- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Economic Development
Leadership changes across Indian Country this week include appointments in Native housing, tribal gaming, cultural sovereignty, law, public policy and economic development.
Organizations also recognized outstanding achievements in Indigenous journalism and Indian law, while one longtime tribal enterprise executive announced plans to step down after helping build one of the country's largest tribally owned non-gaming investment portfolios.
HIRES + PROMOTIONS
The Wisconsin Indigenous Housing & Economic Development Corporation hired Cheryl Cloud as program manager for the Wisconsin Native Housing Coalition. Cloud has more than 20 years of experience in Native housing and community development, including serving as tribal housing director for two tribal nations and CEO of a Native community development financial institution. She also has held positions with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Cloud, an enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and leadership from Northland College.
Seneca Resorts & Casinos named Lon O’Donnell senior vice president of gaming operations, overseeing gaming strategy across Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino, Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino and Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino. O’Donnell has more than 30 years of gaming industry experience and most recently served as vice president and general manager of Bally’s Casino Black Hawk in Colorado, overseeing three casino properties. He previously served as vice president of gaming strategy for Grand Casinos Mille Lacs & Hinckley in Minnesota, directing gaming operations across two tribal casino properties. His earlier experience includes leadership roles at gaming properties in Las Vegas, Reno and Oregon.
The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition appointed Nikki Santos, a member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, as chief executive officer. Santos brings nearly 20 years of leadership experience in federal policy, philanthropy, strategic development, fundraising and community organizing focused on Native communities. She most recently served as a senior adviser at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and previously led the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute. Santos also has held leadership roles with the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, supported Native-led organizations as a philanthropic adviser and helped launch the Sam McCracken Youth Project.
The Association on American Indian Affairs appointed Dr. Crystal Miller, a citizen of the Walker River Paiute Tribe, as cultural sovereignty director. Miller will lead the organization's national initiatives focused on protecting Native cultural sovereignty through advocacy, policy development, education and support for Native nations. She previously advanced Native sovereignty through research, public policy, higher education and national advocacy, with work focused on tribal governance, constitutional reform and self-determination. Miller also has led national policy initiatives in clean energy, natural resource protection and federal Indian policy while advising tribal governments and developing governance frameworks that incorporate cultural traditions.
The Nevada Department of Native American Affairs appointed Savena Rogers as program officer and Kadie Zeller as management analyst. Rogers, a citizen of the Yerington Paiute Nation and descendant of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe, holds a bachelor's degree from Nelson American Indian College and brings a background in finance and operations. Zeller, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and descendant of Kiribati, earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California San Diego and is a certified prevention specialist. She has spent the past decade working in public health, education, advocacy and nonprofit leadership, including founding Om Namo, a community wellness and education nonprofit.
Miller Nash LLP hired Shawn Chase as a regulatory specialist supporting the firm's tribal governments and enterprises team in its Portland, Ore., office. Chase, a member of the Coquille Indian Tribe, brings nearly 30 years of experience with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, including tribal gaming ordinances, revenue allocation plans and state-tribal gaming compacts. He previously served as director of gaming commission compliance for the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation and has held leadership roles with the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Indian Gaming and the National Indian Gaming Commission. Chase earned a bachelor's degree from Eastern Oregon University and is completing a master's degree in Native American leadership at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
Chugach Alaska Corporation promoted Melissa Hermes to vice president of corporate tax and Nicholas Ostrovsky to senior vice president and general counsel. Hermes, a 25-year employee, will continue leading the corporation's enterprise-wide tax strategy, including support for acquisitions, international expansion and tax compliance. Ostrovsky, who joined Chugach in 2025, oversees the corporation's legal affairs and has advised on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and government contracting. In his expanded role, he also will assume responsibility for human resources and related functions.
The Project on Indigenous Governance and Development at Harvard Kennedy School welcomed Tamarron Austin, Ryder Cuch and Garret Morgan as research assistants for summer 2026. Austin, a member of the Navajo Nation, studies financial mathematics and statistics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, with research interests in tribal economic development and governance. Cuch studies geography modified with engineering sciences and minors in architectural design at Dartmouth College. Morgan, a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, studies economics and Native American and Indigenous studies at Dartmouth College and previously worked with Ho-Chunk Inc. on finance, real estate, farming and government contracting.
FEATURED RECOGNITION
Indigenous Journalists Association Honors Chelsea Curtis
The Indigenous Journalists Association selected Chelsea Curtis, Diné, as the recipient of the 2026 Richard LaCourse Award for Investigative Journalism. Curtis was honored during the Indigenous Media Awards banquet July 24.
Curtis was recognized for her work using digital tools to document Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and for creating an interactive reporting database and map at Arizona Luminaria. Her reporting, which combined public records, data analysis and narrative journalism, also contributed to changes in Arizona law and policy.
The Richard LaCourse Award recognizes investigative journalists who serve as community watchdogs through innovative reporting and storytelling tools, with particular consideration given to work that helps Indigenous communities understand and address pressing issues.
EXITS
Waséyabek President and CEO Deidra Mitchell will step down at the end of 2026 after more than a decade leading the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi’s non-gaming economic development company. Mitchell became Waséyabek’s first full-time CEO in 2016. During her tenure, the company expanded to full or majority ownership of more than 30 entities employing more than 900 people nationwide. She also led development of a study examining the non-gaming economic impact of Michigan’s 12 federally recognized tribes. Chief Legal Officer William Brooks will serve as interim CEO after Mitchell’s departure while the board searches for a successor.
APPOINTMENTS
Native American Risk Management appointed Matthew McCreary, director of risk management at Four Winds Casinos, as board chairman and named Chuck Stewart, assistant vice president of risk control consulting at Tribal First, to its board of trustees. McCreary oversees risk management for Four Winds Casinos, while Stewart provides risk control consulting services to tribal clients through Tribal First. Both appointments support the organization's work advancing risk management practices for tribal governments and enterprises.
The NCW Tech Alliance appointed Carl Patterson to its board of directors. Patterson serves as director of marketing and sales at Native Network Inc., where he leads marketing, branding and business development for broadband and telecommunications projects serving tribal governments, municipalities, utilities and other public-sector clients. He has nearly 30 years of experience in marketing, communications and technology, including leadership roles in user experience design, branding and business development. Patterson earned an associate degree in visual communications from the Art Institute of Seattle.
The Native American Bar Association of Arizona honored Robert J. Miller with its Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his decades of contributions to Indian law. Miller, a professor at Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, is a nationally recognized scholar whose work focuses on federal Indian law, tribal sovereignty and Indigenous economic development. This year, he appeared on Native America Calling to discuss McGirt v. Oklahoma and spoke on Indigenous economic development at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He is beginning a sabbatical focused on research and scholarship.
If you have news of new hires, appointments or special recognition, please share them with [email protected].
