Press Release | October 13, 2026
Northland Foundation welcomes four new members to Maadaa’ookiing Advisory Board
The Northland Foundation is pleased to welcome four new Maada’ookiing Advisory Board members. They join existing members Shane Drift, Mary Harrelson, April McCormick, and Jaylen Strong. The advisory board decides on Maada’ookiing grant funding for Native American-led projects across the region and helps shape the direction of the five-year-old program. The new members are:
Brooklynn Barney is the Associate Director of Operations for the John Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health and is a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
Chanda Blesi-Geyshick works for the Voyageurs Conservancy as Tribal Program Assistant. She is Gakijiwanong Anishinaabe First Nation.
Jasmin Budreau is a Grant Writer and member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
Elizabeth Drost is the Outreach Coordinator for the Mississippi Headwaters Audubon Society. She belongs to the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. (photo unavailable)
“Advisory board members volunteer their time to support this important program, which has grown significantly over the past five years,” stated Michelle Ufford, Northland Foundation’s Vice President of Grantmaking. “We are grateful for their expertise and look forward to the future of Maada’ookiing under the wise guidance of this dynamic group of leaders.”
Maada’ookiing (“the distribution” in Ojibwe), a Native American-led program of the Northland Foundation, was established in 2021 to increase philanthropic support for grassroots projects that build Indigenous culture, community, and sovereignty. To date, 144 grants totaling over $490,000 have supported language revitalization, traditional craftwork, cultural practices, food sovereignty, and more.
The funding is available to eligible individuals or groups rather than nonprofit organizations or Tribal governments. Grants of up to $5,000 are awarded three times per year to Tribal citizens, descendants, or those with kinship ties or affiliation to Native American communities within the foundation’s geographic region.