AICH 2026 Board Elections
On this page you will find the downloadable Voting Instructions Letter/Proxy Letter, the list of Nominee Photos and Bios and a link to the Online Google Voting Form.
View or download the Voting Instructions Letter/Proxy Letter.
Jump to Online Google Voting Form at the bottom of this page.
AICH 2026 Board Nominees
YORK C. BATTEY, PH.D.
Eastern Pequot
I bring a distinctive blend of American Indian heritage and scientific expertise to AICH. As a member of the Eastern Pequot Nation, my identity has been profoundly shaped by a close relationship with my father and the many stories told me about my paternal grandfather, a renowned photographer and paternal grandmother, a suffragette. His guidance instilled in me a deep respect for cultural continuity, community responsibility and the land, itself.
Born in Queens, I attended all my schooling through undergraduate study in NYC, until I entered the Yale School of Forestry where I earned my Master of Philosophy and Ph.D in physiological ecology.
Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2003, I’ve been determined to live a full and meaningful life. I currently live in Manhattan with my wife of 32 years and my beloved cat Sugar, surrounded my collection of American Indian pottery, quilts and artifacts.
KANDIA CRAZY HORSE
Pamunkey
Kandia Crazy Horse is a Native Americana singer-songwriter of Cactus Rose NYC / activist / music journalist / model, hails from her homelands of Attan-Akamik (DC & Virginia); grew up off-and-on in Africa (Mali, Lesotho, Ghana); and now resides on Lenapehoking.
Kandia previously worked at several United Nations agencies – UNDP, UNCHS, UNICEF – before transitioning into award-winning rock criticism at The Village Voice and numerous other music publications.
In 2016, she founded her band Cactus Rose NYC which has performed from the Northeast US to Ohio & Texas, releasing an EP Live From Lenapehoking: Field Recordings in the process. Kandia serves on the Board of Directors of Indigenous In Music & Arts.
She is a voting member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And she is very active in the local indigenous community including AICH as well as dancing on the regional powwow circuit and modeling in Indigenous NY Fashion Week.
JOHNNY HENDRY
Muscogee and Choctaw
Hello my name is Johnny Hendry. I am Muscogee and Choctaw. I am an artist and have been making and selling art with my wife Tawnee for 28 years!! I love telling the history of my ancestors through my art. We have two beautiful daughters! We have lived in New York City for 5 years. We have done art shows/ PowWows across much of Turtle Island over the years and learned much from the beautiful Natives.
HALEY JOVAN HENSCHEID
Umoⁿhoⁿ & Chickahominy
Haley Jovan Henscheid is a member of the Umoⁿhoⁿ (Omaha) Tribe of Nebraska and a descendant of the Chickahominy Tribe of Virginia. She currently serves as the Administrative Coordinator at the Tribal Youth Justice Resource Center. Haley brings a holistic approach to her work with Tribes and Native-serving organizations, drawing on years of experience in youth leadership, economic development, and educational travel. A strong proponent of place-based education, Haley has organized and led travel programs around the world. She centers Indigenous knowledge, using story and laughter to connect people to land, history, and community.
At the heart of her work is the radical hope for a return to a world where everyone has access to housing, community, and quality food.
She holds an MA in Education and Social Policy from New York University and a BBA in Business Management and a BA in Spanish from the University of Iowa.
PRISCILLA BELL LAMBERTY
Borikua Taino
Priscilla Bell Lamberty (Borikua Taino) is a Lenapehoking-based artist, cultural producer, educator, and program manager with years of experience in community arts. She is the lead of Yucayeke Connect, an Indigenous-led digital platform focused on Borikua Taíno families, culture, history, and community resources. She was named a 2024 MIT Solve Indigenous Communities Fellow and a 2026 Indigenous Data Champion Fellow. Her work brings together art, culture, technology, and Indigenous data sovereignty.
TAWNEE McKINNEY
Choctaw & Absentee Shawnee
Halito! My name is Tawnee McKinney and I am proud to be a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and am also Absentee Shawnee. I am a working artist alongside my husband Johnny of 28 years. We met at Haskell Indian Nations and have been inseparable ever since and are proud parents to two daughters, Taw-Cre-Nee and Madrona. I was born and raised in Los Angeles but have lived in many different locations. It is my desire to grow my art in the use of leatherwork, beadwork and flowers. I was honored to be chosen as an Artist in Residency for September and October 2026 representing AICH to further grow and teach. I have a great interest in the Native Community both young and old and am excited about our future, excited to see what we can accomplish together.
MATTY MOTYLENSKI
Mohawk
Matty Motylenski (they/them) is Kanyen’kehá:ka, First Nations, and an enrolled member of the Bay of Quinte Band of Mohawks. They are an urban NDN, born and raised in New York City, with close ties to their community on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in Southern Ontario, Canada. Matty holds a bachelor’s degree in Ethnicity, Race, and Migration from Yale University. As the program manager at NYU’s Center for Collaborative Indigenous Research with Communities & Lands (Center CIRCL), Matty cultivates academic and cultural initiatives around Indigenous Studies and strives to create opportunities for Lenape citizens to spend time in their homelands. In their free time, Matty is a blue-ribbon baker and marathon runner, deepening their passions around food sovereignty and land-centered practices. They would be honored to use their skills to support AICH and the diverse Indigenous community here in the city.
MEGAN TOM
Diné
Megan Tom (She/Her/Asdzáán) is a Diné writer from Naʼníʼá Hasání (Cameron, AZ). She is Tsi’naajinii born for Naakai Diné, and her maternal clan is Tséńjíkiní. She has an extensive background in Indigenous higher education research, college planning programs, and nonprofit fundraising. Megan is a Higher Learning Program Assistant at the Mellon Foundation, where she supports the grantmaking process. Before joining Mellon, she managed the Salesforce system and data visualization tools at NDN Collective. At the College Board and the ASU Center for Indian Education, she supported Indigenous higher education research and programs focused on student leadership, college readiness, law school preparation, and campus belonging. Megan graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature. She is currently pursuing a low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She resides in Brooklyn, NY.
AMY WHITE EYES
Oglala Lakota, Northern Cheyenne & Xicana
Amy White Eyes (Oglala Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Xicana) lives in Beacon, NY, with relatives on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and in Monterrey, Mexico. She is a designer and strategist with fifteen years of experience in marketing and technology. Through her solo practice, Soft Skills Studio, she works with nonprofits and Indigenous-led organizations, including the Oglala Lakota Children’s Justice Center, Prados Beauty, and artist Raven Chacon. She also handles design strategy for a health equity initiative on opioids in cancer care at VCU Massey Cancer Center.
Amy is a clinical herbalist at Daydream Collaborative Clinic and a Vigil Fire Keeper at The Seventh Sense, a home for the dying. She has more than 1,400 hours of herbal training, holds a Mental Health First Aid certification, teaching and presenting at herbal conferences in the Northeast. She hopes to offer all of her skills to AICH and our growing Native community.
ONLINE GOOGLE VOTING FORM
Click on the link below to access the voting form.
