AIGC Board of Directors
 David Mahooty, President (Zuni)
David is Assistant Vice President and Relationship Manager for the Wells Fargo New Mexico Commercial Banking office in Albuquerque, NM. He also serves on the Laguna Education Foundation Board and the Advisory Council for the Native American Initiative for Junior Achievement.
An AIGC alumnus, Mahooty earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Master of Business Administration from the University of New Mexico. He is also a graduate of the New Mexico Military Institute.
You may reach him via email: Email David
 Grayson B. Noley, Vice-President (Choctaw)
A member of the Choctaw Nation, Grayson was born and raised in eastern Oklahoma, where he graduated from Wilburton High School. Following an honorable discharge from the Army, Grayson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Southeastern Oklahoma State College. He earned the Master of Education and the Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Educational Administration at the Pennsylvania State University.
Currently, Grayson is Academic Chair and Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Oklahoma. In addition to being Project Director for American Leadership in School Administration, he also headed the Oklahoma Native Education Network. In addition to serving on the AIGC Board of Directors, he also serves as President of the Midwest History of Education Society and is Chair of the governing board for National Native American Families Together.
You may reach Grayson via e-mail: Email Grayson
 Melanie Patten Fritzsche, Secretary and Treasurer (Laguna Pueblo)
Melanie is the CEO of Aurora Publishing, LLC. She and her husband, Matt Fritzsche, began the company in August 2004. For the past three years, Aurora Publishing has been ranked in the Top 25 American Indian-owned businesses in New Mexico, by New Mexico Business Weekly.
Prior to opening her own company, Melanie practiced law in the areas of water law, federal Indian law and administrative law, and has both, public and private practice experience. She was in private practice with a firm specializing in water law. She was an Assistant Attorney General for the New Mexico Attorney General's Office, in the Civil Division, and an Attorney-Advisor for the Solicitor's Office of the Department of the Interior, Southwest Regional Office. Melanie served as a judicial law clerk for The Honorable Celia Foy Castillo of the New Mexico Court of Appeals. She also was a law clerk, for the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico. Melanie continues to practice law on a contract basis.
Melanie received her B.A. in History/Government from Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado and her J.D., with a Certificate in Indian Law and Natural Resources, from the University of New Mexico School of Law.
You may reach Melanie via e-mail: Email Melanie
 Dr. Dee Ann DeRoin, Member (Ioway Tribe of Kansas)
Dr. DeRoin is a member of the Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Southeast Nebraska and an American Indian Graduate Center alumna.
Following twenty years experience practicing family medicine and health education, Dr. Dee Ann DeRoin has been a consultant in community and women’s health since 2001, primarily with the National Indian Women’s Health Resource Center, based in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, as well as to tribes and other Indian organizations.
Dr. DeRoin earned her master’s degree in public health education from the University of California, Berkeley, and received her medical degree from Stanford University.
You may reach Dee Ann via e-mail: Email Dee Ann
 Michael E. Bird, MSW, MPH, Member (Santo Domingo-San Juan)
Mr. Bird is a Santo Domingo-San Juan Pueblo Indian from New Mexico. Mr. Bird has over 25 years of public health experience in the areas of medical social work, substance abuse prevention, health promotion and disease prevention, HIV/AIDS prevention, behavioral health, and health care administration.
Mr. Bird most recently served as the Director of Region 6 for Native Americans with ValueOptions-New Mexico (VONM), a national for-profit behavioral health company. From 2001 to 2005, he served as Executive Director of the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center (NNAAPC). At NNAAPC, he increased and strengthened the provision of technical assistance in HIV prevention programs for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities.
For 20 years, Mr. Bird was with the United States Public Health Service (USPHS), Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. Prior to leaving IHS, Mr. Bird was the Director of Preventive Health Programs for the Santa Fe Service Unit and the Albuquerque Area office. He also served with the Office of Tribal Activities and Office of Planning and Evaluation.
Mr. Bird was President of the American Public Health Association from 2000 to 2001. He is the first American Indian, and social worker, to serve as President in APHA’s history. He is also Past President of the New Mexico Public Health Association, and was a fellow in the USPHS Primary Care Policy Fellowship.
He has also been involved in numerous health disparities projects and programs on a local, tribal, national and international level. Most recently, he was named to serve on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Urban Indian Health Commission.
Mr. Bird earned his Master’s in Social Work (MSW) degree from the University of Utah, and Master’s in Public Health (MPH) at the University of California, Berkeley.
 Rose Graham, Member (Navajo)
Rose Graham is the Director of the Office of Navajo Nation Scholarship and Financial Assistance (ONNSFA) in Window Rock, Arizona. ONNSFA is one of 12 programs under the Department of Dine Education, the Navajo Nation's education regulatory agency. ONNSFA serves more than 10,000 Navajo students pursuing postsecondary education. It is largely funded by a P.L. 93-638 contract with the BIA/DOI. Approximately 35 percent of its funds come from the Navajo Nation, corporate and private donations.
Prior to her work with ONNSFA, Rose worked with the Navajo Nation Council for 9 years as Legislative Services Director, Legislative Advisor and Interpreter during Council sessions.
Rose was appointed to serve on the Board of the American Indian Graduate Center because of her significant experience and dedication to education issues. Accepting the appoinment, she said, "I believe our young people will inherit a society, environment and world that will be increasingly and wonderfully challenging, competitive and complex. To meet the challenges of this future society, our young people need higher education. I am honored to be appointed to this distinguished board and I will strive to help AIGC with its mission to prepare our young Native people for this future."
Rose received a B.A. in Humanitites from Fort Lewis College. She is also a Certified Navajo Court Interpreter.
 Elizabeth Rodke Washburn, President Emerita (Chickasaw)
Libby currently serves as the Director of Communications & External Relations for the Morris K. Udall Foundation in Tucson, Arizona. In addition, she teaches a seminar at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law.
From 2005 to 2008, she served as an attorney at the U.S. Department of the Interior, specializing in federal Indian law, natural resources, and environmental law. From 2003 to 2005, Libby worked at the University of Minnesota Law School as the Director of Communications and taught a course on Cultural Property law. She served as legislative counsel to Senator Jeff Bingaman from 2001-2003, working on issues related to American Indians, natural resources, public lands, the environment, and the federal judiciary. Libby was an associate attorney at Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson & Perry in Washington, DC, from 200-2001. She was previously employed at the Interior Department when she was selected into the Solicitor's Honors Program in 1998. Libby also clerked for the U.S. Department of Justice in the Civil Rights Division.
While living in Minnesota, Libby served as a judge on the Minnesota Chippewa Appellate Court. She has also volunteered on special projects for The Nature Conservancy, the American Indian Law Center, and the Indian Child Welfare Law Center.
Libby received her bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Oklahoma, her master's degree in Government from Texas Woman's University, and her law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law.
Libby is married to Kevin K. Washburn (Chickasaw) and they have two sons.
You may reach her via email: Email Libby
 Governor Bill Anoatubby, Member (Chickasaw)
Bill Anoatubby has served as the Governor of the Chickasaw Nation since 1987. Prior to that, he served as the First Lt. Governor from 1979-1987. Anoatubby has been active in tribal government since 1975. His previous positions include Director of Tribal Health Services, Director of Finance, Special Assistant to the Governor and Controller.
Work experience prior to his involvement with the Chickasaw Nation includes managing office operations of American Plating Company and as the Chief Accountant of Little Giant Corporation. Anoatubby received degrees in accounting and business and has taken many continuing education courses.
Today, the Chickasaw Nation employs more than 10,500 people. Funding for tribal operations has grown exponentially, tribal assets have grown twenty fold. Governor Anoatubby is committed to meeting the needs and desires of Chickasaw people by provididing health care services, opportunities for employment and career advancement, heritage preservation, cultural preservation and growth, and the chance for every Chickasaw to obtain a higher education.
Bill and his wife Janice have two sons, Brian and Chris, and five grandchildren, Brendan, Eryn, Chloe, Sydney and Preslea.
You may reach him via email: Email Governor Anoatubby
 Danna R. Jackson, Esq., Member (Confederated Tribes of Salish & Kootenai)
Danna Jackson received her J.D. from the University of Montana, in 1996, and is a member of the bar in both Montana and Washington, DC.
Ms. Jackson is Policy Counsel/Senior Consultant in the American Indian Law and Policy practice group of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, in Washington, DC. Danna spends part of her time at the firm lobbying Congress on a broad range of tribal concerns including; federal ratification of the Crow water settlement, gaming issues, economic development issues on Indian lands, housing, education funding and transportation, She also serves as a Visiting Professor to the University of Montana Indian Law Summer Program teaching Indian Gaming, Contemporary Issues in Indian Policy and Indian Education Law.
Prior to Danna's employment with her current firm, she served as Legislative Assistant to Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) and advised the Senator on all legislative issues relevant to the Indian Affairs and Judiciary committees. She also drafted legislation, Congressional Record Statements and oversaw the appropriations process for all tribal appropriation projects.
In the past, Danna has also worked with the National Indian Gaming Commission, serving as advisor/attorney to the Commission regarding all Indian gaming issues.
You may reach her via email: Email Danna
|
