Patty moved to South Dakota from Cody, Wyoming where she raised her daughters and raised and trained American Quarter Horses. In 2004 she attended Oglala Lakota College, as a Native Studies major, with the intent to return to Wyoming and work in the Plains Indian Museum in Cody. She met and married her husband Bill Picotte, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, moved to the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation where they raised Bill's son Tristan. After several years of living in various states, including the DC area, they recently returned to South Dakota. Patty's experience working for non-profits, housing development and as an executive assistant have paved the way for her opportunity with Akiptan.