Who We Are

For nearly 20 years, Kim Vigue has worked for the advancement of tribal public health and education by helping many of the leading tribal organizations, federal agencies, nonprofit, and private sector entities develop and deliver complex, culturally relevant initiatives and campaigns designed to improve the well-being of Native American communities. With expertise in strategic communication planning and message development, her work has been instrumental in addressing many critical issues in Indian Country, including suicide, substance abuse, trauma, vaccination disparities, diabetes, homelessness, and educational attainment. By drawing on cultural strengths, Kim has worked with federal partners, tribal leadership, health care practitioners, educators, and community-based organizations to collaboratively implement programming to promote healthy solutions, raise awareness, and generate positive change for Native children, families, and communities.

Before founding Wolf River Consulting Group, Kim was the Communications Director at the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education, providing oversight of all communication strategies and media relations for its 48,000 students and 183 schools and post-secondary institutions. Previously, Kim served as Project Manager at Kauffman and Associates Inc., where she managed multiple public health communications programs for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, among others.

Kim is an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation, a descendant of the Menominee Tribe, and holds an M.S. in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin. She presents widely and is the recipient of several communications awards for health campaigns, videos, and publications. Kim serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Visionary Ventures and was recently appointed by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker to the Native American Employment Plan Advisory Council.

Rose brings more than a decade of experience working with rural and urban Native communities throughout the United States, collaborating with a diverse field of community-level stakeholders to support a broad spectrum of projects and initiatives at the national and local levels. Most recently, she held the position of Program Officer at the Corporation for National and Community Service, overseeing all tribe and tribal organization AmeriCorps state and national grants. This work drew on her extensive background in program and project management and cultural competence: portfolio and organizational oversight, culturally appropriate training and technical assistance, monitoring grantees’ progress, and assessing the soundness of projects and budgets.

Rose is a subject matter expert in tribal environmental issues, substance abuse, and mental health issues with an extensive skill set in grant review and oversight, on-site and remote training and technical assistance, outreach, and project management. Rose holds a B.A. in Native Studies (Emphasis: Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and First Nations Economic Development) from Trent University and a Diploma in Indigenous Governance and Leadership from the University of Victoria.

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