Board of Directors
National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) is a membership organization with an all-Indian board of directors selected from among the membership. The board of directors is comprised of 20 members from across the nation and two members from Canada. The board meets quarterly to set budget, policy, program plans, and to review and approve specific funding applications. The board also maintains a number of standing committees that conduct the business of the board and provide advice and oversight of projects.
The composition of the board is carefully monitored by the board’s Governance Committee. There is a balance of one-third tribal leadership, one-third ICW staff or directors, and one-third volunteers or persons from related fields such as substance abuse, education, or mental health. The Governance Committee researches, and recruits potential board members, who are screened for their service and commitment to American Indian children and families. Only after careful screening and selection are candidates presented to the full board for consideration and possible election.
The board maintains a spiritual focus and seeks to maintain a high level of integrity and ethics in their execution of NICWA’s governance.
Officers
President
Maurice Lyons (Morongo)
Former Tribal Chairman
Morongo Tribe
Banning, CA
Vice President
Don Milligan, MSW (Cree/Assiniboine)
Program Manager
Small Tribes of Western Washington
Kent, WA
Secretary
Marla Jean Big Boy (Oglala Lakota)
Private Consultant
Omak, WA
Treasurer
Gary Peterson, MSW (Skokomish)
Professor
Evergreen State College
Shelton, WA
Board of Directors
Phyllis Bigpond (Yuchi)
Executive Director
Denver Indian Family Resource Center
Denver, CO
Anita Chisholm (Absentee Shawnee)
Retired Director
American Indian Institute, University of Oklahoma
Moore, OK
William Clark (Cherokee)
Area Director
Eagle Ridge Therapeutic Foster Care
Tahlequah, OK
Donne Fleagle (Athabascan)
Human Services Consultant
Chair and President of Rural CAP (Anchorage)
Chair of Alaska Village Initiatives
McGrath, AK
Debra Foxcroft (Tseshaht)
Human Services Consultant
Vice Chair, Nuu-Chuh-Nulth Tribal Council
Port Alberni, BC Canada
Daniel Gargan (Rosebud Sioux)
Financial Analyst / Economist
Wynne Law Firm
Chandler, AZ
Delores Greyeyes (Navajo)
Quality Assurance Department Director
Navajo Nation
Window Rock, AZ
Jocelyn Formsma (Swampy Cree)
Youth Board Member
Ottawa, ON Canada
Jefferson Keel (Chickasaw)
Lt. Governor
Chickasaw Nation
Ada, OK
Chris Leith (Mdewakanton Dakota)
Co-Founder
First Nations Orphans Association
Welch, MN
Linda Logan (Oklahoma Choctaw)
Program Manager
Native American Children's Alliance
University Heights, OH
Theodore Nelson, Sr. (Seminole Tribe of Florida)
Foster Care System Administrator
Seminole Tribe of Florida
Hollywood, FL
Honorable Lola Sohappy, J.D. (Warm Springs)
Retired Chief Judge
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
Warm Springs, OR
Ernie Stevens, Jr. (Oneida)
Chairman
National Indian Gaming Association
Temecula, CA
Mary Tenorio, Ph.D.,RN (Santo Domingo)
Retired Director
Santo Domingo Pueblo Social Services
Santo Domingo, NM
Gil Vigil (Tesuque Pueblo)
Governor
Tesuque Pueblo
Santa Fe, NM