Board of Directors
The 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 2 members from Canada. The board meets quarterly to set the budget, policies, 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)
Council Vice-Chairman
Morongo Band
Banning, CA
Vice President
Theodore Nelson, Sr. (Seminole Tribe of Florida)
Foster Care System Administrator
Seminole Tribe of Florida
Hollywood, FL
Secretary
Marla Jean Big Boy (Oglala Lakota)
Chief Judge, Pueblo de San Ildefonso Tribal Court
Santa Fe, NM
Treasurer
Gary Peterson, MSW (Skokomish)
Professor
Evergreen State College
Shelton, WA
Members
Patricia Carter (Nez Perce)
Student
Lewis-Clark State College
Lapwai, Idaho
Anita Chisholm (Absentee Shawnee)
Treasurer, Absentee Shawnee Tribe
Oklahoma City, OK
Jennifer Elliott (Sac and Fox)
PhD Candidate, Business & Marketing
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR
Rochelle Ettawageshik
(Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians)
Elder
Harbor Springs, MI
Donne Fleagle (Athabascan)
President/CEO of MTNT, Limited
McGrath, AK
Jocelyn Formsma (Swampy Cree)
Student, University of Ottawa
Ottawa, ON, Canada
Debra Foxcroft (Tseshaht)
Assistant Deputy Minister for Aboriginal Regional Support Services
of British Columbia Provincial Government
Port Alberni, BC, Canada
Council of Elders
Honorable Lola Sohappy, JD (Warm Springs)
Retired Chief Judge
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
Warm Springs, OR
Chris Leith (Mdewakanton Dakota)
Co-Founder
First Nations Orphans Association
Welch, MN
William Clark (Cherokee)
Area Director
Eagle Ridge Therapeutic Foster Care
Tahlequah, OK
Strategic Leadership Council
Jefferson Keel (Chickasaw)
President
National Congress of American Indians
Ada, OK
Ernie Stevens, Jr. (Oneida)
Chairman
National Indian Gaming Association
Temecula, CA
Delores Greyeyes (Navajo)
Department of Corrections Director
Division of Public Safety, Navajo Nation
Window Rock, AZ
Linda Logan (Oklahoma Choctaw)
Executive Director
Native American Children's Alliance
University Heights, OH
Don Milligan, MSW (Cree/Assiniboine)
ICW Director
Small Tribes Org. of Western Washington
Kent, WA
Mary Tenorio, PhD, RN (Santo Domingo)
Retired Director
Santo Domingo Pueblo Social Services
Santo Domingo, NM
Gil Vigil (Tesuque Pueblo)
Santa Fe Indian School Administrator
Tesuque Pueblo
Santa Fe, NM
Jalea Walker (Smith River Rancheria, Tolowa)
Youth Commissioner
NCAI
Smith River Rancheria, CA