Pawācekawak

People Dreaming Together
Porccupine quill pattern
A Larger System of Relationships
We recognize that leadership and accountability flow through strong relationships, they are cyclical, interconnected, and guided by our Omāēqnomenewak values and the Seven Grandfather Teachings. Rather than a top-down structure, we uphold a circle of care, where each person has a vital role, and no one stands above the whole. This circle is held together by our teachings, our youth, our land, and our collective commitment to be good relatives.
Medicine Fish Circle of Responsibility and Care

Circle of Responsibility & Care

Sturgeon spine

The circle of the Medicine Wheel symbolizes the dimensions of health that our Native people need in order to fulfill our role in the cycle of life. We use this circle concept to incorporate approaches to develop empowerment, autonomy, purpose, and resilience, all while ensuring safety of our youth above all.

Medicine Fish Staff

Bryant Waupoose, Jr.
Bryant Waupoose Jr.
Executive Director
Bryant leads stakeholder engagement and relationship building for Medicine Fish. Through what it means to be Okimaw, he lives our relational direction; bringing common people together toward common purpose, unifying our communities. He builds relationships that support capacity-building across conservation and philanthropy with Indigenous communities.

At the center of his vision is a living prayer for community wellness, reflected in his dedication to young people whose vulnerability, love, and compassion guide their path as future leaders and caretakers of their homelands.

Pilar Gauthier, PhD
Pilar Gauthier
Director of Strategic Operations

Pilar serves as the Director of Strategic Operations for Medicine Fish, coordinating programs and supporting its overall direction. She is a founding board member of Medicine Fish, serving as Vice-President from 2023 through 2024. She is a counseling psychologist and draws on her lived experience and academic training to weave Indigenous worldview with Western conservation. She ensures Medicine Fish’s voice in research and storytelling reflects relationality and aligns the community’s social context, strengthening relationships to land for future generations.

Donavan Waupoose Sr.
Donavan Waupoose Sr.
Director of Buffalo Restoration
Donavan leads Buffalo and land management for Medicine Fish, overseeing on-the-ground operations. His work draws on Kaehkēnawapahtāēq, what it means to learn by observing, our way of coming to know the health, behavior, and balance within the Natural World. This lens informs herd management decisions, planning for integrating traditional foods into school programs, and his mentorship of youth interns, where he builds practical skills and relational understanding of landscape balance, food, and wellbeing.
Maurice Waupoose. Photo by Ronan Donovan.
Maurice Waupoose
Lead Field Technician
Maurice supports daily land and Buffalo operations for Medicine Fish, ensuring the day-to-day work of stewardship is carried out effectively. He leads hands-on infrastructure projects, including fencing and equipment maintenance, and directs interns as they complete the technical and physical tasks required for land management. Maurice provides on-the-ground leadership that helps youth build practical skills while ensuring the essential work supporting the Buffalo and the land is completed.
Barron Waupoose
Barron Waupoose
Field Technician

Barron Waupoose works as a Field Technician for Medicine Fish, supporting land stewardship, Buffalo management, prairie restoration and mentorship. Alongside his engagement in research and restoration efforts at Medicine Fish, Barron is a full-time college student. He hopes to graduate in a conservation and natural resources field with a long-term goal dedicated to community-based land restoration and wellness.

Medicine Fish Board

Dominic J. Ledesma, Ph.D
Dominic J. Ledesma, Ph.D
Board President
Dominic supports Medicine Fish by helping organize clear priority areas that align with our mission. He brings leadership informed by both ceremonial connections and strategic thinking, recognizing that relationships within and around Medicine Fish are central to health and wellness. His care for the deeper purpose of our work helps translate vision into clear practices and supports thoughtful, forward-looking planning in service of community wellbeing.
Jennifer Gauthier
Jennifer K. Gauthier, MPA
Board Member

Jennifer brings an understanding of the Menominee language and how it shapes cultural values, relationships, and everyday practices. She helps Medicine Fish reflect on how our work with Buffalo and the natural world is guided by cultural teachings, and how those teachings are carried through language. Drawing from her systems-based work in sustainability and community wellbeing, Jennifer offers insight that helps guide Medicine Fish’s mission in ways that honor Menominee values and support healthy, relational ways of living.

Ron Waukau
Ron Waukau
Board Member

Ron brings expertise in forest management and timber systems from the Menominee forest, alongside experience in prairie restoration and prescribed fire. He supports Medicine Fish’s work across forest, prairie, and savanna ecotones by helping understand tree species within Buffalo habitat, guiding the restoration of culturally important plants and medicine relatives, and strengthening ecological connectivity across forest, water, and prairie landscapes.

Spencer Perron
Spencer Perron
Board Member

Spencer Perron brings a strategic and financial lens in his role as Board Member for Medicine Fish to ensure sustainable and lasting impact for the organization’s beneficiaries. Rooted in his Midwestern upbringing, Spencer is guided by a deep commitment to the intersections of food systems, public land stewardship, and community resilience. He brings an interpersonal approach to advancing equity in conservation and access to the outdoors.

We are strengthened by the collaboration and shared commitment of our staff, board, interns, and partners.
Our Partners