Member Webinar: Native American Heritage Month 2024

Dr. Cori Bazemore-James, Seneca Nation, serves as Assistant Vice Provost of the Graduate School Diversity Office and Affiliate Faculty in the Higher Education program at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She is also a Consultant/Trainer for Strategic Diversity Initiatives. Cori received both her Ph.D. in Higher Education and M.S. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of Georgia, and her B.A. in Psychology from the University of South Dakota. She has worked in many functional areas in higher education and has served on several local and national boards and leadership roles. Cori’s research centers Indigenous Knowledge to support and magnify the work of Indigenous students and staff in historically white institutions. Her proudest professional accomplishments include publications from her award-winning research, founding the ACPA Indigenous Student Affairs Network, and leading the development of the first Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) standards for Indigenous Student Affairs.

Michael Liersch is head of Advice and Planning for Wells Fargo & Company, which is responsible for developing and propagating research-based methods to enable individuals, families and institutions across all Wells Fargo make more of their money with the help of financial professionals, products, tools and technology.

This is in support of Wells Fargo’s strategic objective and digital plans to serve all personal and business clients across the financial spectrum, as well as employee and community‑based efforts related to advice and planning.

Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Michael worked at J.P. Morgan Chase where he served as managing director and global head of Wealth Planning and Advice. Prior to his role at J.P. Morgan Chase, he served as head of Behavioral Finance and Goals-based Consulting at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and as head of Behavioral Finance at Barclays Wealth, Americas. He was also a faculty member at New York University, where he taught management and organizational analysis.

Michael earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with honors from Harvard University and earned his doctorate in Cognitive Psychology from University of California, San Diego. His perspectives have been featured in media outlets, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg and USA Today. Michael is also published in academic and industry journals for his research on human behavior.

Michael resides in Connecticut with his wife and daughter where they enjoy time with family and friends.

Laura is the founder of UNITY, McKesson’s ERG supporting the Native and Indigenous community that launched in August of 2021. They currently reside as UNITY’s National Chair. In this role, they manage membership activities that promote the education of Native and Indigenous issues and overall, help build better community awareness within the workplace. 

 In their day job, they work as a Sr. Instructional/Graphic Designer. In this position, they review and create e-learning curriculum and materials that serve the entire national field sales team. While at McKesson, they’ve also spent time in the data analytic, digital and event marketing worlds; all of which, play a part in helping them excel in their current role. 

They also identify as Two Spirit and are an active member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, where they enjoy engaging in their tribal culture and learning about their heritage. 

Billy Mills (born June 30, 1938) also known as Tamakoce Te-hila, (Oglala Lakota) is Gold Medalist in the 10,000-meter run at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. A United States Marine at the Olympics, Billy is now a businessman, accomplished author, and co-founder of Running Strong for American Indian Youth since 1986.

Recently, Billy has co-authored a children’s picture book with Donna Janell Bowman, a biographical tale of his awe-inspiring flight to a record-breaking gold medal. The book is entitled Wings of an Eagle. This treasure, breathtakingly illustrated by award winning Lakota artist, SD Nelson, is a soaring testament to the power of dreams, determination, and the Lakota prayer… We are all related.

Niki currently serves at the Vice President of Impact Innovation & Activation for McKesson. A newly formed team, part of the Global Impact Organization, Niki leads the design and execution of strategies that deliver on McKesson’s commitment advancing health outcomes for all through developing innovative solutions which address health equity & community impact through data driven insights and rigorous academic outcomes. She works collaboratively with leaders inside and outside of McKesson create impact driven initiatives that create shared value for the company and the community. Key initiative areas include SDOH solutions & programs, access to care initiatives, community-based workforce development, disparity reduction through screenings & education in the community and more… 

Niki has spent the last 15 years in healthcare. Prior to McKesson, she served as the Vice President of Community Health for Baylor Scott & White. While in this role, she also simultaneously led initiatives for the organization in Behavioral Health, Digital Health, and Primary Care Transformation. Key focus areas included the development and operationalization of the Texas Medicaid 1115 Waiver- DSRIP programs, establishing the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and creating care innovations for the Scott & White Health plan in the Medicaid and Medicare areas. Prior to transitioning her career to healthcare, Niki was in corporate finance at General Mills and Target Corporation. 

 She completed her undergraduate degrees in economics and political science and dual MBA and MHSA graduate degrees at the University of Michigan as well as an administrative internship at Yale New Haven. Niki also completed her certification as a Certified Community Health Worker at Texas A&M University and most recently earned certifications from Harvard and Yale Universities around ESG. She has received numerous accolades including Becker’s Hospital Review’s 66 Rising Stars Under 40, Dallas Business Journal’s Minority Business Leader Award, Modern Health Care’s Top 25 Emerging Leaders and she was also selected into Leadership Dallas. 

Niki is passionate about building impactful and innovative programs to serve the most vulnerable patients and communities. She loves partnering in the development of catalysts that improve the quality of human life, health equity, and produce better outcomes for more people. 

Niki resides in the DFW area with her husband and two children. She enjoys volunteering, cooking, Michigan football and serial ideating.