Rooted in her identity as an Indigenous woman in recovery, Lea brings a powerful lens of survivorship, restoration, and leadership to her professional practice.

Lea Wetzel-Poonoakki is a Blackfoot (Amskapi Piikani) woman, also known by her traditional name Poonoakki (Elk Woman), and her lineage is of Mountain Chief and the Heavy Runner Clan. Her life’s work is grounded in intergenerational healing, cultural resilience, and the elevation of lived experience as a recognized form of expertise within systems of behavioral 

health, public safety, and community transformation. 

Rooted in her identity as an Indigenous woman in recovery, Lea brings a powerful lens of survivorship, restoration, and leadership to her professional practice. She has dedicated her career to strengthening systems that serve Indigenous and marginalized communities, while ensuring that those most impacted by trauma, violence, and exploitation are centered as decision-makers, leaders, and subject matter experts in the solutions that affect their lives. 

Professionally, Lea serves in senior leadership and technical assistance roles focused on recovery services, trauma-informed care, and systems change. She has worked extensively with SAMHSA GAINS Center, where she contributed to national training initiatives and provided technical assistance across multiple states, supporting workforce development and justice-system transformation. Her expertise has been engaged across at least 11 states, as well as targeted consultation and technical assistance in Ohio, Hawaii, Maryland, California, New York, Washington D.C., and other jurisdictions across Turtle Island. 

Lea’s leadership is deeply embedded in cross-system collaboration, particularly at the intersection of behavioral health, criminal justice, and Indigenous sovereignty. She has served on multiple boards and advisory bodies and played a key role in the development and ongoing support of the North Central Montana Human Trafficking and Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) Task Force from 2020–2023, holding both Vice President and President roles during her tenure. She continues this work today as a member of the Montana Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Task Force, which now is the Montana MMIP Advisory Council, as well as the State of Montana Human Trafficking Task Force. 

Her work extends into correctional and justice systems reform through her collaboration with the Montana Department of Corrections, where she supports trauma-informed programming, peer recovery systems, and culturally grounded approaches to rehabilitation and reentry. She has also worked within treatment courts, outpatient and intensive outpatient programs, veteran services, and community-based organizations, helping to bridge gaps between systems and lived experience leadership. 

Lea is a Certified Behavioral Health Peer Support Specialist (cBHPSS), she has pioneered pilot initiatives that center peer-led, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed models of care. Her work consistently elevates the principle that individuals with lived experience are not only participants in systems—they are essential architects of systems change. 

In 2024, Lea was awarded the prestigious Soros Justice Fellowship, recognizing her leadership in advancing justice reform, Indigenous advocacy, and survivor-centered systems transformation. She has also been honored with the 2022 Montana Board of Crime Control Innovative Community Improvement Award for her contributions to community safety and healing-centered initiatives. 

Beyond her institutional roles, Lea is the founder and developer of Indigenous-led initiatives focused on training, technical assistance, consulting, tribal liaison support, and capacity building. She is currently leading the development of the United Legacies LLC, an Indigenous women-led business dedicated to national training, consulting, and survivor-informed program development. This initiative reflects her long-term vision of building sustainable infrastructure for Indigenous-led leadership in behavioral health, anti-human trafficking response, and MMIP advocacy. 

Lea’s work is also defined by her commitment to survivor-informed anti-human trafficking systems, including sex trafficking, labor trafficking, familial trafficking, and exploitation prevention. She actively collaborates with law enforcement agencies, grassroots organizations, tribal nations, and multidisciplinary coalitions to strengthen coordinated responses while ensuring cultural humility and accountability remain central. 

Her leadership philosophy is grounded in the belief that lived experience is not an endpoint—it is a source of expertise, strategy, and transformation. She consistently advocates for models of care and response systems that honor Indigenous knowledge systems, restore dignity, and create pathways for healing across generations. 

At the heart of her work is a commitment to intergenerational healing for Indigenous peoples, especially women and girls, and a vision of systems that no longer extract from communities but instead invest in their inherent strength, wisdom, and leadership.