Speaker's Profile

Mrs. Raquel Ramos, a member of the Comanche Nation as well as the great-great-granddaughter of Quanah Parker, last chief of the Comanche’s, is the Prevention Specialist for the Whole Child Initiative, a new department within the National Indian Education Association.

Mrs. Ramos has worked with tribal communities and native youth in the field of Prevention for almost a decade. She co-founded the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) Indigenous People’s Advisory Council (IPAC) and sits on the Steering Committee.

Through Raquel’s prevention work in native communities, she received the 2019 “Preventionist of the Year” award at the Heartland Alcohol Substance Abuse conference, the 2017 “National Exemplary Award for Innovative Substance Abuse Prevention Programs, Practices, and Policies” in partnership with the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board, and the 2015 Oklahoma Drug and Alcohol Professional Counselors Association (ODAPCA) “Prevention Program of the Year Award.”

It is through innovative programs that focus on “Culture as Prevention” that Mrs. Ramos hopes to continue positively impacting the negative effects of substance use that often plagues Native communities while also working towards bridging the gap between education and prevention.