Our Team
Meet our majority-Shawnee board of directors and some of our most involved folks
Chief of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe, Board Member
Chief Glenna Wallace
Chief Glenna’s bio coming soon!
Chief Benjamin Barnes of the Shawnee Tribe was elected to his position in 2019. Prior to that he served the Shawnee Tribe as Second Chief for seven years and was a leader in the tribal gaming industry for 20 years. The roots of Chief Barnes’ service go back to his volunteer efforts to revive the Shawnee language. Upon taking office with only a few fluent Shawnee speakers remaining, Barnes declared 2021-2030 the Decade of the Shawnee Language.
Chief Barnes passionately advocates for truth, accountability, reconciliation, justice, education, and human rights. His work, however, extends beyond service to his nation, bringing together truths and traditions in framing and crafting tribal policy and law. Most recently, Barnes co-edited the book Replanting Cultures: Community-Engaged Scholarship in Indian Country.
In addition to his official duties with the Shawnee Tribe, Chief Barnes serves on the board of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, a.k.a. “NABS.” He is also a member of his people’s traditional religious community at White Oak, OK.
Chief of the Shawnee Tribe,Board Member
Chief Ben Barnes
Talon is a citizen of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma who has built his career around preserving, interpreting, and sharing Shawnee history and culture. He currently serves as a Cultural Educator for the Eastern Shawnee Tribe, developing educational programming, leading cultural workshops, conducting historical and material culture research, and creating opportunities for both Tribal citizens and the public to engage with living Shawnee culture. His experience spans museum interpretation, traditional technologies, digital education, language support, exhibit development, and community programming. Before returning to serve his Tribe, he worked as a historian and interpreter for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and as Supervisor of Interpretation at Great Council State Park in Ohio, where he led the team presenting the history of Old Chillicothe and the Shawnee people to tens of thousands of visitors annually.
Beyond his Tribal work, Silverhorn has been long involved with the National Association for Interpretation (NAI), holding leadership roles on regional and national committees and boards, and he served as keynote speaker at NAI's 2022 national conference on Indigenous interpretation and collaborative planning. Today, his work centers on building lasting cultural resources — including educational curricula, museum exhibits, cultural naturalist programs, and digital tools — that connect people with Shawnee history, culture, language, and the natural world, all in support of the mission of the Shawnee Honor Fund.
Eastern Shawnee Tribe
Board Member, Secretary
Talon Silverhorn
Alex is a parent of two perfect children and long time non-profit and political worker. Their non-profit work includes directing a retreat center based in catholic social teaching and as a political organizer. In the political realm they’ve worked for folks running for city council to US president and most positions in between. They have also organized in the realms of decarceration, abolition, and racial justice. Alex is a native plant gardener, sci-fi lit enthusiast, runner, and mediocre but committed player of soccer and chess.
“I’m fully committed to the Shawnee Honor Fund because I grew up on Shawnee land and was educated here from daycare through college without once learning the true history of this land and it’s people. Having learned the hard truths in my 30’s, I am ready to move beyond acknowledgement and into action for healing and I believe this city is too. “
DirectorAlex Flood
Noelle Tennis Gulden (she/her) is a white settler colonialist whose ancestors came from present-day Germany, Norway, and Ukraine. Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Noelle lives with her husband and their two children on Native land in what’s now Louisville, KY. She has been active in peace and justice movements for the past 25 years and has worked for several nonprofit organizations over the span of her career. Noelle currently serves as fiscal coordinator at the National Center for Families Learning.
“Over the past several years, I have been reckoning with my role as a white settler colonialist and finding ways to practice decolonization and restorative solidarity with Indigenous peoples. Serving on the board of the Shawnee Honor Fund is an important step in that lifelong journey. “
Board of Directors, TreasurerNoelle Tennis Gulden
Our local volunteer team!
While our Board governs the work, the Shawnee Honor Fund is operated on the ground by a team of 20+ individual volunteers. No expertise, prior experience, or skillset is required to join us. We only ask you help out when and where you can! The work is very much community held where everyone does some so that no one has to do too much. We meet monthly where we communicate, discern, update, dream, schedule, ponder, research, bicker, eat, drink and occasionally put our nose down for some hard work!
Our shared spaces will always provide you with food. Our shared spaces will always be kid and family friendly. Our shared spaces will always be safe for LGBTQIA folks. The work of healing and repair belongs to all of us who live, work, play, and pray on Shawnee homelands so we welcome all to the work.
If you want to join the team all you have to do is say so. Reach out to alex@shawneehonorfund.org and express your interest.
Elizabeth is the daughter of Carmen Gloria Colón, the granddaughter of Ana Rosa Gonzales Martinez Colón and Margret Malloy. She is the mother of Silas Raphael and Ama Quinn. She was raised in Atlanta, Georgia by her mother who’s family moved to South Carolina from Puerto Rico in 1955 and experienced the horrors of the Jim Crow South. Rising out of that tyranny, her mother instilled in her that art and connection can be infused in every aspect of my life. Valuing her lived experience as an artistic expression has led her to receive an MFA from Dell’Arte International, perform as a lead clown in Spiegelworld shows including ABSINTHE at Ceasar’s Palace, to co-found the Womxn of Color Arts Festival in Las Vegas, to being the Associate Director of Community Belonging at the Speed Art Museum, and most recently to join Historic Locust Grove as their Director of Engagement. She envisions a world that weaves art into the fabric of communities in order to share stories that acknowledge the past, take responsibility for the present, and connect to a sustainable future.
Board Member, PresidentElizabeth Colón Nelson
Ryan Conway, Shawnee Tribe