Hope Flanagan (Seneca) is Noodinesiikwe (Little Wind Woman) from the turtle clan. She comes from the people of Tonawanda, Seneca Reservation. She began learning from Majiikikwewis-iban when she was a young woman and attended the University of Minnesota. She worked for different Native agencies including the Division of Indian Work Youth Leadership Development Program, the Minneapolis American Indian Center; Anishinabe Academy and Wicoie Nandagikendan. She began learning from Ogimaakwe-iban about plants and plant teachings when she taught in an Ojibwe immersion classroom. She continues to learn from Ogimaagwanebiik and others who pass on these teachings. Hope currently works at Dream of Wild Health where she teaches Native young people about plants and their gifts. She has a teacher certification from the University of Minnesota in social studies and American Indian eminence credentials.  She also has teacher certification in English as a Second Language, Early Childhood Education and in Elementary Education.  She has always heard that each plant has its own gift to the people food, medicine or utility. They know their purpose; people have to learn and listen.

Carmen Larson is a school counselor at Sarasota Middle School, Sarasota, Fla.; the school serves 1,298 students, grades 6–8. Larson, who has been a school counselor since 2002, earned her bachelor’s degree from St. Leo University and her master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Florida.

Beginning in the 2021–2022 school year, Larson collaborated with district leaders to lead a two-year action research project resulting in the school board’s approval to reduce student-to-school-counselor ratios and remove non-school-counseling duties from the school counselor’s role. Larson then led the school counselors in Sarasota County in implementing comprehensive, data-informed school counseling programs at all schools. Notably, the same year, Sarasota County Schools improved an impressive 49 points on the Florida Department of Education’s overall district accountability metric for learning gains. In 2022, Larson was recognized for the impact she made in her school community and was honored with a Ripple Effect Award by the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation. She was awarded $5,000 to spend on professional development experiences that would help her continue innovative school counseling practices. She used the money to purchase and train a goldendoodle named Winston to become a school therapy dog and earned the Certified Animal-Assisted Intervention Specialist credential. The therapy dog program Larson created has made a tremendous impact on her school environment, as she provides canine-assisted interventions with students to decrease symptoms of anxiety, alleviate crisis situations and promote a positive school culture.