WHO WE ARE
Incredible Relatives Wearing Beautiful Jewelry.
ABOUT CHEYANNE SYMONE
VISION: Incredible Relatives Wearing Beautiful Jewelry.
MEET OUR FOUNDER
Brittany C. Turner
"For me, Native beaded earrings have always been like my super hero cape. I put them on in the morning and I feel seen. I feel strong. However, too often, Native beaded earrings are not always the most comfortable nor easy to wear every day.
This led me to start Cheyanne Symone in 2018 when I saw a need for Native beaded earrings that I could comfortably wear every day. I wanted earrings that were subtly chic while still making a statement in my daily life.
Cheyanne Symone is a combination of my identity as an indigenous Haliwa-Saponi woman, environmental scientist, and artist."
- Brittany C. Turner
Founder/ artist/ scientist
MEET OUR TEAM
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KATE GREGORY
Director of Data Analytics
Kate is an energy nerd and leads data at Cheyanne Symone. Kate and Brittany met at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor while pursuing their graduate degrees, and worked on a team that developed an energy plan for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.
Today, Kate works full-time as an Energy and Water Resource Efficiency Manager in NY and lives part-time in State College, PA. In addition to beaded earrings, Kate loves bouldering, being in water, and spending time in nature.
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SARAH MONCADA
Director of Operations
Sarah is an organization nerd who manages the day-to-day operations of Cheyanne Symone. She loves data management, process improvement, and collaborating with colleagues on meaningful projects. Sarah and Brittany were introduced to each other by a mutual friend at a very opportune time, and Sarah has been grateful to work with the vibrant and supportive Cheyanne Symone team ever since. She is based in Ann Arbor, MI.
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REBECCA LYNN
SHOP QUEERKWE DESIGNSBeader
Rebecca is a Two-Spirit artist from the Little Traverse Bay bands of Odawa Indians pursuing a degree in Sociology from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. She is the artist behind Queerkwe Designs where the purpose of her work is to create representation for LGBTQ and Two-Spirit Indigenous folks.
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CAROLYN L. ANDERSON
DISCOVER OLD CEDAR NATIVE ARTSBeader
CarolynL. Anderson is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is an artist with experience in curation, and she was also a buyer of Indigenous art and jewelry for Birchbark Books and Native Arts where she worked for 16 years.Carolynstarted beadworking in 2020 and recently launched her own Native arts online shop called Old Cedar Native Arts.
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Maya Lopez
SHOP MAYAS DESIGNSBeader
Mayais an artist from the Turtle Mountain Chippewa, Little Shell Chippewa, and Zapotec tribes. She is currently pursuing a degree at the University of WA- Seattle and was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. She finds joy in beading for community, family, and friends. Her passion for beading and her creativity can be seen on her Instagram site,Maya's Native Beading, where she shares and sells her handcrafted jewelry pieces.
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Amber Morseau
Amber Morseau, a Pokagon Band Citizen, Potawatomi from the Ann Arbor area, and alumna of Eastern
Michigan University, is currently serving our communities as the Indigenous Institutional Transformation
Specialist for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium. In 15 years of beadwork knowledge
and 10 years of service to Native Students, she engages in mentorship with students through cultural
activities including student beading circles. “Beadwork is a gift of love in a world where we need more of
it.”
