The Horse Relative Bios

Dana Conroy is a graduate of Willmar Senior High and Pepperdine University in Los Angeles where she earned degrees in film and TV production and sociology. She has produced 11 regional Midwest Emmy Award-receiving stories as a senior producer for Pioneer PBS. She has traveled to 30 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America, giving her a unique multicultural and global perspective to her work. Dana and her spouse Adam have three children and reside in Madison, Minnesota.

James Star Comes Out of the Oglala Lakota tribe of South Dakota has made a commitment to transferring knowledge about horse regalia to tribal youth throughout the Upper Midwest.

Kristofor Gieske is a Minnesota-based film and TV cinematographer and editor with a passion for combining creativity and technology to tell stories that connect people. Kristofor is also a staff videographer and editor at Pioneer PBS, where he has edited several regional Midwest Emmy award-receiving stories featuring the people and places of rural Minnesota.

Ben Dempcy is a graduate of Lac qui Parle Valley High School and the University of Wisconsin–River Falls with a degree in communication studies with an emphasis in digital film and television. He is the videographer for several Upper Midwest Emmy Award-receiving documentaries produced by Pioneer PBS. Ben, his spouse Krishana and their daughter live in Granite Falls, Minnesota.

Kevin Russell is an alumni of the Minneapolis College of Art & Design in Minnesota with a degree in filmmaking. He has over a decade of experience in production and post-production with roles on national commercials, television series and independent documentaries. Currently, his craft is focused on developing stories and aesthetics as a creative agency staff editor. His work involves clients throughout the country, but Kevin resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife Ash.

Keith Braveheart grew up in Kyle, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of the Oglala Lakota. He developed a passion for art in high school. From there, he went to the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he received his bachelor’s degree. He finished his master’s of fine arts in painting at University of South Dakota (USD).