Jim Thomas, President

Jim has served more than 100 Tribes, Nations and Alaska Native Corporations since 1971, when he opened the first American Indian consulting firm in Washington D.C. He is widely known for his involvement in the restoration of lands to the Tribes, among which are:

He was PR Director and Board Member of the Alaska Federation of Natives when it championed and won the Alaska Native Land Claims Settlement Act of 1971. He is

Antone Minthorn, Vice President

Antone serves on the boards of the Northwest Area Foundation and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Economic Development Corporation. He has been actively involved in salmon issues and watershed restoration and is a nationally recognized leader on economic development and tribal sovereignty issues in Indian Country.

Meredith Parker, Secretary

Meredith is active in the Makah community where she serves as the chief executive officer of the Makah Forestry Enterprise and the president of the Neah Bay Chamber of Commerce. Meredith is a graduate of the XXIII class of the Washington Agriculture and Forestry Leadership Program.

Chandra Hampson, Treasurer

Chandra is vice president and senior lender for Shorebank Enterprises Cascadia and directs its Indian Country Initiative. Previously she was vice president and Indian Country relationship manager for Native American Banking Services (NABS) at Wells Fargo Bank and relationship manager with the Las Vegas Gaming Division and worked in nonprofit management. Chandra received her MBA from the University of Washington and her B.A. from Stanford University.

Kirby Jock, Officer At Large

Kirby is the administrator for the Puyallup Tribe's Board of Trustees, an organization that funds and operates Tribal programs with the purpose of supporting the Tribe's self-sufficiency. While his career began in managing environmental programs for his Tribe, over the years his work has evolved into to administering overall Tribal organizations.

John is the development officer for the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute and represents the Tamástslikt on the Oregon Historic Trails Advisory Council. He has 15 years of experience in fundraising for the Umatilla Tribes and is a member of the board of the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce.

Charlotte is assistant professor in the American Indian Studies department at the University of Washington focusing on Native governance, politics, law, and sovereignty in the United States and Canada. She has published numerous articles on traditional Indian law and justice systems, the Makah and Nuu-chah-nulth whaling tradition and the Northwest Coast Guardian Spirit Complex. She has a B.A. in Political Science from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Ethnic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley. She also has a degree in Broadcast Communications from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Shelley is the director of the Spirit Mountain Community Foundation, with extensive experience in Tribal administration, and brings significant philanthropic experience to the Board.

Anna attended the University of Alaska and New Hampshire College and is education director of the Skokomish Indian Tribe.

Heather graduated from Central Washington University with a degree in Business Administration and serves on Tribal Council of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, responsible for governance, program administration, and development and implementation of Tribal laws.

Bryan is a Tribal account executive with Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, Oregon. He previously was a program and financial advisor with the CDFI Fund for the U.S. Department of Treasury. Bryan has a Máster en Acción Salidaria, Human Rights Law from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.

Tim Otani has extensive leadership experience in the Corporate, Nonprofit and Philanthropic worlds. He has worked extensively with communities of color including many Native communities and organizations at the local, regional and national levels. In his most recent position he managed the charitable giving / community relations program for Washington Mutual throughout the Northwest, Southeast, Northeast and with their national partners. He has also held leadership positions with community based nonprofits such as; the Institute for Global Security Studies, the Japanese American Citizens League and the Employment Opportunities Center. Mr. Otani also has extensive volunteer board and committee experience including with the: Washington State Housing Finance Commission; National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development; Minority Executive Directors Coalition of King County, and the National Coalition for Asian Pacific Community Development. He lives with his wife and two sons in Lake Forest Park, Washington.

Michael Roberts returned to First Nations Development Institute as President in 2005 (he served as COO from 1997 to 2002) an organization building a strong foundation for and strengthening American Indian-controlled economies.

In the interim Mike spent five years in private equity, including advising angel investors; working for a $500M telecommunications fund; and for an early-stage Midwest V.C. firm. Mike has worked of Alaska Native corporations, and for local IRA councils, primarily in accounting and finance.

Mike has an MBA from the University of Washington and a B.EnvironDesign in Architecture from the University of Colorado.

State Senator, Montana

Jonathan Windy Boy is a member of the Chippewa Cree Tribe in Rocky Boy, Montana. He is currently the Vice Chairman of the Chippewa Cree Tribe and served on the Tribal Council for the last 11 years. Jonathan also served 3 two- year terms (6 years) in the Montana House of Representatives. Due to term limits in the Montana Legislature Jonathan is limited to run for no more than 8 years in each chamber of the Legislature. Although Jonathan was eligible to run for the House seat one more term, Jonathan decided to run a campaign against an incumbent Senator for Senate District 16. Jonathan was successful on his bid, making this victory the first year of an eligible 8 years in the Montana Senate.

Jonathan also served as the co-chairman of the get out the Native Vote in Montana for President Barack Obama. Jonathan serves on a number of Technical Advisory Committees for the Federal Government such as the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse Mental health Services Administration), the DOJ (Department Of Justice), just to name a few. He is also the co-founder of the National Alliance of Tribal TANF (with Jim Thomas). Also the CLLBT (Council of Large Land Based Tribes) was co-founded by Senator windy Boy in 2001.

Before entering into the political arena, Jonathan has become well known in the dancing arena of the pow-wow. Being a perennial grass dance champion, he one prestigious contests such as 14 times at the United Tribes International Championships, 15 times at the Gathering of Nations Pow-wow in Albuquerque NM., 7 consecutives saddles during the Samson band Pow-wow in Hobemma Alberta Canada. 6 times at the Schemitzun Pau wau, in Connecticut during its early years. Jonathan also choreographed shows such as the 1995 Special Olympics in Connecticut, and the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia in 1996. Jonathan is also the lead singer of the Haystack singers, an original style drum group from Rocky Boy gaining National acclaim. Jonathan was also featured in the National Geographic magazine, published in June, 1994.