The Heritage Center Staff Profiles
Mary Maxon joined the Red Cloud staff in August 2012 as the Collections Manager for The Heritage Center and was hired as the Curator in 2014. Originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, Mary earned degrees in Studio Art and Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A museum professional since 1985, Maxon began her career working as an artist for Richard Rush Studios Inc. in Chicago. Since that time she has worked in museums as a sculptor,illustrator, interactive exhibit developer, mount-maker, model-maker, installation supervisor, exhibit developer, graphic designer, exhibits curator and collections manager. She has also worked for The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, the Siouxland Heritage Museums in Sioux Falls, the Idaho Museum of Natural History and the Rapid City Arts Council at the Dahl Arts Center.
Mary is honored be part of a team dedicated to strengthening and celebrating the work and presence of Native arts in this area and excited about her role in preservation, use, and growth of a permanent collection that serves as such a tremendous resource and legacy for the community. Mary lives near Scenic, South Dakota with her husband and daughter.
Ashley Pourier - Curator // ashleypourier@redcloudschool.org
Ashley Pourier first began as an intern at The Heritage Center and later as the gift shop assistant. In 2014 she began work as the assistant curator. Ashley is a graduate of the Red Cloud Indian School System; an alumni of Our Lady Lourdes K-8 School in Porcupine and Red Cloud Indian High School, Class of 2008. She continued her education at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and graduate spring 2012 with a degree in Fine Arts.
Audrey Jacobs started work as The Heritage Center’s Museum Educator in February 2015. She received her Master of Arts in Art History and her Museum Studies Certificate from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in May 2014. As Museum Educator, Audrey oversees all aspects of the Center’s educational programs and initiatives. She enjoys learning from and drawing on Lakota traditions and history in her work. Audrey views the ability to learn history through art as an essential part of our critical thinking skills in the twenty first century.
Audrey has worked in a number of museums, in a distance-learning program, in curatorial capacities, and in education departments. She also worked as a community educational programmer in West Africa in the Peace Corps (Niger, 2009-2011). Drawing on her past experience, she believes in using the knowledge and skills of a community to create collaborative learning environments in a museum.
Carmen Fourd - Gift Shop Manager/Buyer // carmenfourd@redcloudschool.org
Carmen Little Iron (Oglala Lakota) attended Red Cloud Indian School for the majority of her primary and secondary school years before graduating from Red Cloud High School in 2004. She currently holds four A.A. degrees from Oglala Lakota College in General Business, Accounting, Lakota Studies and Nursing. In her spare time Carmen enjoys creating her own crafts (beadwork and quillwork), learning new techniques (star quilting), as well as beginning her career in Nursing at the IHS hospital in Pine Ridge. She lives with her fiancé and adopted daughter in Rapid City, SD.