Staff

Penny Spencer is a Spokane Tribal descendent and began her journey with STN as an executive board member as the treasurer. She opted to fill the Network Director position and give up her board seat. Since then, Penny has grown STN by adding two initiatives, hiring seven people, and increasing our volunteers by 100%. Penny is a dedicated community educator, and plant teacher. She enjoys going out and gathering plants with her granddaughters. Gathering the plants and getting into the classroom to teach how to prepare the plants into teas and salves is something that Penny truly takes pleasure in doing. She recently completed the Indigenous-led “Tend, Gather, & Grow” plateau cohort training and she now has a group of people to help with the work. Penny also helped to engage and grow the STN partner network to include Spokane Tribe of Indian departments, regional universities, foundations, and small businesses.

Melodi Wynne is a citizen of the Spokane Tribe, and initially she took on STN projects in 2021 because they existed, and used her learning, experience, and degree to align the methods and results with the Spokane people’s worldview. Melodi brings a grounded, community-centered approach to all her work. Her professional journey has been shaped by her deep connection to community, lived experience as a first-generation college student, and a commitment to building on strength, healing, and perseverance in Indigenous communities.

Melodi is a passionate advocate for Tribal food sovereignty, community health, cultural perpetuation, and Indigenous Birth Justice. Her doctorate in Community and Cultural Psychology and a graduate certificate in Conflict Resolution, earned from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, has provided STN with the capacity to expand their programming to include training youth to be mediators in the Wellpinit schools. Through her work with STN and beyond, she demonstrates the power of community-driven change rooted in culture, relationships, and a vision for collective wellness.

Lynette Pflueger is a descendant of the Spokane Tribe of Indians and resides in Spokane with her partner and son. Lynette graduated from the Art Institute of California in Los Angeles with a degree in Culinary Arts in 2006. Since then, she has built a career in baking and pastry in various establishments around the country earning recognition from Food & Wine Magazine (nominated for The People’s Best New Pastry Chef, 2013), Starchefs online magazine (featured 2013), and the prestigious James Beard House (Featured Chef, 2016).

Lynette is eager to combine her culinary knowledge and her passion for traditional foods, plants, medicine, and sustainability to support STN and its Tribal Food Sovereignty and Indigenous Birth Justice programs.

Kimberly Norman is a citizen of the Spokane Tribe of Indians and is the Coalition Coordinator for the Children of the Sun Community Coalition program. She is committed to empowering the Spokane people and building upon the community’s strengths. Kim enjoys the opportunity to provide different resources to the Spokane Tribe’s reservation community that includes Strengthening Families project, Mentorship program, Gathering of Native Americans (GONA) activities, Substance Prevention Optimizing Resiliency Training (SPORT) Prevention Plus Wellness program, and direct services to the community such as providing medication lock boxes, and Prescription Take Back days. Kim is also an advisor to the Spokane Tribal Youth Council.

Jamie Lovato is a citizen of the Spokane Tribe of Indians, and she is the project coordinator for the tribal Food Sovereignty and the Indigenous Birth Justice programs. Jamie is passionate about helping Native families through her work in food sovereignty with Native plants from gathering and sharing her knowledge with others. She is also passionate about Indigenous Birth Justice that she became a certified doula so she could advocate for Native families. Prior to joining STN, Jamie worked in the Wellpinit School district for many years.

William Dennison is an enrolled citizen of the Spokane Tribe of Indians and serves a few roles at STN. William holds a background in Business Management and Hospitality. Before his current role as Administrative Assistant for STN, he successfully managed four Best Western Hotels in three states: Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. William is certified in Peer Mediation and Youth Mental Health First Aid. In addition, to his role as administrative assistant, he is the facilities manager for the food sovereignty program, ensuring that the staff, volunteers, and the community participants have everything they need to gather, prepare, and store native food and medicines.