Editor Danielle Harrison graduated from Eastern Washington University with a journalism degree in 1998. She has worked at weekly newspapers in Oregon and Washington state, spending nine years at the Camas-Washougal Post-Record as an education reporter. She joined the staff of Smoke Signals in September 2017 and quickly won an award from the Native American Journalists Association for Coverage of Native America. She was named editor of Smoke Signals in July 2023. She can be reached at 503-879-4663 or danielle.harrison@grandronde.org.
Assistant Editor/Photojournalist Michelle Alaimo graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1998 with a degree in photojournalism. Before she joined Smoke Signals in 2008, she worked at daily papers in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, California and Oregon. She spent 10 years as the Smoke Signals photojournalist from 2008 until 2018 before moving to Hilton Head, S.C., where she owned and operated a pet-sitting business. Smoke Signals happily welcomed her back in 2023. Michelle can be reached at 503-879-1961 or at michelle.alaimo@grandronde.org.
Staff writer Nicole Montesano joined the staff of Smoke Signals on June 24, 2024, after a 30-year career of award-winning reporting for the News-Register newspaper in McMinnville. She is a 1992 graduate of Western Oregon State College and worked for two years for the Stayton Mail Tribune in Stayton before joining the News-Register. She can be reached at 503-879-1463, or nicole.montesano@grandronde.org.
Grand Ronde Tribal member Kamiah Koch joined the staff of Smoke Signals as the new social media/digital journalist in October 2019. She is responsible for culling stories from various websites about issues occurring in Indian Country and posting them on the Smoke Signals Facebook page. She also is responsible for the Smoke Signals podcast posted at spreaker.com and video projects to post on the Smoke Signals YouTube channel and Facebook page. Koch is a 2019 graduate from Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., where she earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations and communications studies. While at Western Washington, she worked for the school’s newspaper, The Western Front, as a copy editor and reporter. She can be contacted at Kamiah.koch@grandronde.org or at 503-879-1461.
Grand Ronde Tribal member Justin Phillips graduated from Tillamook High School in 1995 and attended Western Oregon University, where he studied marketing. He joined the staff of Smoke Signals in May 1999 and has won numerous awards for designing the Tribal newspaper as the page designer. He can be reached at 503-879-2190 or justin.phillips@grandronde.org.
Samuel F. Briggs III joined the staff of Smoke Signals in September 2019 as the graphic design specialist. He graduated from Newberg High School and received degrees in multimedia design and computer animation from the Art Institute of Seattle. He also has a degree in trade and code from Clackamas Community College and is currently enrolled online at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in graphic design. He previously worked for nine years for the city of Seattle as a senior graphic arts and multimedia designer for the Seattle Center. He can be reached at 503-879-1416 or via e-mail at samuel.briggs@grandronde.org.
Grand Ronde Tribal member Katherine Warren graduated from Willamina High School in 2008 and is currently attending Portland Community College, where she’s studying photojournalism. She joined the staff of Smoke Signals in early 2022 as the secretary. She has worked in various positions within the Tribe for the past five years. She can be reached at 503-879-1466 or katherine.warren-steffensmier@grandronde.org.
Current Issue PDF