LaRae Wiley (Sinixt) is a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, and she is the co-founder and Executive Director of Salish School of Spokane (SSOS). LaRae earned her BAs in History and Education from Eastern Washington University in 1988 and 1990 and is a certified teacher. From 2003 through 2021, LaRae learned n̓səl̓xčin̓ (Colville-Okanagan Salish) as an apprentice to the late master speaker Sʕamtíc̓aʔ (Sarah) Peterson of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band. The n̓səl̓xčin̓ language was moribund (no children raised in the language) for 90 years in LaRae’s family until, when she was in her late 30s, she made the commitment to bring the language back to her family and community. LaRae’s passion for learning and teaching her highly endangered Indigenous language culminated in the foundation of SSOS in 2009. SSOS is a non-profit organization that operates Salish immersion childcare, preschool center, and K-8 schooling programs while training new fluent adult speakers of n̓səl̓xčin̓. LaRae was the recipient of a 2023 Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship, in 2023 she was named a Woman of the Year by the Spokesman Review in Spokane, and in October 2025 LaRae received the Courage Project Award for her leadership at Salish School of Spokane. LaRae stepped down from the position of Executive Director of SSOS in July 2025, and now works part-time as an Elder-Linguist and serves at the Vice President of the Board of Directors of SSOS.