Iewirokas founder and Running Strong field coordinator Katsi Cook (Akwesasne Mohawk).

Running Strong operates a field office in Berkshire, NY.

This office is run by Sherill “Katsi Cook” Barreiro (Wolf Clan Mohawk) in her home community of Akwesasne. An Aboriginal Midwife, Katsi is a mother of six and grandmother of seven.

Since 1983, Katsi Cook has conducted community-driven environmental justice health research. She used this knowledge to found the Iewirokas/First Environment Project which brings together Native American women’s leadership in reproductive and environmental health issues.

Katsi has served as a Lecturer at the University at Albany School of Public Health and as a Visiting Fellow at Cornell University’s American Indian Program.

In 2006, Katsi Cook returned to Running Strong, as Director of Iewirokas/First Environment and as a Field Coordinator, after taking several years to focus on her research. Her return and current work has been made possible by a generous grant from the Ford Foundation.