Four New Staff Join NIWRC
Introducing Denise Neal, Kim Zahne, Liane Pippin, and Caroline LaPorte to the NIWRC Team
After beginning in 2010 with five staff members, the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) expands its team by welcoming four new staff members. Joining NIWRC is Denise Neal (Suquamish) as the Program Assistant, Kim Zahne (Tewa-Hopi) as the Technical Assistance and Training Specialist, Liane Pippin (Cherokee) as the Communications Specialist, and Caroline LaPorte (immediate descendant of the Little River Band Of Ottawa Indians) as the Director of the Tribal Safe Housing Center.
As the Program Assistant, Denise Neal provides administrative support to the Policy and Research Team and the Technical Assistance and Training team. She is a member of the Suquamish Tribe on the Port Madison Indian reservation and brings years of experience working with Tribal communities. Denise graduated with an Indigenous Education Master’s Degree from Arizona State University and previously attended Northwest Indian College, graduating with a Tribal Governance and Business Management Bachelor’s Degree in 2019.
“As I deepen my understanding of the historic and contemporary perspectives on the social, political and cultural issues in Tribal communities from all directions, and the more I understand about the impacts and challenges of colonization, impostor syndrome, injustice, abuse of human rights, and generational psychological trauma, the more I am committed to the need for change,” Neal said. “In my work, I hope to contribute to the preservation of the sacred values and traditions of Indigenous women for generations to come.”
Kim Zahne is Tewa-Hopi and our new Technical Assistance and Training Specialist. Prior to joining NIWRC, Zahne was the Director of Technical Assistance and Training for the Hopi Tewa Women’s Coalition to End Abuse (HTWCEA). She has nearly five years of experience in the development and management of training and technical assistance initiatives with the coalition and over a decade working with and in Indigenous communities. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University in American Indian Studies with an emphasis in Federal Indian Law and Policy and American Indian History.
Liane Pippin joins NIWRC as the Communications Specialist to support the growth of NIWRC’s outreach, awareness campaigns, and visibility. Liane grew up in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and is a member of the Cherokee Nation. Before earning her degree in Communications and Media from CUNY School of Professional Studies, Liane studied Theater Performance at Santa Fe University of Art and Design, and worked for Ignited Minds, a nonprofit based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Liane hopes to use her voice to lift others and bring strength to fellow Indigenous peoples.
“The past work of NIWRC inspires and humbles me, as does the incredible staff,” Pippin said. “Thank you all for making my time here immensely rich and rewarding.”
Caroline LaPorte (immediate descendant of the Little River Band Of Ottawa Indians) returns to NIWRC as the Director of the Tribal Safe Housing Center after previously serving as NIWRC’s Senior Native Affairs Policy Advisor. Caroline graduated from the University of Miami School of Law and is an Attorney and Judicial Advisor to the Tribal Court of the Seminole Tribe of Florida and is an Associate Judge for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. Caroline’s work focuses primarily on housing, human rights, children, firearms, and criminal justice focused within the gender-based violence framework. In her new role, Caroline is responsible for developing and managing NIWRC’s Indigenous safe housing initiatives in close coordination with Executive Director Lucy Simpson and other NIWRC divisions.
