Staff: Aimee Pond

Aimee is an enrolled Oglala Lakota tribal member and was born and raised in Pine Ridge, SD, where she currently resides. She graduated from Pine Ridge High School and continued her education at the University of Wyoming where she studied Social Work. After receiving her undergraduate degree, Aimee worked for Laramie Head Start as a Family Advocate until she applied for graduate school. She assisted low-income families with financial, educational, and personal goals while their children received free early childhood education. With a strong passion for wanting to work with youth and families she completed a Graduate program for Social Work. Aimee returned home to Pine Ridge School where she worked as a K-12 School Social Worker for three years.

After that experience, she had the opportunity to join the team at Thunder Valley CDC, a native led non-profit grassroots organization, where she developed and managed various youth programs as the Youth Leadership Development Initiative Director for almost 5 years. She is committed to building partnerships, fostering relationships, and serving her community through various roles with the goal to improve the health and wellbeing for youth and families on the Reservation. She enjoys other activities such as adjunct teaching with Oglala Lakota College, coaching youth softball, baseball, and basketball because she gets to enjoy those activities with the youth she is passionate about and engage with them as mentor, teacher or coach. Aimee is dedicated to education and is the Treasurer for the Pine Ridge High School Alumni Association. She is passionate about counseling, mental health, and wellbeing and is currently working to become a licensed CSW-PIP. She is trained in several programs such as the NAFFA Motherhood/Fatherhood is Sacred Program, SD Interface ACE’s presenter, and Reconnecting Youth program.