SACRED SISTERS
Gathering of Tribes presents a broadcast, especially for Indigenous Latter-day Saint Women. Join us as we unite in true sisterhood to worship, share inspiring messages of hope, and embrace healing. Download your free smartphone wallpaper
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Mitzi Semo
GENERAL RELIEF SOCIETY COUNCIL
Samoan
Mitzi Semo is a member of the Relief Society General Advisory Council (2022-present) and grew up in American Samoa. She has held various stake and ward callings in Young Women and Primary, but this is her first Relief Society calling. She served a mission in the Paraguay Asuncion mission.
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Her current occupation is service manager of software systems at BYU. She has previously worked in the airline and education industries, owned a technology business, and co-founded a private elementary school in American Samoa, where her most fulfilling role was teaching 3rd and 4th grades.
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As part of her calling, she supports the Area Organization Advisors in the Pacific and South America South Areas and conducts training for Stake Relief Society Presidencies.
Cindy Quinney
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Onion Lake Cree
Cindy Quinney is also known as Redstone Woman, a name and blessing bestowed upon her by her grandmother as a child. She is considered the heart of Gathering of Tribes. Her humility, passion, and grassroots efforts have brought this organization to life. She is an inspiring lifelong learner and dynamic leader devoted to serving people. ​​
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Before dedicating all of her time to Gathering of Tribes, Cindy enjoyed a career working on diverse projects ranging from interior decorating to facilities management. With years of experience in leadership, she has successfully leveraged her eclectic skillset to establish promising partnerships and build a network of passionate volunteers to support Indigenous Latter-day Saints and their communities.
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Cindy is an enrolled member of the Onion Lake Cree Nation and mother to a remarkable daughter.
Shane Manning
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Mvskoke Creek
Shane is a passionate advocate for cross-cultural education and communication. Her experience as a mom of a multi-racial family—created through adoption and foster care—led her to work in multicultural education, as she seeks to help others navigate the world through different cultural perspectives.
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Shane holds a bachelor's degree in English & Linguistics from Arizona State University and recently completed a master’s degree in American Studies, focusing on Indigenous cultures and contemporary issues.
Shane is an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She is the wife of one, mother of many, and soon-to-be grandmother.
Amber Irwin
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Amber is a versatile Creative with over 20 years of experience. Her professional roots are in the video game industry, where she worked as a digital artist for nearly a decade before moving on to brand-building and marketing strategy to help small businesses and non-profits grow.
In 2020, she organized and managed a group of 2,000 volunteers to make fabric masks for Navajo Nation during the COVID-19 pandemic; donating over 100,000 masks in 90 days.
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She is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Family and Human Services and aspires to become an attorney.​ She and her husband are raising five beautiful boys on the East Coast.
Rachel Crouse
GATHERING OF TRIBES PODCAST
Hopi
Rachel Crouse is a member of the Hopi Nation located in northern Arizona. She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and was raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She is a founding board member of Hopi Relief, a non-profit organization that serves the Hopi people. She also co-hosts the Gathering of Tribes: Come, Follow Me podcast with her father.
She loves working with the youth of the Church and currently serves as the Relief Society service coordinator in her ward. In her free time, she enjoys playing the piano, listening to audiobooks, and spending time with her family and friends. She has been married to her husband for 26 years and they have 3 wonderful daughters.
Andi Gooch
MENTOR FOR YOUNG WOMEN
Chehalis & Puyallup
Andi Gooch lives in Gilbert Arizona with her husband, where she works at a Foster Group Home for girls ages 12-18. Her passion is working with the youth and helping them know they are loved and worthy of love. She is also the mother of 5 children and 3 grandchildren.
Some of you may recognize her as a family history presenter at RootsTech or as a background actor in the "Book of Mormon" videos produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has also been featured on the Tribe of Testimonies podcast, where she shared her ongoing journey of discovering her birth identity and Indigenous roots.
Jalynne Geddes
DESERET BOOK COMPANY
Okemasis Cree
Jalynne Geddes is a Cree/Nehiyaw beadwork and mixed media artist from Beardy’s and Okemasis Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada. Her education and professional background were primarily focused on Indigenous non-profits; most recently for the National Indian Child Welfare Association.
Currently, she is the Multicultural Product and Experience Specialist at Deseret Book Company. Her career trajectory helped further nurture her desire to maintain a strong connection to her roots. She hopes her work is infused with her Nehiyaw sensibilities. She’s most recently been asked to contribute her beadwork to television shows (Rutherford Falls and Resident Alien) and was part of an art installation at the University of Oregon, highlighting Black and Indigenous artists.
Akasha Balkman
CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER
Yankton Sioux
Akasha Balkman lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband and children. She is proud of her Lakota and Yankton Sioux heritage. The Yanktons are known as the “Friendly People of the Seven Council Fires,” and she has tried to live up to that name by dedicating her career to serving others.
Akasha is a clinical social worker and bereavement therapist. She has a deep understanding of grief through both her professional work and personal experience as a bereaved mother. She feels it is an honor to support Indigenous families and walk with them through their journeys through loss. Akasha and her husband founded a nonprofit organization called Little Wise Bear Foundation, to honor their son’s memory. She enjoys connecting to her Native culture through beadwork and attending Native American ceremonies and events.
Ashli Carnicelli
AUTHOR
Mohawk
Ashli Carnicelli is an author, editor and classically trained singer. Ashli’s heartfelt narrative invites readers to embark on a soul-enriching experience through her works such as Cherish: The Joy of Our Mother in Heaven and her monthly newsletter The Pearls where she shares her testimony of Jesus Christ. The second volume of Cherish: The Love of Our Mother in Heaven was released this past spring.
She recently was featured in LDS Living Magazine for her personal life experiences and reflections on God’s love. Ashli holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory. She and her husband Tony have four wonderful daughters.
Elizabeth Tolliver
LEADER AND TEACHER
Dinè & Pueblo
Elizabeth Tolliver is from Arizona. She is kiya’aanii Dinè and Pueblo. She was a youth mentor for at risk Native youth for 5 years on the Salt River Pima maricopa Indian reservation. She was also an advertising advisor for the Tacoma art museum in Washington state where she started an annual Pacific Northwest Tribal gathering, now called “in the Spirit” that has become a popular event for Pacifc Northwest coastal tribes.
She attended Cosmetology school to become self-employed and is currently doing the best work she considers that she’ll ever do, which is, being a wife and full-time mommy.
Cherisse Fisher
REJOICE AND TESTIFY PODCAST
Dinè & Omaha
Cherisse grew up in Northern Utah. She spent her summers with family on the Navajo reservation throughout her youth. Cherisse and her husband met at BYU and have been married for 18 years. They have three adventurous and sweet teenage boys. She and her family have lived in China, Japan, Taiwan, Utah, Virginia, Idaho, and Arizona. She and her family currently reside in Hawaii.
While in Hawaii, she started a podcast called, "Rejoice & Testify of Jesus Christ & the Book of Mormon." Through this podcast she has met and interviewed many wonderful saints from all over the world.
Chelsea Bretzke
WRITER, TEACHER, AND FRIEND
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Chelsea Bowen Bretzke lives in Alberta, Canada and grew up just outside of the Blood Tribe Kainai Reserve. She has a degree in education and served as mission on Salt Lake City Temple Square. She has seven children. She loves hiking in the mountains, traveling with her husband, teaching yoga, and has a developing love for writing poetry.
Her favorite thing in the world is learning and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. She especially seeks opportunities to connect with and empower women. There is nothing that thrills her spirit more than feeling the powerful doctrines of Christ helping individual hearts take courage and know who they truly are.
Elina Kapeliela Holden
KAU'I ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY
Hawaiian & Tongan
Elina Katiola Kapeliela Holden was born in Kahuku, Oahu, Hawaii. She graduated with her associate degree from Mesa Community College and continued her education at Brigham Young University Hawaii. Elina was called to serve in the Philippines Manila Mission. Upon her return from her mission, she married Robert Holden in the Mesa, Arizona Temple. Elina went on to complete her master's degree and has 18 years of corporate experience.
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Elina’s love for sharing Polynesian dance and culture led her to found Kau’i Entertainment Company, which is named after her beloved father, and is a company committed to perpetuating the Polynesian culture and traditions within our communities by providing exceptional products and services that strengthen individuals and foster the Aloha Spirit. She is also embarking to launch a start up by the end of 2024 called Boomer Buddies, which specializes in providing limited healthcare services and home aid to individuals seeking to maintain their independence in their homes.
Linda Kinikini
SHE IS ROYAL POLYNESIA
Tongan
Linda Vea Kinikini was born in Hawaii and raised in Utah by parents who immigrated from their small Pacific Island nation of Tonga. As a first-generation Tongan, there was much to navigate, with parents encouraging her to assimilate and excel in the new country while keeping ties strong to the mother country.
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In 1990, Linda married her husband and eternal companion Lyle Kinikini, also of Tongan descent. Together, they worked in the social work arena before her husband returned to school to further his profession as a psychiatrist. Linda would work full-time to put her husband through medical school while raising their eight children and fulfilling her callings in church. Now, five of those children have married amazing spouses and made her a grandmother to 7 (almost 8) grandchildren. Currently residing in Utah, Linda heads a women-led organization that serves Pacific Island women named She Is Royal. She loves to read, write, think, spend time with family from both sides of the veil, and minister to others.
Janae Duffy
MATRIARCH
Ute
Janae Lyn Chapoose Pike Duffy is a member of the Ute Tribe, Uncompahgre Band. She cherishes her role within her family, finding joy as a mother, aunt, sister, daughter, and granddaughter.
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Janae pursued her love of art and the ocean while attending Brigham Young University Hawaii. Soon after, she served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the England London South Mission.
While raising her children, Janae worked for the U.S. Federal Government for 20 years. Today, she is living her dream as a reporter and photographer for the Ute Bulletin, the official newspaper of the Ute Tribe.
Janae has been instrumental in sharing her faith with her community. She played a role in establishing the Uintah Mountains Branch, which serves Indigenous members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the remote Uintah Basin of northeastern Utah.
Her service continues as a ministering sister, Relief Society President, and Communications Council member.
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Patricia Iron Cloud
MATRIARCH
Assiniboine & Sioux
Patricia Edith Iron Cloud has been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since she was 14 years old. She hails from the great state of Montana. She is an enrolled member of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. She is the Grandmother of fifty-one grandchildren and two great-grandsons.
She studied for nine years at Brigham Young University and majored in Law and Political Science. She has served her tribe for over 50 years.