Ann Filemyr, Ph.D.

Dr. Filemyr is the founder and Director of the PhD in Visionary Practice and Regenerative Leadership. Prior to that, she served as the fourth President of Southwestern College (2018-2024). Her leadership at the College resulted in the addition of numerous new programs. Previously, she served as Southwestern College Vice President for Academic Affairs (2014-2018) and Academic Dean at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) (2005-2014).

She also spent 15 years at Antioch College in various roles, providing leadership in fields such as Women Studies, Africana Studies, Peace Studies, Environmental Studies, Education, and Communications. She began as an Assistant Professor of Journalism/Communications before advancing to Department Chair of Cultural & Interdisciplinary Studies in 1996, later being promoted to Associate Professor, Full Professor, Associate Dean, and finally Vice President and Dean of Faculty before leaving in 2005.

Dr. Filemyr earned her PhD from Union Institute & University. Her dissertation, Living at the Crossroads: The Intersection of Nature, Culture, and Identity, compared and contrasted indigenous conceptual frameworks with U.N. definitions of the environment.

She received an MA in English with a Creative Writing emphasis (Poetry) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she worked in the Native American Studies program. Additionally, she holds a Bachelor of Philosophy (BPh) in a self-designed major exploring the roles of priestess, healer, and leader, expressed through visual art, dance, poetry, and performance. This degree in the Creative & Performing Arts was earned from Thomas Jefferson College of Grand Valley State University in Michigan.

Poetry Books

• Love Enough (2014) – Red Mountain Press
• The Vowels: A Congregation of Preachers (2013) – CB Sherlock, Limited edition fine art poetry collaborative book
• On the Nature of Tides (2012) – LaNana Creek Press, Limited edition fine art poetry collaborative book
• The Healer’s Diary (2012) – Sunstone Press
• Growing Paradise (2011) – LaNana Creek Press, Limited edition fine art poetry collaborative book
• Skin on Skin (2000) – Starfire Press
• Thinking (1987) – Vestige Press, Limited edition fine art poetry collaborative book
• Journey of Hags (1982) – Wicked Witch of the Midwest Press, Limited edition chapbook