LEAF is guided by a dedicated board of directors who bring deep roots in Indigenous arts, culture, community building, and organizational leadership.
Karen Ann Hoffman
Shekú. Karen Ann Hoffman is a Haudenosaunee Raised Beadwork artist and an enrolled citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. She makes her home outside Stevens Point, Wisconsin, on a 40-acre homestead where she lives, hunts, forages, and beads. She strongly believes in the power and importance of Native art and in the necessity of centering authentic, in-community voices in conversations, installations, and the curation of that art. Hoffman uses her beadwork as a written language to hold and share the traditions, stories, and worldview of generations of her ancestors, to represent the incredible Haudenosaunee artists of today, and to lay a table for those whose faces are yet to be seen. Because of her devotion to safeguarding Oneida culture, she has been honored by her tribe with the designation as an Oneida National Treasure and by the National Endowment for the Arts with recognition as a National Heritage Fellow.
Angie Lowe
Angie Lowe is an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation. Though an accountant by trade, Angie found her true calling in hospitality. In 2019, she purchased and began operating the Willowood Inn, a locally cherished mom-and-pop motel in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Angie is deeply involved in her community, serving as President of the Baraboo Public Art Association, Treasurer of the Little Eagle Arts Foundation, and a former board member of the Sauk County Historical Society. Her involvement in these organizations reflects her passion for the arts and regional history.
Chrissy Shegonee
Chrissy Shegonee is an enrolled member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. She is an art enthusiast and arts administrator who works alongside her partner, Christopher Sweet, a Ho-Chunk/White Earth Ojibwe artist and owner of Blue Bear Studio in Baraboo, WI. Prior to becoming an arts administrator, Chrissy’s nearly 30-year career was in tribal gaming, hospitality, and human resources, holding multiple leadership roles during that time. As a supporter of Little Eagle Arts Foundation, Chrissy served as the Native Art Marketplace coordinator and as a graphic designer, creating marketing collateral for LEAF events. She was also an inaugural cohort member of the Artspace Pathways program in 2023–2024 and joined LEAF as a board member in 2025.
Dr. Lechusza Aquallo
Dr. Lechusza Aquallo draws on his deep, resource-rich understanding to question and redefine how we perceive Native/Indigenous culture, customs, artistic expressions, and knowledge. His work centers on the necessity of disrupting assumptions of power to resist and challenge colonial/settler ideologies and realign the importance of tribal sovereignty, self-determination, equity, and socio-political justice.
Janice Rice
Janice Rice, Hinukhijawi, a Bear Clan member, has been a lifelong supporter of native arts. She is best known for Hoocąk appliqué-style dancing, language preservation, and revitalization. Through teachings of our elders, traditions, and life ways, she perpetuates Hoocąk heritage while embracing the world of contemporary artistic expressions. Visual recollections of her mother and grandmother as skilled basket weavers and bead workers have inspired her deep appreciation for the talent, love, and respect that is woven into each piece. She keeps her eyes on the arts, listens to words and music, and dances when the drum calls to her.
Elena Terry
Elena Terry is the Executive Chef and Founder of Wild Bearies. After working as a traditional foods cook and in the restaurant industry for over a decade, Elena shifted her focus to community building, merging her passions and educating through indigenous foods. She has developed partnerships with the James Beard Foundation, the Smithsonian, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the US State Department, the Intertribal Agriculture Council, the American Indian Foods Program, Advocates for Urban Agriculture, UW Systems, and Rural Urban Flow, among others. Chef Elena is also a butcher and wild game specialist and prefers open fire and outdoor cooking.