Helen Russette is a member to the Chippewa-Cree Tribe and was born and raised on Rocky Boy’s Reservation where most of her family still lives. She currently lives in Missoula, MT with her partner and daughter where they enjoy outdoor recreation, such as hiking and skiing, and hosting family gatherings. They make regular visits to her reservation and enjoy their annual powwow where her daughter, Cailena, fancy dances. Helen is grateful to serve Indian Country and she plans to continue to serve Indian Country for all of her academic and professional career.

Currently, Helen is a PhD student in Public Health at the University of Montana, a second-year fellow with the Utah Regional Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (URLEND) program, and a fellow for the Indigenous Substance Abuse, Medicines and Addictions Research Training (ISMART) program. Under these fellowships, she works with experts from diverse fields to learn more about outcomes and interventions for families with children prenatally exposed to opioids, methamphetamine and other drugs. Additionally, she is conducting a cultural engagement component for URLEND trainees, where they focus on community interventions for Native American women that have delivered a child that was prenatally exposed to opioids or other drugs on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. The goal is to better orient trainees to serving Native American families that have children with complex health and behavioral health needs.

Helen’s research interest centers on identifying resiliency factors among populations that have been historically absent in research studies with the goal of identifying tailored outcomes that directly benefit a community. For seven years, she has been involved in disability-related research and program development. The past two years, her projects have been specific to American Indian Communities.