Biography
Fiona joined the Center in August of 2020. She works with the Baltimore-based mental health team as a Research Project Coordinator and also serves as the Remote Director of Operations. She is a cisgender, white, queer woman of European descent, primarily Irish & Spanish. She coordinates a variety of different strengths-based mental health projects related to suicide and substance use prevention and intervention. Past and current projects including the Psychological First Aid for COVID-19 Frontline Workers in AI/AN Communities, the “Our Smallest Warriors, Our Strongest Medicine” storybooks, My Pathway to Healing, the Elders Resilience Curriculum: Toward Building Empirical Evidence Around a Culturally-Grounded, Strengths-Based Intervention, Indigenous Stories of Strength, and more. Throughout all of her work, Fiona strives to be a co-conspirator and to support the health equity and sovereignty of Tribal Nations.
Prior to joining the Center, Fiona worked in research and clinical settings in Montana. During this experience, she had the opportunity to build skills in mental health support and crisis stabilization, as well as conduct health psychology research in a university lab in collaboration with a variety of disciplines and with a Tribal Nation in Montana. It was this opportunity to explore both research and clinical paths that helped her realize she had a passion for improving health and well-being through research.
Fiona has a BS degree in Psychology from Montana State University and an MSPH degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in International Health, Social and Behavioral Interventions. She is currently pursuing a doctorate of Indigenous & Rural Health degree from Montana State University. Outside of work she enjoys spending time outside on the land, reading, and learning. Fiona is based in Bozeman, MT.