Our Team
Who We Are
Shawn Stevens
Board Chairperson
Shawn Stevens (Standing Eagle) An enrolled tribal member of the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohicans and a licensed Tribal Elder and Youth Volunteer, Shawn has dedicated his life to the study and preservation of his heritage and peacemaking. He pursued education in Anthropology, Philosophy, Creative Writing, Oral Communications, Native History, Native American Literature, and Sustainable Development at the College of Menominee Nation. With over 20 years of experience as the Chairperson of his Tribe's Language and Culture Board and as the former Vice Chair of the Tribe's Repatriation Committee, he has played an active, vital role in his people’s tribal historic preservation and language research.
Wanonah Kosbab
Board Member
Wanonah Kosbab (Spencer) is an enrolled member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans and a direct descendant of the Oneida Nation. She is a mother, grandmother, teacher, and peacemaker who is dedicated to cultural reclamation and guiding others, particularly children and youth, to walk the Red Road. She has a passion for reconnecting the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican people with their ancestral homelands and connecting all people to indigenous practices and traditions.
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Wanonah is a cultural revitalization advocate focused on environmental stewardship and mental health. As Co-Director of Nova Nations, Wanonah fights for ways to keep children and youth busy and off the street with a healthy place to hang out and get what they need. As co-leader of the Mohican Children’s Homeland Trips, she makes it possible for children and youth to connect with their ancestral homelands and indigenous teachings.
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Wanonah has served on the Tribal Language and Culture Committee and currently sits on several nonprofit boards. She engages in organizing Indigenous Peoples Day events and empowerment retreats to uplift Mohican heritage and community wellness. For over many years, she has engaged as a peacemaker, helping to resolve conflicts and promoting harmony within families and communities using indigenous traditional approaches. Additionally, she is a craftswoman, traditional dancer, and certified White Bison Mending Broken Hearts Circle Facilitator.
Shannon Chada
Board Treasurer
Shannon L. Chada (Good Singing Woman) is a holistic minister, educator, and community steward with over 27 years of experience in spiritual, cultural, and healing arts. A Non‑Denominational Holistic Minister Practitioner through LightWing Center, she is also a Reiki Master Teacher, herbalist, yoga instructor, aromatherapist, and singer‑songwriter. She is Co‑Director of Red Road Reclamation and serves on the Board of the Mohican Traditional Homelands PowWow.
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Her work centers on spiritual mentoring, self‑care education, and Reiki and Aromatherapy training, and she is a certified White Bison Mending Broken Hearts Circle Facilitator. Shannon’s ancestral roots span many lands and rivers of Turtle Island. Raised within the Stockbridge‑Munsee Mohican community and descended from the Shawnee people of the Pekowi Division – Turtle Clan, with Scottish/French McKee Clan and Eastern Acadian lineage, she bridges relationships between Indigenous and non‑Indigenous communities through peacemaking, cultural reclamation, and creative expression. Her presence inspires unity, connection, and a shared commitment to harmony for future generations.
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Lisa Lynn Brooks
Board Secretary
Lisa Lynn Brooks, Ph.D. (Citizen of the Choctaw Nation) is an oral historian and adjunct professor at Montclair State University. A former school administrator, she has over 20 years of experience in public education. Lisa’s research focuses on a range of topics from Indigenous education and pedagogy to generational impacts of Catholic and Federal Indian Boarding schools. Her public scholarship focuses on visibility by promoting Native American and Indigenous knowledge in K-12 education. Her recent curriculum can be found at the Montclair Art Museum’s Interwoven Power: Native Knowledge/Native Art exhibition.
Lisa’s past projects include writing curriculum for the grant-funded Chilocco Indian Agricultural School project and assisting with the graphic novel, Chilocco Indian School: A Generational Story. Currently, Lisa serves as PI on a 2024-2025 NJ Council for the Humanities Incubation grant, “The Lessons Are To Give Away: Exploring Indigenous Women’s Stories” which helps fund youth access to traditional knowledge. As a co-director of the Native American Studies program at Montclair State University, she was a Co-PI for a $1,000,000 Mellon Foundation grant.
Jasmyn Elise Story
Board Member
Jasmyn Elise Story, MA (they/them) is an international Restorative Justice Facilitator, Doula, and the founder of Honeycomb Justice and Freedom Farm Azul. They are the great-grandchild of an enrolled member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans and a descendant of a survivor of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, grounding their work in Indigenous resilience, healing, and intergenerational justice. Named one of Vice’s 31 People Making History by Creating a Better Future, Jasmyn is a dedicated human rights activist with over a decade of experience in the voluntary sector.
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They served as the first Deputy Director of Social Justice & Racial Equity for the Office of the Mayor of Birmingham and, most recently, as Director of the Restorative Justice Project at Equal Justice USA, now housed at the Center for Justice Innovation. After completing their M.A. in Human Rights at University College London, they are currently pursuing their Ph.D. as a third-generation student at Tuskegee University.