Dr. Usera serves as the Project Director for Strengthening Communities Fund. She has a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Kansas and is experienced in the areas of quality improvement, program evaluation, educational leadership, educational research and school and program improvement. She has worked in educational settings as an elementary and middle school teacher, elementary principal, and research assistant for the University of Kansas. Her position as a principal evaluator for the IELE has provided experience as a program evaluator for programs such as Girls Incorporated, Head Start, Early Head Start, and Boys Health Program. Dr. Usera has consulted and provided evaluation services for the Rapid City Area School District, Meade School District, Kids Voting South Dakota, Midwest Alliance for Professional Learning and Leadership (MAPLE), Rapid City Weed & Seed Program. and the American Center for Credit Education.

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Ms. Schulte serves as the Director of the IELE and manages the assignment and selection of evaluation and research projects. She has extensive experience as a grant writer and administrator and thus is able to help program directors understand the link between program evaluation and program implementation. She has a master of arts in economics from the University of North Dakota. She has been the principal evaluator for over 20 projects that were funded by the Administration of Children and Families, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, and U.S. Department of Education programs.

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Ms. Morijah is the Training Coordinator for Strengthening Communities Fund. She has more than ten years’ nonprofit experience, specializing in community outreach and education, starting programs and cultivating partnerships. Heather started the Pets Are Welcome Program at the Dumb Friends League in Denver, Colorado; managed the Sierra Club’s South Dakota grassland wilderness program and the staff office in Rapid City; was the first Director of Communications and Member Relations for the PA Design Association Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and served as a Membership Specialist for Girl Scouts – Dakota Horizons Council, also in Rapid City. Heather has a B.S. in Geography from the University of Wyoming and excelled at graduate coursework in geography and women’s studies at the University of Denver and Oregon State University. She currently serves as newsletter editor for the Sierra Club’s South Dakota Chapter and reservation chair and board member of American Association of University Women, Rapid City Chapter. She is also an active member of Democracy In Action, Rapid City Garden Club, South Dakota Wild Grassland Coalition, and Women’s Network of Rapid City.