Ms. Graves has been a member of the Board for well over a decade. In February 2024, the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council appointed her the Board Chair.
Stephanie Graves BSN, PHN, MA is the Maternal Child and Adolescent Health Manager for the Minneapolis Health Department. In her current position, she works on several maternal and child health issues -- such as home visiting services for pregnant and parenting young families, early childhood screening and intervention, school readiness, barriers to affordable housing and substance abuse prevention during pregnancy. She has found that issues affecting communities include health inequity for communities of color, the high rates of infant mortality in the African American and American Indian communities, lack of stable housing, and behavioral health issues.
Ms. Graves participates in a variety of community and health care committees relating to maternal and child health -- the Minnesota Maternal and Child Health task force, the Department of Human Services child mortality task force, the Civil Rights Housing Advisory Committee for the City of Minneapolis and serves on the Board of Directors for a national urban maternal child health organization, to name a few. The Minnesota Indian Affairs Council first appointed Ms. Graves to the American Indian Community-Specific Board in 2011 and she was reappointed when the new agency was created in 2021.
Ms. Graves received her initial nursing degree from St. Mary’s College and her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Augsburg College, and received her Master’s degree from St. Mary’s University. She is an Ojibwe from the Red Lake Band; the mother of four children, grandmother of seven. She and her family opened their home as foster parents for over 20 years.
