Eileen Briggs
Grantmaking Director, Bush Foundation
First recorded October 27, 2021
Eileen Briggs is community leader who has built a career helping people and places grow. A graduate of Stanley County High School in Ft. Pierre, SD, and an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Eileen has deep roots in the region and is connected to networks of leaders both nationally and internationally who are focused on making positive change. Her mother, LuAnn Lafferty Briggs, now passed, encouraged her to pursue every opportunity and never leave a job half done. Her father, Lane, and bonus mom, Sonja Briggs, live in Ft. Pierre and are her biggest champions.
Eileen holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Minnesota and has 20 years’ experience with management in nonprofits, tribal government, and philanthropy. Currently, Eileen is a grantmaking director at the Bush Foundation, focusing on Native American communities. Her lived experience of rural and native communities fuels her commitment to open every door so that these communities can continue to grow and thrive. A skilled facilitator, public speaker, and strategist, she serves in leadership roles with the Minneapolis American Indian Center and Native Americans in Philanthropy. She is a Bush Fellow, a Native Nation Rebuilder, and a Leadership South Dakota Alum.
Eileen is a creative seamstress, a writer, and the host of her own cooking show. She lives in Eagle Butte, SD, at the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation.