Suzanne Nash knows the fentanyl crisis intimately, not just through her decades of community work, but through devastating personal loss. In 2021, her son Joey Nash died of a fentanyl overdose at just 28 years old. Joey was known for his love of fishing and skateboarding and had achieved eight months of sobriety before his life was cut short.

That loss has since fueled Suzanne's advocacy work, and today she brings that passion and perspective to FFCF as a member of our Board of Directors. She points to the outsized role pharmaceutical companies played in fostering a generation's dependence on opioids, a dependence that too often shifts to dangerous street drugs once prescriptions run out. Her insight into the roots of this crisis, and her clear call for communities to face it head-on, make her an invaluable voice in shaping FFCF's mission and direction.

Suzanne, whose spirit name Nance means "the brown bird that survives the winter," is a member of the Bois Forte Ojibwe tribe. For more than 21 years, she has served as a multi-program director and manager at the Indigenous Peoples Task Force (IPTF) in Minneapolis, where her work spans cultural restoration, public health, and housing. She coordinates the annual Return to First Medicines conference, leads Waybinigay, a youth-focused commercial tobacco prevention initiative that helps Indigenous youth reclaim tobacco's traditional and spiritual roots, and oversees IPTF's housing programs. She also directs Indigi-Baby Food, a traditional food security project, founded the National Indigenous Youth Fashion Show, and leads the Remember Our Loved Ones Memorial project. Through this work, she coordinates tobacco education and policy collaboration with 11 tribes across Minnesota.

FFCF is honored to have Suzanne's voice, experience, and heart on our board. Her story is a powerful reminder of why our mission matters: behind every statistic is a life, a family, and a community forever changed. Her advocacy stands as both a tribute to Joey and a call to action for all of us working to prevent fentanyl poisoning in our communities.