Trujillo. Her work with Tewa Women United began in March of 2012 and she is pleased to be part of an organization committed to the well-being of women. She has completed many credit hours of study in accounting at Northern New Mexico College. Bernadette has fifteen years of finance experience working for Accounting Departments at Eight Northern Indian Pueblo Councils, Inc., and Nambé and Pojoaque Pueblos. In addition to her current work with Tewa Women United, she serves the Pueblo of Nambé as the Tribal Enrollment and Social Services Coordinator (2013-Present) and completed two consecutive terms (2012-2019) as a Board Member for the Nambé Pueblo Housing Entity. Her dedication to making the world a better place is evidenced in the depth of her service to community.

Email: bernadette@tewawomenunited.org
Main Office: 505-747-3259 x1205
Direct Line: 505-210-8143

Chanel is a Black, queer mother working at the intersection of community organizing, non-profit management, reproductive justice advocacy, and maternal health research in northern New Mexico.

Chanel’s education and professional background reflects her varied interests and strengths. She studied Journalism and Women & Gender Studies at George Mason University. She’s also a doula trainee, and a former app and website designer and project lead for startups and corporations. Chanel relocated from her home of 17 years in the D.C suburbs to Northern New Mexico in 2020, and left the corporate world shortly after to pursue more heart-centered work as a small business owner and in the non-profit sector. Since then, she’s been heavily involved in her community as a volunteer in community garden spaces, planning and coordinating an international maternal health research program, and partnering with advocates and researchers in a variety of ways to shift the narrative of health outcomes in New Mexico.

In her personal time Chanel can be found engaging in many therapeutic and mystical practices, playing piano, reading the pile of books on her nightstand, practicing yoga, or spending time in nature with her wife Bethany and son, Henry.

Email: chanel@tewawomenunited.org
Phone: 505-210-8140

Diana is from Santa Clara Pueblo, a US Navy veteran, and mother. She is certified as an Infant Massage Instructor, Indigenous Breastfeeding Counselor, Technology of Participation facilitator, Care for Kids instructor, and International Center for Traditional Childbearing Doula. Diana is experienced in community outreach and collaboration, and completed a 40-hour course in Advocacy Training and Skills/Organizing for Healthy Native Communities. She is also trained in topics of Toxic Stress, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Brain Development, Shaken Baby Syndrome, and Pregnant Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse. She received doula assistance from the Yiya Vi Kagingdi Doula project and decided to become a Doula to give back that same help to other mothers and families.

Email: diana@tewawomenunited.org
Main Office: 505-747-3259  x1206
Direct Line: 505-210-8144

Talavi Cook (she/hers) originally from Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, Hopi, and Dine, joined the Tewa Women United staff in March of 2022 as the Environmental Health & Justice Program Manager. She is a former student of Fort Lewis College and obtained a B.S in Environmental Biology in 2016. Talavi was introduced to Tewa Women United in 2018 to collaborate and host an environmental workshop while working closely with Santa Clara Forestry as the Reserved Treaty Rights Lands Program Coordinator. During her time working at Santa Clara Pueblo, she also became the only women wildland firefighter among a crew of 30 plus men. In 2020, she then completed a M.S in Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science from the University of Hawai’i at Hilo. She continues to hold passion for forestry, firefighting, natural resources, and conservation, and is committed to helping her communities to ensure the land and the people are healthy and resilient. On her off time, you can find her looking at plants, doing art, or adventuring in the desert.

Email: talavi@tewawomenunited.org
Phone: 505-210-8142
505-747-3259  ext 1204

Aspen is an Indigenous birth-worker for the people of northern New Mexico. Her formal training as a doula began in 2018 after having spent some months in Guatemala as a midwife assistant for a traditional community midwife. Since, Aspen has worked as a doula for the Yiya Vi Kagingdi Doula Program though Tewa Women United, as an Indigenous breastfeeding counselor, Indigenous midwife assistant, a home visitor for Tiwa Babies, and offering free doula services to her tribal community members of Taos Pueblo.

Aspen is passionate about educating aspiring birth workers, or those who have heard “the call,” guiding them along their journey as they navigate how to be of service to others—while recognizing the truths of obstetric violence, toxic birth spaces, and the affects of colonialism. Most recently Aspen has enjoyed mentoring other Indigenous people who have dreams to reintroduce birth-work into their tribal communities, and is currently working on an Indigenous-based childbirth education course.

Email: aspen@tewawomenunited.org

Email: alyssa@tewawomenunited.org

Phone: (505) 747-3259 ext 1206

Alyssa Aguilar (she/hers) originally from the pueblos of Santa Clara and Santo Domingo, joined the Tewa Women United staff in May of 2024 as the Reproductive Justice Program Assistant. She is a graduate of the Santa Fe Indian School, class of 2021. Alyssa has always had an interest in reproductive rights and advocacy, as well as working with children. She was introduced to Tewa Women United during her employment with Santa Clara Tribal administration. Although she had only heard of TWU and the amazing work they did, she was eager to learn more and become a part of the organization making impacts on the surrounding communities.

In her free time, Alyssa enjoys spending time in the mountains, offroading and going for walks in nature with her boyfriend and their two furbabies.

Email: laura@tewawomenunited.org

Phone: (505) 747-3259 ext 1206

Laura Ciprés is originally from Mexico and has Purépecha roots. She feels deeply grateful and blessed by the legacy of her ancestors, generous, wise, and resilient women who have passed on to her internal strength and a constant desire to learn in order to serve others with love and compassion. Family life is a fundamental pillar in her existence; her family represents her safe haven, a source of peace and renewal. She shares her life with her partner and is the mother of two boys and two girls, one of whom watches over her from heaven.

Throughout her life, Laura has demonstrated a firm commitment to the common good in the communities where she has lived. From a young age, she has enjoyed engaging in social work in the indigenous communities of Mexico and, as she grew up, she has provided emotional support and help in rebuilding lives, as well as accompaniment during the grieving process. She has worked tirelessly to promote the dignity and worth of individuals, strengthening their self-esteem and teaching them to thrive even in adversity.

As a clinical psychologist and thanatologist, she holds various certifications in mental health, including Mindfulness, Compassion, and Nonviolent Communication, Crisis Intervention, Suicide Prevention, Clinical Diagnosis, and Grief Support. She is currently continuing her specialization in Clinical Thanatology through the Mexican Association of Thanatology.

Laura practices swimming, enjoys traveling with her family by road, appreciates the simple things in life, and engages in artistic experiences with her family. She resonates deeply with the mission and vision of Tewa Women United, as she is convinced that we are all interconnected. This motivates her to contribute and generate resources aligned with the organization’s values.

Meet Jamie Allbach (she/her), M.A., an educator hailing from the Appalachian mountains of Western North Carolina. With a playful spirit and a heart committed to safety for all, Jamie has worn many hats over the years, but spent the first ten years of her career as an elementary school teacher and librarian.

Jamie’s journey took a profound turn when she moved to New Mexico in 2017. Her passion for education collided with a deep concern for the health impacts of trauma on survivors of sexual violence. Drawing strength from her own experiences, Jamie embarked on a personal quest for resilience, intertwining it with her decision to help others uncover their innate ability to heal.

This led to work as a community prevention educator, and then several positions for nonprofits dedicated to the health of youth and survivors of all forms of gender-based violence.

In 2020, Jamie spent time deepening her professional commitments by working for Women’s Economic Freedom and Leadership with Tewa Women United, only to circle back in 2023 as the Gender Justice Program Manager. Jamie brings her rich background and unwavering commitment to the organization’s impactful initiatives

Beyond her professional endeavors, Jamie finds joy in family life with her partner, Ryan, and their two kids. Their dinner table conversations are a lively exploration of the intersections of gender, race, ability, sexuality, and environmental health—topics that reflect her family’s broader commitment to inclusivity and the redistribution of safety.

Jamie’s passion for healing, resilience, and creating consent culture is always at the forefront.

Email: jamie@tewawomenunited.org 

Phone: (505) 747-3259  ext 1209

Elder Kathy, a fluent Tewa language speaker, is a native spirit-rooted social activist, community educator, and traditional black ware potter from San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico. She is inspirational in doing presentations, trainings, and program development in her many roles for Tewa Women United for more than twenty years. Her work includes developing transformative tools such as the “Two-World Harmony, Butterfly Model” and “Trauma Healing Rocks” which address integrative wisdom of healing colonial trauma of mind, body, heart and spirit all from Native women’s lived perspectives.

Email: kathy@tewawomenunited.org
Phone: 505-747-3259  x1203
Direct Line: 505-210-8141