About AIO

Board of Directors

  President of the Board - Ms. LaDonna Harris (Comanche)
  President
  Americans for Indian Opportunity
  Albuquerque, New Mexico
 

  Vice President - The Honorable Eddie Tullis (Poarch Creek)
  Former Chairman
  Poarch Band of Creek Indians
  Atmore, Alabama

Co-Vice President - The Honorable Ivan Posey (Eastern Shoshone)
Chairman
Eastern Shoshone Tribe
Fort Washakie, Wyoming

  Secretary - Ms. Elma Patterson (Tuscarora)
  American Indian Builders & Suppliers, Inc.
  Lewiston, New York
 

  Co-Secretary - Ms. Amanda Cobb (Chickasaw)
  Administrator, Division of History
  Ada, Oklahoma

  Assistant-Secretary/Treasurer - Mr. James Washinawatok II (Menominee/Akwesasne Mohawk)
  Tribal Attorney
  Southern Ute Indian Tribe
  Ignacio, Colorado              
 

  Co-Treasurer - Mr. Gilbert H. Thompson (Mississippi Choctaw)
  Assistant Director, Office of Economic Development
  Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
  Choctaw, Mississippi
 

  Chief Executive Officer - Laura Harris
  Executive Director
  Americans for Indian Opportunity
  Albuquerque, New Mexico

  Co-Finance Committee Chair - The Honorable Michael Chapman (Menominee)
  Fund Raising and Public Relations Consultant
  Menominee Indian Reservation
  Keshena, Wisconsin 

  Mr. Edgar A. Bowen (Coos)
  Retired Educator and Former Tribal Chair
  North Bend, Oregon
 

Ms. Mary Jo Butterfield (Makah)
Health Manager
Makah Indian Tribe
Neah Bay, Washington

  Ms. Kate Cherrington (Maori)
  Vice President
  Advancement of Maori Opportunity
  Papamoa, New Zealand

 Dr. Alexander Christakis
 President
 CWA, Ltd.
 Southampton, Pennsylvania
 

  Mr. Andrew Ebona (Tlingit)
  Special Staff Assistant
  Alaska Native Brotherhood Camp #2
  Juneau, Alaska

 Ms. Minerva Jenkins (Mojave)
  Former Tribal Chair
  Fort Mojave Tribal Council
  Needles, California

  Mr. Louie LaRose (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska)
  Planning Director
  Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
  Winnebago, Nebraska

  Mr. Charles Lohah (Osage)
  Chief Justice
  Supreme Court of Osage Nation
  Pawhuska, Oklahoma

  Ms. Grace McCullah-Ryan (Navajo)
  President
  Navajos for Navajo Opportunity
  Arroyo Seco, New Mexico    
 

  Mr. Bentham Ohia (Maori)
  Vice President/Pouhere
  Te Wananga o Aotearoa (New Zealand University)
  Te Awamutu, New Zealand

 

Ms. Faith Roessel (Navajo)
Attorney
Bethesda, Maryland

  Dr. Joe Sando (Jemez Pueblo)
  Author/Historian
  Albuquerque, New Mexico

 

  Ms. Judy Winchester (Pokagon Band Potawatomi)
  Secretary/Council Member, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi
  Dowagiak, Michigan

ALTERNATE BOARD MEMBERS

  Mr. David Lester (Creek)
  Executive Director
  Council of Energy Resource Tribe
  Denver, Colorado

The Honorable Jerry Muskrat (Cherokee)
U.S. Administrative Law Judge
Office of Hearing & Appeals
Social Security Administration
San Diego, California

Ms. Teresa Peterson (Upper Sioux Community Tribe)
Executive Director
Dakota Wicohan
Granite Falls, Minesota

  Ms. LeeAnn Sperling (Maori)
  Director
  Community Development Limited
  Hamilton, New Zealand

  Mr. Terry Tanner (Salish/Kootenai)
  Works Project Coordinator
  Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
  Ronan, Montana