Advanced Prescribed Burn Crew & Community Liaison x4

Danielle is Waccamaw Siouan and a member of the Buckhead community, where her commitment to service, relationship-building, and intergenerational care guides her work. She serves as Program Manager for the Hooheh Reforestation & Cultural Burn Program, bringing together more than a decade of corporate management experience with a deep passion for community-led stewardship.

Danielle holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and is a member of AISES (American Indian Science and Engineering Society). As a business owner with over 10 years of leadership experience, she works behind the scenes to create opportunities for her team and community — ensuring programs are sustainable, supportive, and rooted in care. Her approach to leadership is grounded in service: she finds the greatest fulfillment not in recognition, but in seeing others grow, succeed, and feel supported.

A core focus of Danielle’s work is preserving and passing on traditional knowledge. She is deeply committed to creating spaces where younger generations can learn from elders, strengthening bonds that ensure elders feel seen, valued, and remembered, while youth receive guidance that cannot be found anywhere else. This intergenerational connection is at the heart of her vision for the Hooheh program and its future impact.

Outside of her work, Danielle enjoys traveling, attending powwows, and spending time outdoors — staying connected to culture, community, and the land that continues to shape her roots and responsibilities.

Windy Daniels is the Education & Marketing Coordinator for the Hooheh Cultural Burn & Reforestation Program, where she works at the intersection of Indigenous history, land stewardship, and community storytelling. Her work centers on honoring Indigenous knowledge systems while creating accessible, community-driven education rooted in place.

A historian by training, Windy holds a degree in History and is currently pursuing a degree in Fisheries & Wildlife Conservation at Oregon State University. Her academic work complements her on-the-ground efforts in conservation, allowing her to bridge historical context with ecological science and modern land management practices.

Windy serves on the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) Next Generation Advisory Council and has been an intern with the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ), where she focused on PFAS and greenhouse gas (GHG) research. Through these roles, she contributes to broader conversations around environmental justice, public lands, and community-led conservation.

In addition to her work with Hooheh, Windy has been a part of the education team at the Cape Fear Museum, with a special focus on Indigenous history and interpretation. Across all of her roles, she is committed to preserving cultural memory, uplifting Indigenous voices, and strengthening relationships between people and land.

Originally from the Castle Hayne area, with family roots in the Buckhead community, Windy lives this work both professionally and personally. When she isn’t working, she spends time outdoors with her husband, their two daughters, and their dogs — continuing the cycle of learning, care, and connection that guides her work.

My name is Nick Richardson and I come from the Haliwa-Saponi tribe in Hollister, NC. I have lived in the Buckhead community for about 8 years. I am a firefighter for the city of Wilmington Fire Department and a captain for Buckhead Volunteer Fire Department. I am married with two awesome kids Rileigh and Lucas. I have been very active in my culture since the age of 3 years old with drumming and dancing at many pow wows and ceremonies. 

I'm excited to share my passions for fire and cultural history. We will bring fire back to the land and reforest the Longleaf Pine.