Lenore is Oglala Lakota, born on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota where her father, also Oglala, was born. Her mother is Minneconjou Lakota from the Cheyenne River Reservation, S.D.

Lenore earned her BA from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, and completed a federal civil rights career in Seattle, Washington. After she retired, she accepted a gubernatorial appointment to the Washington State Human Rights Commission. She then relocated to Spokane, WA to be a hands-on unci (grandmother) to her two takojas (grandchildren), and she earned an M.A. from Portland Seminary/George Fox University in Oregon.

Lenore speaks, writes, and teaches from a Native perspective on decolonizing theology and racial reconciliation. She is a cohort leader in “Decolonizing with Badass Indigenous Grandmas” (www.liberatedtogether.com). She has spoken nationally for Christian Community Development Association, Duke Reconciliation Center, and the Nevertheless She Preached Conference. She has contributed to various publications, including an award-winning article for The Covenant Companion Magazine; the Covenant Quarterly; and she co-authored a chapter in the book, “Reimagining Short-term Missions.” Lenore currently enjoys serving on boards related to her interests in justice, Indigenous issues, and creation care.