Wathina brings more than eight years of advocacy experience supporting survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Her professional experience includes serving as a Child Advocate and Transition Case Manager at an emergency shelter for women and children, as well as a Domestic Violence Case Manager and Court Advocate with the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska.
Wathina is especially passionate about empowering Native youth and supporting the next generation while promoting healing, cultural strength, connection, and sobriety.
She currently serves on the Survivor Leadership Advisory Council with the Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence and the Nebraska Coalition for Juvenile Justice, in addition to serving on several other advisory committees.
Kwame told a really heart wrenching story about his life path to arrive where he is as Executive director of the Community Justice Center. He explained why his current work with “restorative practices” in the Nebraska prisons population is so rewarding and necessary. The Center has facilitators working across the state who have all experienced making life mistakes and have been trained to educate others about self regulation of emotions, and coping skills. The restorative practices that they use do not lessen the accountability aspect but do try to get at the root causes for the deviant behavior and how to restore the trust of the community. It was a very informative talk!
We encourage Rotarians to attend the Orange Shirt Day Awareness Walk
Date & Time: Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at 11:00 AM
Location: Nebraska State Capitol Building, 1445 K St, Lincoln, NE 68508
Description: Participants gather and walk around the State Capitol to honor boarding school survivors, remember the children who never returned, and raise awareness of the history of Indian Boarding Schools. Attendees are encouraged to wear orange.
