Native American Advisory Board

 

Lena Fowler

Lena Fowler is serving her second term on the Coconino County Board of Supervisors for District 5. In this capacity, Supervisor Fowler is also serving as Chairwoman of the Board. Lena is a founding member of the Tuba City Concerned Citizens, Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation and served as President of the Association for Indian Self-Determination in Healthcare where she helped organize healthcare contractors to implement P.L. 91-638 on the Navajo Nation. Lena is Diné from the Navajo Nation.

Jamie Fullmer

Jamie Fullmer is founder, Chairman and CEO of Blue Stone Strategy Group, which provides business and advisory services to tribal leaders, tribal enterprises and corporate entities working with tribes. Previously, Jamie served as Chairman of the Yavapai Apache Nation. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Southern Utah University and a Master of Social Work from the University of Utah.

Melvin Hunter, Jr. (NAU alumni)

Melvin Hunter, Jr. is a member of the Hualapai Tribe. He currently serves on the NAU Alumni Association and is the Forest Manager with the Hualapai Tribe, where he supports Indian Self-Determination. Melvin is a Gold Axe Award recipient and deeply values his NAU student experience. Melvin is an active member of the NAU School of Forestry Advisory Council, chairs the Native American Recruitment and Retention sub-committee, and has served as mentor in the Lumberjacks Thrive Externship program. Melvin currently resides in Arizona and enjoys spending time with his family. Melvin holds a BS in Forestry from Northern Arizona University.

LuAnn Leonard (NAU alumni)

Dr. LuAnn Leonard is a member of the Hopi Tribe and Tohono O’odham Nation. She currently serves as Executive Director of the Hopi Education Endowment Fund, an educational non-profit of the Hopi Tribe. During her 35-year career in Hopi Tribal Government she has served in positions ranging from a front-line education Counselor to the a Staff Assistant to Hopi Chairman Wayne Taylor, Jr., addressing human service needs.  Dr. Leonard holds the title of Regent Emeritus as she served as the first Native American member of the Arizona Board of Regents from 2008-2016.  She is a proud graduate of Northern Arizona University, earning a BS in 1983 and honorary Doctorate in 2017.

Buu Nygren

Dr. Buu Nygren was elected as President of the Navajo Nation in 2022. Previously, he served as Chief Commercial Officer for the Navajo Engineering and Construction Authority (NECA). From 2010 to 2018, he worked as a national operations trainer and project manager at a multi-billion-dollar construction company that built schools, senior living homes, and public safety facilities from Nevada to Florida. In April 2023, President Nygren was recognized as one of the top 40 Native American Leaders Under 40 by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED).

Dr. Nygren holds a BS Degree in Construction Management and MBA from Arizona State University. In 2021, he earned his Doctor of Education in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California. Dr. Nygren is married to former Arizona State Representative Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren, and together have a young daughter. Both proudly reside in Red Mesa, Arizona, about 35 miles from the Four Corners National Monument and 80 miles from Monument Valley, Utah.

 

Jody Potts-Joseph (NAU alumni)

Jody Juneby Potts is Han Gwich’in and an enrolled tribal member of the Native Village of Eagle, in Alaska and Trondek Hwech’in First Nation in Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada.

Jody currently serves on the Board of Directors of Doyon, Limited, the Alaska Native Regional Corporation of Interior Alaska, sits on the board of the Alaska Wilderness League and President/Co-founder of Data for Indigenous Justice. She is a tireless advocate for the protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil development, guided by her Gwich’in elders and leaders who have fought to protect their homelands for generations. Jody shares her experience and observations of climate change in the Arctic.

Jody and her family are featured in National Geographic Channel’s Life Below Zero: First Alaskans.  First Alaskans premieres, May 30, 2022, depicting Indigenous Alaskans living on ancient lands while facing new climate of challenges. Jody is also a subsistence hunter and fisherwoman and grew up on her Indigenous lands and taught her children how to hunt and fish. Passionate about wellness and Gwich’in values, Jody is a traditional Gwich’in tattoo practitioner, dog musher, wilderness guide and is featured on National Geographic Television’s Life Below Zero, First Alaskans. Her experience on the land comes from generations of Indigenous knowledge.

Early 2021, Jody and her two oldest kids founded a new organization called, “Native Youth Outdoors” which aims to get more Alaska Native Youth participating in outdoor recreation to help with health, wellness, resiliency, and to increase diversity of outdoor spaces.  Jody’s goal is to increase accessibility for Indigenous youth and other people of color in the outdoors and help create a welcome place for all.

With a B.S. in Applied Indigenous Studies and Environmental Management from Northern Arizona University, Jody’s work bridges together environmental science and Indigenous knowledge. She served as Vice Chair of former Alaska Governor Walker’s Tribal Advisory Council and as a board member to the Alaska Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Today Jody can be found at their family’s fishcamp on the Yukon River whittling wood, cooking over a campfire, processing salmon, building their next project, or mushing dogs with her kids and husband.

 

Terry Rambler

Terry Rambler is serving his second term as Chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. He also serves as Chairman of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association. Previously, Chairman Rambler served as a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribal Council, President of the Intertribal Council of Arizona, and board member of the Fort Thomas Unified School District. He holds a BS Degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix and has three children.

 

Kasey Velasquez (NAU alumni)

Kasey Velasquez is Chairman of the White Mountain Apache Tribe and served as Vice Chairman from 2014 to 2018. While serving with the honorable late Chairman Ronnie Lupe, they advocated for the federal government to fulfill its promise to provide safe and reliable drinking water to the people of WMAT. From 2020 to 2022, Kasey also served as Tribal Councilman for District IV. Prior to becoming an elected leader, Kasey was a tribal police officer, school counselor and administrator, and substance abuse counselor.

Kasey represents the Bear Clan (Nagodishgizh’n) and Roadrunner Clan (Biszaha). He is married to Alethea (Todecheenie Clan) for 34 years and they have five children, four grandchildren, four goddaughters and one godson. Kasey holds two master’s degree in the field of Education, one from Doane College and one from Northern Arizona University. He also has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from NAU and an AA degree in Justice Administration from Eastern Arizona College.

 

Timothy “Tim” Williams (NAU alumni)

Timothy “Tim” Williams is serving his third term as Chairman of the Fort Mohave Indian Tribe. Under Chairman Williams’ leadership, the Tribe renovated the Spirit Mountain Casino in Mohave Valley and put forth a proposal to build a new casino west of Needles, CA. He is a US Marine Corp Veteran and holds an associate degree from Yavapai College and a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Arizona University. He is married to Tara, and they have four daughters.