- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Economic Development
January brought significant leadership changes across Indian Country, from new directors at major philanthropic and federal programs to promotions at tribal corporations and financial institutions. The MacArthur Foundation and the Department of Energy announced new leadership for programs serving Native communities, while Huntington Bank and Chugach Alaska Corporation elevated executives to expanded roles.
The month also saw recognition for longtime advocates advancing Indigenous arts and economic development. Awards honored leaders who have shaped financial services for tribal nations and supported Native artists for decades. New board appointments at tribal enterprises and national organizations rounded out a busy start to 2026.
HIRES + PROMOTIONS
The National Indian Health Board named Garrett Lankford as its federal relations director. Lankford will lead efforts to advance the organization's federal budget and regulatory policy priorities, develop and advance tribal health and public health policy priorities to the White House and federal agencies, and lead national budget formation, analysis and advocacy work. A member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana and descendant of the Gros Ventre Tribe, Lankford previously served as interim federal relations director at NIHB and worked in the Office of Tribal and Native Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He holds a master's degree in public policy from Duke University.
Chugach Alaska Corporation promoted Gwen Welch to president of Chugach Commercial Holdings. Welch will lead the corporation's expanding commercial portfolio, advancing strategic acquisitions, operational excellence and long-term value creation. She joined Chugach in 2002 and most recently served as senior vice president of Chugach Commercial Holdings and previously as vice president of operations. Over the past five years, she helped shape strategy and strengthen governance across a commercial portfolio of eight operating companies and approximately 800 employees spanning Alaska, Hawaii and Illinois. Welch has more than 25 years of experience in finance and operations across government and commercial sectors. She earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Chugach Alaska Corporation also promoted Randi Jo Gause to vice president of marketing and communications. Gause will oversee enterprise marketing and communications, including brand strategy and stewardship, internal and external communications, executive communications, media relations and integrated marketing programs. She joined Chugach more than a decade ago as communications manager and most recently served as marketing and communications director. Before joining Chugach, she held marketing roles in agency and nonprofit environments. Gause was named one of the Alaska Journal of Commerce's 2020 Top 40 Under 40. She holds an MBA in international business from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a bachelor's degree in public relations from the University of Utah.
The Tohono O'odham Gaming Enterprise named James O'Kimosh as general manager overseeing Desert Diamond Casino Tucson, Desert Diamond Casino Sahuarita and Desert Diamond Casino Why in Southern Arizona. O'Kimosh previously served as southern Arizona slot director since 2019. A tribal member with Menominee and Arikara heritage, O'Kimosh was born and raised on the Menominee Indian Reservation in Keshena, Wisconsin. He has a background in education, serving as a math and computer science teacher and later a college professor in information technology. He also held executive positions in the gaming industry as information technology director, project manager, casino general manager and slot director.
Osage LLC named Katie Yates Free as asset manager. An Osage Nation tribal member, Yates Free will support stewardship and strategic management of Osage LLC's land and assets, focusing on regulatory compliance, complex land transactions, land-use coordination and long-term asset protection. She most recently served as acting senior realty specialist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office, where she led administrative appeals, oversaw regional compliance processes and provided high-level review of trust and surface transactions. She previously served as a realty specialist for the Osage Nation and as executive assistant to the assistant principal chief. Yates Free holds a master of legal studies in Indigenous peoples law from the University of Oklahoma and a bachelor's degree in multidisciplinary studies from Oklahoma State University.
Huntington Bank appointed Alex Wesaw as community development manager of Native American communities, a new leadership role created to build and scale a national Native American community development platform. Wesaw, a citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, joined Huntington in 2023 as a commercial relationship manager when the bank launched its Native American Financial Services team. He will lead the creation of strategies tailored to Native American communities nationwide, including needs assessments, programmatic support recommendations and investment priorities. Wesaw serves as councilman and tribal treasurer on the Pokagon Band Tribal Council and sits on the boards of the National Indian Child Welfare Association and the Indian Gaming Association. He holds a doctorate in city and regional planning from Ohio State University.
Sunday Morning Living appointed Hina Reed as CEO. Reed will lead the company's efforts to provide affordable housing, commercial and industrial buildings, healthcare clinics, childcare facilities, office buildings, hotels and casinos for Native American communities using advanced construction technology. She previously served as executive vice president of customer experiences at Concept:3 Las Vegas, where she led sales and marketing strategies to enhance casino patron experiences. Reed also held the position of vice president of sales and marketing at Nexgen Technology and spent 13 years at Everi Holdings Inc. in various vice president roles including training and optimization, integrated payments and kiosks, and sales. She served as director of slot operations at Caesars Palace and as training manager at MGM Grand Detroit Casino and MGM Grand Las Vegas.
Fenimore Art Museum and Fenimore Farm and Country Village appointed Christina Burke as Thaw curator of Native American art. Burke previously served as curator of Native American and non-Western art at Philbrook Museum of Art for more than 16 years, overseeing acquisitions, care, research and exhibitions. She also served as a curatorial assistant at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and as a research collaborator at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where she completed research on Native American pictographic calendars. Burke was collections manager at the Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School and served as exhibition developer and program assistant for the American Indian Program at the National Museum of Natural History.
The Aspen Institute promoted Maria Samaniego to managing director of the Center for Native American Youth. Samaniego previously served as associate director of operations and strategic partnerships for the center and as interim executive director from April 2024 to March 2025. Before joining the Center for Native American Youth, she served as acting executive director and senior program manager for the Aspen Institute's Latinos and Society Program. She also served as deputy director at UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative and held positions including senior director of development and programming at Voto Latino. Samaniego holds a master's degree in education with a focus on P-16 leadership from Michigan State University, a master's in Latin American studies from California State University Los Angeles and a bachelor's in political science from UC Davis.
FEATURED APPOINTMENTS |
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The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named Megan Minoka Hill, a citizen of the Oneida Nation, as director of its new Native self-determination program. Hill brings two decades of experience in philanthropy, government and community-based organizations. |
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The U.S. Department of Energy announced Eric Mahroum as director of the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs. Mahroum previously served as director of DOE's Office of State and Community Energy Programs, overseeing programs that made available hundreds of millions of dollars to Indian tribes and Alaska Native corporations. |
MacArthur Foundation names Megan Minoka Hill to lead Native self-determination program
DOE names Eric Mahroum director of Office of Indian EnergyBOARD APPOINTMENTS
Potawatomi Ventures appointed Shelby Daniels as vice chair of its board of directors and welcomed Ethel Branch and Brittany Lambright as board members. Daniels, an enrolled Forest County Potawatomi Community tribal member, serves as behavioral health manager at the FCP Health and Wellness Center. She holds an associate degree in substance abuse counseling from Nicolet College and is completing an associate degree in human services and a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Branch, a member of the Navajo Nation, served two terms as attorney general of the Navajo Nation and currently is civil deputy county attorney for Coconino County. She holds degrees from Harvard, including a juris doctorate and master's in public policy. Lambright, an enrolled FCPC tribal member, is a secondary school counselor in Colorado's Delta County School District.
The American Indigenous Tourism Association elected Sondra Corbitt and Stacey LaCompte to its board of directors. Corbitt, a member of the United Houma Nation, serves as president and CEO of Explore Houma, where she leads efforts to promote Louisiana's Bayou Country culture, heritage and natural beauty. LaCompte, an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and descendant of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, serves as executive director of the North Dakota Native Tourism Alliance and Native Cultural Tours. She was a member of the first cohort of Native Nation Rebuilders selected by the Bush Foundation in 2010.
KUDOS
United States Artists recognized Lori Lea Pourier, an Oglala Lakota arts leader, with its 2026 Berresford Prize, a $50,000 award honoring cultural practitioners who create platforms and conditions for artists to thrive. Pourier, founder of the First Peoples Fund where she serves as senior fellow, has spent nearly 30 years supporting Native artists and arts communities. She began her career at the First Nations Development Institute and the International Indigenous Women's Network, where she rose to executive director. Pourier was elected to the Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2024 and named a 2025 Bush Foundation Fellow. Other recognitions include the 2022 Association of Performing Arts Professionals Sidney Yates Advocacy Award, the 2017 Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellow and the 2013 Women's World Summit Foundation Prize for Creativity in Rural Life.
GlobalMindED recognized Mike Lettig, senior managing director and group head of Native American Financial Services at Huntington National Bank, with its 2026 Exceptional Leader Award for Banking and Finance. Lettig, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, began his banking career in 1976 and has worked in retail banking, commercial banking and agribusiness for over five decades. He has spent most of his life on or near Indian reservations, predominantly adjacent to the Navajo Nation and Yakama Nation. Lettig developed a dedicated team model that allows tribal governments and businesses to work with specialists who understand tribal sovereignty and self-governance. His approach has helped reshape financial services for tribal nations through relationship-based solutions that support economic resilience. The model has been adopted by several banks.
If you have news of new hires, appointments or special recognition, please share them with [email protected].
