Kirby Jock, President

Kirby is the administrator for the Puyallup Tribe's Board of Trustees, an organization that funds and operates Tribal programs with the purpose of supporting the Tribe's self-sufficiency. While his career began in managing environmental programs for his Tribe, over the years his work has evolved into to administering overall Tribal organizations.

Meredith Parker, Vice President

Meredith Parker is the General Manager for the Makah Tribe. She stays busy on a number of for-profit and not-for-profit boards and especially so serving as President to the Makah Cultural and Research Center Board of Trustees, the Neah Bay Chamber of Commerce, and Ozett Associates LLC. She’s a member of the Makah Tribe and resides in Neah Bay.

Antone Minthorn, Secretary

Antone serves on the boards of the Northwest Area Foundation and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Economic Development Corporation. He has been actively involved in salmon issues and watershed restoration and is a nationally recognized leader on economic development and tribal sovereignty issues in Indian Country.

Tim Otani, Treasurer

Tim Otani has extensive leadership experience in the Corporate, Nonprofit and Philanthropic worlds. He has worked extensively with communities of color including many Native communities and organizations at the local, regional and national levels. In his most recent position he managed the charitable giving / community relations program for Washington Mutual throughout the Northwest, Southeast, Northeast and with their national partners. He has also held leadership positions with community based nonprofits such as; the Institute for Global Security Studies, the Japanese American Citizens League and the Employment Opportunities Center. Mr. Otani also has extensive volunteer board and committee experience including with the: Washington State Housing Finance Commission; National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development; Minority Executive Directors Coalition of King County, and the National Coalition for Asian Pacific Community Development. He lives with his wife and two sons in Lake Forest Park, Washington.

Charlotte Coté, Compliance Officer

Dr. Charlotte Coté is a member of the Tseshaht First Nation, which is one of the groups that make up the larger Nuu-chah-nulth Nation on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia (Canada). She has been living and working in Seattle since 2001 and is an Associate Professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Washington. In 2007, she was appointed to the Potlatch Fund Board. In July of last year, Dr. Coté published her first book, Spirits of Our Whaling Ancestors: Revitalizing Makah and Nuu-chah-nulth Traditions. She is currently working on her next book which will examine Indigenous food sovereignty issues. Dr. Coté also serves as Chair of the University of Washington’s Intellectual House Advisory Committee, which oversees a project to build a coastal longhouse-style facility on the Seattle campus.

Heather graduated from Central Washington University with a degree in Business Administration and serves on Tribal Council of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, responsible for governance, program administration, and development and implementation of Tribal laws.

Bryan is the Manager of Budget and Systems for the Fish & Wildlife Program at the Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, Oregon. He previously was a program manager with the CDFI Fund for the U.S. Department of Treasury. Bryan has an academic background in business (University of Oregon), economics (Universitaet Freiburg), and international and human rights law (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid).

Jim has served more than 100 Tribes, Nations and Alaska Native Corporations since 1971, when he opened the first American Indian consulting firm in Washington D.C. He is widely known for his involvement in the restoration of lands to the Tribes. Jim was PR Director and Board Member of the Alaska Federation of Natives when it championed and won the Alaska Native Land Claims Settlement Act of 1971. He is currently the chairman of the TANF Committee of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI).

Marina TurningRobe is an entrepreneur who founded her company, Sister Sky, with her sister Monica Simeon. Sister Sky is 100% Native American owned and operated. Marina is a member of Spokane Tribe from Washington State and member of the Pacquachin Band from Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Marina holds a B.A. in Organizational Management from Whitworth University. Marina is proud toin say: “historically Native American people were all entrepreneurs; we were a wealthy people who did not live in poverty. We supported, engaged in and enriched ourselves and our communities with entrepreneurial economic-sustainability. Tribal communities are in desperate need to “sing-back” the Spirit of Entrepreneurism which dwelled among our ancestors”.