FEATURED SPEAKERS
For a full list of presenters see the tentative agenda on the homepage
Billy Mills-Olympic Champion
William “Billy” Mills, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, was born in Pine Ridge and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Orphaned at age 12, he took up running and set records in numerous track events during high school at the Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kan., a former residential boarding school for Native American children now known as Haskell Indian Nations University. He earned a track scholarship to the University of Kansas, where he excelled in cross country. He became a three-time NCAA All-American Cross-country recipient and won the individual title at the Big Eight cross-country championship in 1960. After graduating, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from 1962 to 1965. Mills was largely unknown in the running world when he qualified for the 1964 Summer Olympics. His competition included Ron Clarke of Australia, who was the world record holder at the time. At those games, Mills became the first, and remains the only, gold metalist from the U.S. in the 10,000-meter run. His winning time of 28:24.4 was almost 50 seconds faster than he had run before and set a new Olympic record for the event. Mills later set U.S. records for the 120,000-meter run and the three-mile run. He and fellow American Gerry Lindgren both broke the six=mile run world record in 1965, when they finished in a tie at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Championships. He is an author, public speaker, and co-founder of the non-profit Running Strong for American Indian Youth. Billy's Presentation will be at the General Session in the Sylvan I and II rooms in Convention Center II on the West end of the Hotel on Thursday morning at 9:00 AM. Coffee and rolls will be served at 8:00 AM.
Steven Rokusek
The South Dakota Science Teachers Association (SDSTA) honored SDPB’s Education Specialist Steven “Science Steve” Rokusek with its 2019 Friend of Science Award during its annual conference in Huron in February.
As Education Specialist, Rokusek works to provide PBS and SDPB resources to South Dakota’s PreK-12 educators, routinely provides science teaching demonstrations at conferences and in-services throughout the state, and maintains close contact with teachers and others to build and navigate SDPB’s educational resources. “The SDSTA is an amazing organization of science educators dedicated to the advancement of science education in South Dakota,” says Rokusek. “I’m proud to be part of this remarkable group of educators and humbled that I’ve been selected for this award. I’ve always enjoyed science and have never considered science education as a ‘job.’ For me, it is a privilege to share my love of science with others.”
Thank you, SDSTA, and congratulations, Steve!
We are honored to have Steve join us every year to offer his passion and love of Science to students and adults. Steve will be presenting Science shows off and on throughout the conference in the booth area. Steve will also do a presentation in the Bear Butte room on December 16th at 9:00 AM.
As Education Specialist, Rokusek works to provide PBS and SDPB resources to South Dakota’s PreK-12 educators, routinely provides science teaching demonstrations at conferences and in-services throughout the state, and maintains close contact with teachers and others to build and navigate SDPB’s educational resources. “The SDSTA is an amazing organization of science educators dedicated to the advancement of science education in South Dakota,” says Rokusek. “I’m proud to be part of this remarkable group of educators and humbled that I’ve been selected for this award. I’ve always enjoyed science and have never considered science education as a ‘job.’ For me, it is a privilege to share my love of science with others.”
Thank you, SDSTA, and congratulations, Steve!
We are honored to have Steve join us every year to offer his passion and love of Science to students and adults. Steve will be presenting Science shows off and on throughout the conference in the booth area. Steve will also do a presentation in the Bear Butte room on December 16th at 9:00 AM.
I Love You Guys Foundation
(Safety and Security Training)
The “I Love U Guys” Foundation’s programs for crisis response and post-crisis reunification are used in more than 30,000 schools, districts, departments, agencies, organizations and communities around the world. They are created through the research-based best practices of school administrators, psychologists, public space safety experts, families, and first responders. We’re a powerful conduit uniting this work.
The “I Love U Guys” Foundation team of trainers all have personal and professional experience with school and public safety. Through their experiences, our trainings come to life in a way that can only be felt through people who’ve been there.
It was a tragedy that launched The Foundation. And we thrive because we know that with love, we can work together to protect and restore the joy of youth. We’re doing it. Join us. With you, we got this.
Below are the two of the speakers who you will be hearing at this All Day Training held in the Sylvan I room Friday December 16th, 2022.
Anticipating the Unthinkable:
Carly Posey
Carly Posey is a national speaker and advocate for school safety. Two of her four children were inside Sandy Hook Elementary School when an armed man entered the building on December 14, 2012. The shooter made his way to her son’s first grade classroom, killing his teacher and a classmate. When he stopped to re-load, her son escaped, running to a nearby fire station. Her daughter, who remained hidden inside an art room office, also survived, but the lessons learned were significant. Carly’s other two children were at the intermediate school in Newtown where they were in lockdown the entire school day. The lack of preparedness within the community to respond and recover to such an incident left a lasting impression.
Today, as Mission Director for the “I Love U Guys” Foundation, Carly travels the country sharing her story to promote school safety and preparedness. Her experiences as a parent and a community member provide a compelling, often heartbreaking, case study for the need to prepare for the unthinkable. Carly has previously served as the Executive Director for the Safe2Tell Nonprofit and as Program Director for Anderson Software. She now lives in Colorado with her husband, Dave, and their four children.
The I Love U Guys Standard Response Protocol and Standard Reunification Method:
Officer Stacy Avila (Retired)
Introduced in 2009, the Standard Response Protocol is a proven enhancement to school safety planning. Thousands of schools in the US and Canada have adopted the program. Introduced in 2012, the Standard Reunification Method fills a critical void in school safety planning: How to reunite students with their parents after a crisis. Also included in the training is a segment on Incident Command and how it relates to crisis management for educators.
Stacy was raised on a cattle ranch in southwestern Montana, approximately 30 miles from the middle of nowhere.
In 1995, she graduated from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Administration of Justice and an emphasis in Psychology and Sociology. Stacy was a police officer for the City of Arvada, Colorado for twenty-one years and during her tenure served as a Field Training Officer, Patrol Sergeant, and Hostage Negotiator. Stacy served as a negotiator on the Jefferson County Regional SWAT team for fifteen years and was the primary negotiator at Platte Canyon High School on September 27, 2006.
Officer Stacy Avila (Retired)
Introduced in 2009, the Standard Response Protocol is a proven enhancement to school safety planning. Thousands of schools in the US and Canada have adopted the program. Introduced in 2012, the Standard Reunification Method fills a critical void in school safety planning: How to reunite students with their parents after a crisis. Also included in the training is a segment on Incident Command and how it relates to crisis management for educators.
Stacy was raised on a cattle ranch in southwestern Montana, approximately 30 miles from the middle of nowhere.
In 1995, she graduated from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Administration of Justice and an emphasis in Psychology and Sociology. Stacy was a police officer for the City of Arvada, Colorado for twenty-one years and during her tenure served as a Field Training Officer, Patrol Sergeant, and Hostage Negotiator. Stacy served as a negotiator on the Jefferson County Regional SWAT team for fifteen years and was the primary negotiator at Platte Canyon High School on September 27, 2006.
Levi Horn
Former NFL athlete Levi Horn (Northern Cheyenne) will be one of the speakers at this year's 2019 Lakota Nations Education Conference. He was the keynote speaker at the 6th Annual WSU Native Youth Sports Summit. Pictured here (l-r): Assistant Director Faith Price, Native Student Ambassadors Jay-J Yarbrough-Jones and Urijah Willis, Levi Horn, Native Student Ambassador Miranda Cleveland, Director/Tribal Liaison Barbara Aston, and Communications Assistant Shana Lombard.
Horn emphasized to the audience the importance of making good choices, setting goals, and being resilient. Making it to the NFL was not easy.
Horn had the size and ability from a young age to be an amazing football player. In middle school, he was 6’4” and 240 pounds – too big to play football against other kids his age.
At the beginning of his high school football career at Rogers High School in Spokane, he was nearly kicked off the football team because of the bad decisions he was making at the time. Horn told the group he had a friend who was dragging him down.
“A decision I made in the ninth grade not to kick it with him anymore changed my life,” said Horn. His high school coach could already see his potential and told him if he wanted to play in the NFL, he needed to make better choices. Horn said he decided, “I choose football.”
However, even with his size and evident talent, Horn lacked the confidence to think he could pursue a career in football. Negative people around him did not help.
“I’ve had a lot of people tell me I couldn’t make it. And I believed them,” said Horn.
One pivotal night, though, he received a recruitment call from Minot State in North Dakota. Horn remembered thinking it was his friends playing a prank on him. The coach managed to convince him it was for real, telling him, “Levi, you’re going to play college football somewhere and we want it to be here.”
“That moment changed my future because I never thought I was going to go to college,” said Horn.
At one point when he was at “rock bottom” as a freshman at Oregon, Horn said he started praying. His prayer was something along the lines of:
“Creator, if you get me to the NFL, I will do whatever you want,” said Horn.
Well, he got to the NFL, and it appears the Creator wanted to continue to use him to inspire youth. He is currently finishing his education, working as a substance abuse counselor, and traveling the nation sharing his journey with Native youth.
Horn emphasized to the audience the importance of making good choices, setting goals, and being resilient. Making it to the NFL was not easy.
Horn had the size and ability from a young age to be an amazing football player. In middle school, he was 6’4” and 240 pounds – too big to play football against other kids his age.
At the beginning of his high school football career at Rogers High School in Spokane, he was nearly kicked off the football team because of the bad decisions he was making at the time. Horn told the group he had a friend who was dragging him down.
“A decision I made in the ninth grade not to kick it with him anymore changed my life,” said Horn. His high school coach could already see his potential and told him if he wanted to play in the NFL, he needed to make better choices. Horn said he decided, “I choose football.”
However, even with his size and evident talent, Horn lacked the confidence to think he could pursue a career in football. Negative people around him did not help.
“I’ve had a lot of people tell me I couldn’t make it. And I believed them,” said Horn.
One pivotal night, though, he received a recruitment call from Minot State in North Dakota. Horn remembered thinking it was his friends playing a prank on him. The coach managed to convince him it was for real, telling him, “Levi, you’re going to play college football somewhere and we want it to be here.”
“That moment changed my future because I never thought I was going to go to college,” said Horn.
At one point when he was at “rock bottom” as a freshman at Oregon, Horn said he started praying. His prayer was something along the lines of:
“Creator, if you get me to the NFL, I will do whatever you want,” said Horn.
Well, he got to the NFL, and it appears the Creator wanted to continue to use him to inspire youth. He is currently finishing his education, working as a substance abuse counselor, and traveling the nation sharing his journey with Native youth.
John Forkenbrock
From Washington DC, we welcome back John Forkenbrock to LNEC. He is a strong advocate for children and a strong advocate for Native People. Mr. Forkenbrock is an expert in funding issues for Native Schools and will be speaking several times during the 2022 LNEC Conference held at Ramkota Inn, December 14-17th, 2022. He will also be one of the speakers at the LNEC pre-conference December 13th.
Mr Forkenbrock has a long history with NAFIS and is one of the nation's foremost experts on Impact Aid. He retired as NAFIS Executive Director in 2015 after serving in the role for 27 years. Since then he has continued to lead Impact Aid technical assistance workshops and provide support to the organization. In addition he has traveled throughout Indian country offering assistance and information to educational leaders.
When John speaks we all listen because no one wants to miss a single word he says. His experience and wisdom make him a valuable asset to LNEC. LNEC is in it's 44th year, John has only missed one of those years. Please don't miss his informative talk on the History of Indian Education with an emphasize on education funding issues. Presenting all day on December 13th in the Washington Room. Presenting in the School Board Training on December 14th PM. Presenting on December 16th in the School Board Training in the AM.
Dr. Don Bartlette
Don is a Native American who was born with a severe cleft palate and heart condition. In this presentation, you'll hear his moving testimony of what it felt like to grow up unwanted, ridiculed, living in poverty, unable to speak, and physically deformed. He recounts the agony of being rejected by his disappointed and alcoholic father, by teachers who locked him away – assuming he couldn't learn – and by the merciless cruelty of his peers at school, which drove him to feel that he literally only had rats for friends. He vacillated between longing to be wanted and the desire to do violence to those around him.
But Don eventually met a woman who would change everything for him. She taught him to eat and speak, and to believe in himself. Her faith in Don as a person led to their whole community changing its views about him. She introduced him to the Bible, and he learned about its invitation to ask, seek, and knock – an invitation he would come to accept that led him into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Presenting in the Washington Room at 2:30 on Thursday. Presenting in the Black Elk Peak Room at 9:00 AM on December 16th.
Don is a Native American who was born with a severe cleft palate and heart condition. In this presentation, you'll hear his moving testimony of what it felt like to grow up unwanted, ridiculed, living in poverty, unable to speak, and physically deformed. He recounts the agony of being rejected by his disappointed and alcoholic father, by teachers who locked him away – assuming he couldn't learn – and by the merciless cruelty of his peers at school, which drove him to feel that he literally only had rats for friends. He vacillated between longing to be wanted and the desire to do violence to those around him.
But Don eventually met a woman who would change everything for him. She taught him to eat and speak, and to believe in himself. Her faith in Don as a person led to their whole community changing its views about him. She introduced him to the Bible, and he learned about its invitation to ask, seek, and knock – an invitation he would come to accept that led him into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Presenting in the Washington Room at 2:30 on Thursday. Presenting in the Black Elk Peak Room at 9:00 AM on December 16th.
Director Fred Osborn
SD Director Of Indian Education
Frederick Osborn holds an MBA from Marylhurst University, as well as a Bachelor of Science, Business Administration and Juris Doctor from Creighton University. Mr. Osborn has over 17 years’ experience in all phases of curriculum development, both traditional and online, including program design and implementation at the post-secondary level. His teaching experience includes Business, Computer Software, Economics, Humanities, Law, and Real Estate at Pioneer Pacific College, Chemeketa Community College, and Linfield University. Most recently as Chief Academic Officer and Title IX Coordinator for Pioneer Pacific College, Mr. Osborn supervised all faculty and academic standards while serving as direct liaison with both federal and state government agencies. Presenting in the Lincoln Room December 14th at 2:30 PM
How To Spot Possible Signs Of
Human Trafficking
Jan Edwards
President Paving the Way Foundation
Jan Edwards is the founder and President of Paving the Way Foundation, an organization that empowers communities to be a fierce disruption in the cycle of child trafficking around the globe. This is accomplished through educational and training programs that empower communities to break the cycle. Paving the Way has educated over 21,000 youth and adults the past 5 years around the nation; from Florida to Washington DC, Texas to South Dakota. Ms. Edwards has been featured on national television, podcasts and
radio shows as an influencer on prevention education. Jan has been awarded Woman on the Rise Community Impact Leader for her
organizations work and the United Abolitionists Polaris Star Award for NGO Leader of the Year. She is a member of the Cherokee Tribe. Jan is the writer, co-director and producer of the award-winning film,
Trapped in the Trade, which won Best Script in the London Short Film Festival and featured on CNN.
Presenting December 15th in the Needles room at 2:30 PM. Presenting December 16th in the Needles room at 2:30 PM.
President Paving the Way Foundation
Jan Edwards is the founder and President of Paving the Way Foundation, an organization that empowers communities to be a fierce disruption in the cycle of child trafficking around the globe. This is accomplished through educational and training programs that empower communities to break the cycle. Paving the Way has educated over 21,000 youth and adults the past 5 years around the nation; from Florida to Washington DC, Texas to South Dakota. Ms. Edwards has been featured on national television, podcasts and
radio shows as an influencer on prevention education. Jan has been awarded Woman on the Rise Community Impact Leader for her
organizations work and the United Abolitionists Polaris Star Award for NGO Leader of the Year. She is a member of the Cherokee Tribe. Jan is the writer, co-director and producer of the award-winning film,
Trapped in the Trade, which won Best Script in the London Short Film Festival and featured on CNN.
Presenting December 15th in the Needles room at 2:30 PM. Presenting December 16th in the Needles room at 2:30 PM.