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- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Economic Development
October delivered a wave of strategic leadership appointments across Indian Country. Organizations from Alaska to Oklahoma tapped executives with proven track records in economic development, cultural preservation, and tribal enterprise management—signaling a clear investment in Indigenous-led growth and sovereignty.
This month also brought well-deserved recognition for leaders making tangible impact. From lifetime achievement honors to awards spotlighting innovation in healthcare and infrastructure, these individuals are doing the work that moves Native communities forward.
HIRES + PROMOTIONS
Osage LLC appointed Shanese Slaton as chief operating officer. She will oversee enterprise-wide operations across the company's diverse portfolio of businesses, ensuring operational alignment with the LLC's mission and the broader economic and cultural goals of the Osage Nation. Slaton brings more than a decade of experience in operations, project management and community relations. Most recently, she served as director of place and infrastructure at Tulsa Innovation Labs, where she led transformative projects to strengthen Tulsa's innovation economy. She also served as state manager for community relations at ONE Gas (Oklahoma Natural Gas), building statewide partnerships with elected officials, community organizations and industry leaders. Slaton is a certified project management professional and holds a bachelor's degree in strategic communications from Oklahoma State University.
The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan appointed Matthew Felan as chief executive officer for Migizi Economic Development Company, a tribally owned subsidiary that handles non-gaming business interests spanning travel and leisure, energy, housing and land management. Felan served for the past 11 years as president and chief executive officer of the Great Lakes Bay Business Alliance, which serves Midland, Bay, Isabella and Saginaw counties as well as the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. He serves as a trustee for the Bay City Public Schools Board, including three years as board president, and has held a seat on the McLaren Bay Board of Directors. Felan served as chief development officer for Special Olympics Michigan and holds a degree from Michigan State University.
Intertribal Timber Council appointed Cal Mukumoto as its first executive director. Mukumoto brings more than four decades of experience in forestry, tribal enterprise leadership and public service. He served as Oregon state forester, managing a $650 million annual budget and a workforce of more than 1,300 employees while advancing forest health, sustainability and economic value. He also served as CEO and board chairman of the Coquille Economic Development Corporation, overseeing casino, broadband and other tribal business ventures. In the 1980s, he worked with the Makah Tribal Council to establish the Makah Forestry Enterprise and coordinated the first Indian Forest Management Assessment Teams. Mukumoto holds a bachelor's degree in forest management from Humboldt State University and an MBA from the University of Washington.
First Nations Development Institute appointed Sarah Gonzalez Coffin as director of research and advocacy for Native economic justice. Gonzalez Coffin, a Chiricahua Apache member, brings more than 11 years of experience as a researcher and data analyst solving complex social and environmental problems across academic, nonprofit and governmental sectors. She is a doctoral candidate in social psychology at the University of Colorado Boulder, where her research focuses on environmental decision making, policy support, climate change communication and technology adoption. She has trained at institutions including the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center and California State University Monterey Bay. Gonzalez Coffin holds a master's degree in social psychology from the University of Colorado Boulder and a bachelor's degree in psychology from California State University Monterey Bay.
Alaska Native Heritage Center appointed Kelsey Ciugun Wallace as president and CEO, the first in this role to have been promoted from within the organization. Wallace, who is Yup'ik and Irish, joined the Heritage Center more than 10 years ago as a public relations intern and most recently served as vice president of strategic advancement and communications. Over the last two years, she secured more than $13 million in transformational funding from federal, state, tribal and philanthropic partners. Originally from Mamterilleq (Bethel, Alaska), Wallace is a bilingual speaker of Yugtun and English. She will work with the community, staff and board to ensure the Heritage Center remains accessible, inclusive and responsive to the community's evolving needs.
Association on American Indian Affairs appointed Trista Vaughn as communications associate. Vaughn, a citizen of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma and descendant of the Hualapai and Chickasaw nations, will support the Association's Become an Ally Program through strategic storytelling and digital engagement. She previously served as digital engagement manager for the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, developing campaigns highlighting Native excellence in STEM. Vaughn also serves as community engagement and cultural coordinator for Crosswinds News and Talking Circle, a Native-owned media platform. She holds a bachelor's degree in media studies and a master's degree in communication from Northeastern State University.
Chenega Corporation appointed Josie Hickel as senior vice president of regional development, leading the Chenega Regional Development Group. Hickel brings decades of leadership across the natural resources, financial services and Alaska Native Corporation sectors. Her background includes senior executive roles at Chugach Alaska Corporation, Petro 49 and Pebble Partnership. Most recently, she served as owner and CEO of Sustainable Alaska Consulting Services, where she focused on development opportunities that uplift small communities and Alaska Native people. Hickel has served on numerous boards, including as chairman of the Alaska SeaLife Center and the Prince William Sound Economic Development District, and currently holds a gubernatorial appointment with the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority.
APPOINTMENTS
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) appointed six members to its Tribal and Indigenous Advisory Council. Nicole Borromeo, president of the ANSCA Regional Association in Alaska, joins Tracy Charles-Smith, president of the Native Village of Dot Lake in Alaska; Rick L. Harrison, vice president of Chickaloon Village Traditional Council in Alaska; Juliann Spotted Bear, councilwoman for the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota; Thomas Cupis, treasurer of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in Arizona; and Kasie Nichols, Chickasaw Nation senior financial policy advisor in Oklahoma. The appointees will serve three-year terms beginning in September 2025. The council, created in 2022, provides GAO with insights and counsel on matters affecting tribal nations and their citizens and helps inform the agency's future work and priorities in examining federal programs that serve tribal communities and indigenous peoples.
Indian Land Capital Company elected Dave Tovey as board chairman, hired D'Arcy Bordeaux as chief operating officer and appointed three new board members. Tovey, a Cayuse/Joseph Band Nez Perce member and board member since 2007, serves as executive director of Nixyáawii Community Financial Services, a Native CDFI on the Umatilla Reservation. Bordeaux, a Sicangu member, brings 21 years of experience as accountant and HR director for Indian Land Tenure Foundation and has worked in the banking and gaming industries. The new board members are Howard D. Valandra, president of Indian Land Tenure Foundation who previously served as executive director for Tribal Land Enterprises with the Rosebud Sioux Reservation; Randy Emm, a farmer and rancher who serves as native programs coordinator for Nevada Cooperative Extension; and Zach Ducheneaux, a beef producer who served most recently as USDA administrator of the Farm Service Agency.
Verily Storyworks appointed Steven R. Heape to its advisory board. Heape, a Cherokee Nation citizen and award-winning filmmaker, founded Rich-Heape Films and has produced more than 80 hours of television and 10 feature-length documentaries dedicated to Native American history and culture. He serves on the boards of the Sovereign Nations Preservation Project and the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum. Heape will guide the Texas-based upstream company in developing true-story intellectual property across film, television and digital platforms.
KUDOS
Tribal Diagnostics CEO Cory Littlepage (right) received the National Indian Health Board's Next Generation Award in September at the organization's annual National Tribal Health Conference. (Courtesy photo)
The National Indian Health Board honored Tribal Diagnostics CEO Cory Littlepage with its Next Generation Award in September at the organization's annual National Tribal Health Conference. The award recognizes a young American Indian or Alaska Native for leadership and efforts to improve healthcare quality or raise awareness of health issues within their community. Littlepage, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, founded the Oklahoma City-based clinical laboratory in October 2015. The company provides laboratory testing services to tribal and rural communities, operating partnerships with 28 tribal health systems and supporting 697 healthcare clinics across Texas and Oklahoma. Littlepage brings two decades of healthcare experience, including previous roles at Pfizer and Expert Global Solutions.
Lt. Cmdr. Melissa de Vera of Indian Health Service received the Arthur S. Flemming Award for leadership and management. De Vera, who is enrolled in the Rocky Boy Chippewa Cree Tribe and lives in Bemidji, Minnesota, strengthened the Indian Health Service's Sanitation Facilities Construction Program through cross-boundary leadership and strategic partnerships. Her recruiting approach enabled the agency to deliver $3.5 billion in sanitation projects under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, improving access to safe drinking water and sanitary waste disposal infrastructure for American Indian and Alaska Native nations. The Arthur S. Flemming Awards, established in 1948, are the nation's oldest and most prestigious awards for government service given from outside the government.
NAFOA presented its Lifetime Achievement Awards to Bernadine Burnette, former president of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, and Sam McCracken, founder of Nike N7. Burnette dedicated more than 30 years to guiding her community toward greater sovereignty and prosperity, serving as tribal secretary, vice president and president. She opened the We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort, improved services and programs for tribal members, and served on boards including the National Congress of American Indians, National Tribal Environmental Council and National Indian Education Association. McCracken, a member of the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, served as general manager and founder of Nike's N7 programs and the N7 Fund. He led the creation of the Nike Air Native N7 shoe and helped generate more than $14 million in revenue reinvested into Native communities.
Impact Finance Center honored Joel Smith, president of community development at Native American Bank, as one of its 2025 "Who's Who in Impact Investing" honorees. Smith has worked as an advocate for mission-oriented and minority-owned banks and Community Development Financial Institutions for more than 12 years. He spearheaded the development of social impact bank deposits at Native American Bank and oversees the bank's participation in the New Markets Tax Credit Program.
If you have news of new hires, appointments or special recognition, please share them with [email protected].
