Our Providers

Doctor Alicia Steele, born and raised in Michigan, is grateful for the opportunity to serve at American Indian Health and Family Services in Detroit. Alicia has been deeply inspired by her family, a Zapatista indigenous community, an indigenous community in Pembroke, NC and the community of Detroit, Michigan. Her passion for community health justice led her to study medicine in a universal healthcare model in Cuba, at the Latin American School of Medicine. In Havana, Cuba, Alicia honed an ability to weave biological, emotional, cultural, and social needs into medical care. Following medical school in Cuba, Alicia returned home to complete her 3 year medical residency in Detroit. Alicia deeply believes in loving kindness, joy, justice, wellness and that clean water, cultural respect and understanding and healthcare are human rights. She can be found in her Southwest Detroit community enjoying delicious local food, art, music, dancing, playing sports, laughing, and smiling with her family, friends, and mother nature. Alicia is also a mother to two kittens, Vaquito (little cow) and Koalito (little koala) and many plants.

Jessie Lucero is an enrolled member of Taos Pueblo. She is an urban Native and has spent her life living in Detroit. She graduated from Michigan State University in 2015 with a Bachelors of Social Work, with specializations in geriatrics and cultural studies. Throughout her college career, she participated in MSU’s North American Indigenous Student Organization, and served as a cultural programmer and co-chair. 
Jessie is a licensed social worker and has over 10 years of working in the healthcare industry. She has a deep passion for social work, and is honored to work for the agency which has enriched her life in many ways. 
Jessie is walking on the Red Road. In her free time, she enjoys attending community social and spiritual events, powwows, and round dances. She is a women’s traditional dancer, and enjoys making beadwork. 

Malaika Ward is a behavioral health therapist here at American Indian Health and Family Services. She attended Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, where she obtained a BA in Sociology. She joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and was an elected representative in the Associated Students of Michigan State University (ASMSU). It was at this beautiful campus where she went to her first statewide Pow-Wow and enjoyed fried bread for the very first time. After working for a year as a community organizer, she was admitted to graduate school at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. While at UM she worked on research projects about black males and suicide. She graduated in 2007 with Honors. As a well-rounded social worker with experiences in the school systems, community mental health and nonprofits, she developed an anti-bullying program, and a substance abuse program. She is currently focused on assisting adults stay clean and sober with the use of Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. When she is not at work she enjoys visiting yard sales, turning items into art, going to art museums, and attending music concerts.

Irina graduated from Augsburg University Physician Assistant Program in Minneapolis, MN in 1999. She enjoyed working in different areas of PA practice, including hospital and outpatient internal and family medicine, cardiology, gastroenterology and urgent care, acquiring a unique set of knowledge and skills. She grew up and received her initial medical education in Moscow, Russia, graduating from 1^st Moscow State Medical University https://www.sechenov.ru.

She maintains connection to her roots, keeping in touch and speaking her native language with family and friends. After moving to the US, she spent time on the East Coast, the MidWest and the South for school and work, until she found her permanent home in Michigan in 2014.

In her personal time, she enjoys gardening, walking in nature, traveling, museums, live performances and spending time with her family, friends and pets. Since her childhood, Irina has been deeply interested in Native American history and culture and is happy to learn about it every day.

Tammy is a LLMSW working towards her LMSW. Tammy graduated from University of New England with her Master’s degree in social work. She has worked in various settings since 2007 such as residential facilities for those struggling with mental health and substance abuse disorders, inpatient psychiatric facility in the Upper peninsula of Michigan. Tammy learned about Native American Culture while working for Bay Mills Indian Community as an outpatient substance abuse counselor where she attended numerous sweat lodges and pow wows.  She grew up in Michigan and recently moved back from Minnesota. Tammy is passionate about working with those who have mental health and substance abuse disorders along with people who have experienced trauma in their lives. She is very happy to be working at AIHFS and serving the community. She incorporates motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapies as some of her treatment modalities. In her free time, she enjoys playing with her three dogs, going to the beach, traveling, watching professional football and UFC.

Rachel has fond memories of attending the Daniel Nimham Intertribal Powwow in Carmel, New York yearly with her mom, where the sounds of cicadas, drums, and dancers sparked an appreciation for culture and community that continues to inform her work today.

Rachel earned a BA in Psychology, with minors in Anthropology and Gender Studies, from the State University of New York at Geneseo in 2015. She moved to Detroit in 2017 to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology at Wayne State University, but stepped away in 2021 after deciding a research-focused career was not the right path. After several years working with local nonprofit animal rescues, she returned to Wayne State in 2024 and recently earned her Master of Social Work.

Rachel approaches therapy from a person-centered, culturally humble, and trauma-informed perspective, integrating evidence-based practices like Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. She strives to create a collaborative, welcoming space where clients feel heard, respected, and empowered.

Outside of work, Rachel enjoys fostering kittens, watching horror movies, and trying new restaurants with her husband, Will.