We Are CANAR
Consortia of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation
Meet the Team
Our Executive Board and Leadership Team

Lanore Curole
President
United Houma Nation VR Program991 Grand Caillou Road, Bldg #2
Houma, LA 70363
About Our President
Ms. Curole is a citizen of the United Houma Nation in southeast Louisiana. She is a life-long resident of Lafourche Parish where she continues to live within the tribal community and is pleased to have the opportunity to work for the betterment of her people. With the passing of her mother 16 years ago, Lanor considers her greatest accomplishment her educational achievements and credits her mother with that success. Lanor’s mother attended an all Indian school in Golden Meadow where she was only afforded a 7th-grade education. “My mother always stressed how important education was to our future. In particular, she wanted to ensure that her daughter was self-sufficient.” I think she succeeded.

Lyle Cook
Vice President
Oun’iyekiyapi VR ServicesCheyenne River Sioux Tribe
Eagle Butte, SD 57625
T: 605-964-4400
Email: ability@lakotanetwork.com
About Our Vice President
I’m an enrolled member of the Wak’pa Wa’ste O’yanke (Good River People) aka Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe located in South Dakota. I am of the Itazipco (Sans Arc) band of the Titunwan (Dwellers of the Prairie) of the Ptetaga Sakowin (7 Nations of the Buffalo People).
I have been employed with the Oun’iyekiyapi Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe for the last 13+ years as the Director and 4 years prior to that as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor.
At the preference of the CANAR membership, I have served in the past capacity as the CANAR President and as of recently, serve as the current CANAR Vice President.

Dr. Peggy Venable
Treasurer
Lower Muskogee VR ProgramJob Training Programs/VR Service Project Tama Tribal Town
107 Tall Pine Drive
Whigham, GA 39897
T: (229) 762-3169
Email: cpvenable.mvr4@gmail.com
About Our Treasurer
Dr. Venable is the Project Director of The Muskogee Vocational Rehabilitation Program and has served as a family, individual, and Mental Health counselor with various other agencies. She is a member of the Georgia and National Rehabilitation Association, Georgia State Rehab Council, and the Georgia Statewide Coalition on Blindness. Dr. Venable also serves on the Executive Board of the Consortia of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation (CANAR). Dr. Venable holds a Master’s in Psychology, a Doctorate in Theology, a Ph.D. in Philosophy and received her Doctorate of Divinity, Summa Cum Laude.
Dr. Christina (Peggy) Venable is a member of The Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe and the Project Director for the Muskogee Vocational Rehabilitation Program. She is a singer, songwriter, author and serves as the Tribal Historian of The Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe in Whigham, Georgia.

Kim Lambert
Secretary
Eastern Cherokee of NCProject Director
Cherokee Tribal Vocational
Rehabilitation Program
Cherokee, NC
Email: kimlambert@cherokeevoc.org
About Our Secretary
Kim is an enrolled member of the 16,000 plus Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and has 3 children; John, Jordan, and Jessica. She is a singer, social media enthusiast, and writes award-winning poetry in her spare time. She and her family reside on the Cherokee Indian Reservation, Cherokee, N.C.
Committee Chairs

Rebecca Holland
By-Laws Committee
Rebecca Holland is the Program Manager with the Pueblo of Jemez VR Program in New Mexico and has been with the program for a total of 11 years. She began her career in VR in 1998 working with the Veteran’s Administration in Albuquerque as a Psychometrist. She then applied for the position of Program Manager of the Jemez VR Program in the fall of 1998 and was the Manager for 8 years. Rebecca served as the CANAR Bylaws Chair from 2000-2006. In 2006, Rebecca positions to administer a Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grant from 2006-2015. She returned to the Jemez VR Program three years ago and loves being back as the Program Manager. Her passion is team building and reaching difficult consumers.
Rebecca was born and raised in Wyoming. She holds a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Family Studies from the University of New Mexico. She also has a certificate from San Diego State University in Post-Employment Training in American Indian Rehabilitation. She has been married to her husband, Michael, for 36 years and they have 2 children and 5 grandchildren. They reside in Rio Rancho, NM, where they have lived for over 20 years.

Rachel Allen
Leadership Committee
Rachel Allen is the current director of the Delaware Nation Vocational Rehabilitation Program, which covers 8 counties in Oklahoma. Prior to becoming a director, Rachel served as a VR Counselor for 4 ½ years in tribal VR. Other experience includes working as a Disability Determination Specialist with the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services, which consisted of processing Social Security Disability Insurance applications, working with an NIH-funded study to reduce the risk of heart disease for American Indians in SW Oklahoma through the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (Balance), and doing contract work for the Native American parent technical assistance program (Visions).
Rachel received her Bachelor of Science degrees at Oklahoma State University in psychology and zoology, and her Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling from San Diego State University. Rachel is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC).

Melanie Murray
Conference & Special Events Committee
Melanie Murray is the Program Manager with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community VR, near Scottsdale, Arizona. She began her career in Salt River as a special education teacher and State Champion Basketball Coach at Salt River High School. She then became a part of the original founding team of the VR Program in Salt River. She has served as VR Manager for nearly six years. One of her passions is transition services, which has been an emphasis of the Salt River VR Program. Prior to working in Salt River, Melanie was employed with Albuquerque Public Schools in New Mexico for over 12 years, working as a Special Education Teacher, IEP Specialist, Transition Specialist and Basketball Coach.
Melanie was born and raised in New Mexico. She holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of New Mexico and a Bachelor of Arts from Eureka College in Illinois. She and her wife, Meg and their four sons, Dillon, Ethan, Nicholas and Devon reside in Mesa, AZ.

Treva Roanhorse
Policy & Advocacy Committee