AIGC Board of Directors.
 Elizabeth Rodke Washburn, President (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
 Joann Sebastian Morris, Secretary (Cayuga/Sault Ste. Marie Ojibwe)
Joann Sebastian Morris is the Director of the Pacific Comprehensive Assistance Center in Honolulu, where she directs the delivery of technical assistance services to educators in Hawaii and nine other Pacific Island jurisdictions from American Samoa to Yap.
The Center is housed in Pacific Resources for Education & Learning (PREL), one of the 10 education labs funded by the U. S. Department of Education.
Prior to her move three years ago, Joann served as the Director of Indian Education in the Bureau of Indian Affairs for 3 years, and 2 additional years as the Special Assistant on Education to the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.
Joann began her career as a teacher and has been active in Indian and international indigenous education issues for over 25 years. Her B.A. in Education is from the University of New Mexico and her MA in Anthropology is from UCLA.
You may reach Joann via e-mail: Email Joann
 David Mahooty, Vice President (Zuni)
David Mahooty is a financial analyst for Wells Fargo’s Commercial Banking Group in Albuquerque.
Mahooty, an AIGC alumnus, earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
A member of the Zuni tribe, David is also Chair of the Wells Fargo Native Peoples New Mexico Team Member Resource Group (TMRG). For the past two years, Mahooty has also taught financial literacy at the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, through Native Peoples New Mexico TMRG.
You may reach David via e-mail: Email David
 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
 Kathryn W. Shanley, Member (Assiniboine (Nakota))
From the Ft. Peck Reservation in Montana, earned a Ph.D. in English Literature and Language studies at the University of Michigan in 1987, with a focus on the study of American Indian and Third World literatures.
She has published widely in the field of American Indian literary criticism, writing about such authors as James Welch, Maria Campbell, Leslie Silko, N. Scott Momaday, Linda Hogan, Thomas King, and others. Most recently Dr. Shanley edited a special edition of Paradoxa: Studies in World Literary Genres entitled: "Native American Literature: Boundaries and Sovereignties."
You may reach Kathryn via e-mail: Email Kathryn
 Melanie Patten Fritzsche, 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
 Grayson B. Noley, Member (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
 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.
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