NIGA Sponsors NCAIED Native American 40 Under 40

The National Indian Gaming Association partnered with the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED) in presenting the Native American 40 Under 40 at the Indians in Progress (INPRO) event in at the Crowne Plaza in Tulsa, Oklahoma on September 18, 2009.

NIGA Chairman Ernie Stevens, Jr., said, “It was a tremendous honor to be part of recognizing these individuals. They are today’s leaders, preparing for tomorrow. It was outstanding to see the tremendous wealth of knowledge, determination and leadership in each of these bright, young Native Americans.”

NIGA sponsored the evening reception that recognized the 40 Native American’s chosen.

James Anderson	Choctaw/Ojibwe	Education Director, Life Skills Development Center	Minneapolis, MN
Donna Bach	Yupik Eskimo	PR Director, Yukon-Kushokwin Health Corp.	Berthel, AK
Cyrus Ben	Miss. Band of Choctaw	CEO, Choctaw Office Supplies	Choctaw, MS
Brian Busey	Cherokee	VP of HR & Operations, Deleware Resource Group	Oklahoma City, OK
Phillip Busey	Cherokee	VP of Communications, Busey Group of Companies	Oklahoma City, OK
Vernelle Chase	Gros-Ventre	Tribal Liaison, The Flintco Co., Inc.	Tulsa, OK
Jason Coochwytewa	Isleta Pueblo/Hopi	President/Owner, Red Note, Inc.	Tempe, AZ
Craig Cooke	St. Regis Mohawk	CEO, Rhythm Interactive, Inc.	Irvine, CA
Cara Cowan-Watts	Cherokee	Council Person, Cherokee Nation	Claremore, OK
Carmen Davis	Makah/Chippewa-Cree/ Yakama	VP, Litefoot Enterprises, LLC	Seattle, WA
Wayne Don	Cupik	Chairman, NIMA Corporation	Anchorage, AK
Tiffany Ellis	Muscogee (Creek)	PR Manager, River Spirit Casino	Tulsa, OK
Douglas Fifer	CIRI	Owner, Wine Styles, Cook Intel, Inc.	Anchorage, AK
Gabriel Galanda	Round Valley Indian Tribe	Member, Williams-Kastner	Seattle, WA
Jason Giles	Muscogee (Creek)	Deputy Director/Legal Counsel, NIGA	Washington, DC
Veronica Hix	Cherokee	Entrepreneur Dev. Dir., The Cherokee Nation	Tahlequah, OK
Zackeree Kelin	Caddo Nation	Managing Attorney, DNA People’s Legal Service	Window Rock, AZ
Adam Kennedy	Seneca	General Manager, Kennedy Wendel	Amherst, NY
Sarah Lukin	Native Village of Afognak	Executive Dir., Native American Contractor’s Assoc.	Washington, DC
Ann Marie Machamer	Costal Band of Chumash	Dir. of Instutional Research, Los Posita College	San Ramone, CA
Jeremy Marshall	Cherokee Nation	Student Program Asst., Univ. of Wisconsin	Madison, WI
Jessica Moore	Osage/Ote/Pawnee/Sac & Fox	Student/Intern, Oklahoma State Univ.	Fairfax, OK
Sahar Nouri, MD	Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa	Physican of OB/GYN, Indian Health Service	Ft. Defiance, AZ
Stuart Paisano	Sandia Pueblo	Council Member, Pueblo of Sandia	Bernalillo, NM
Kerry Patterson	Seneca	Associate, Fennemore Craig, P.C.	Phoenix, AZ
Nikishna Polequaptewa	Hopi	Dir. of Amer Indian Resource, Univ. of Calif. Irvine	Irvine, CA
Clara Pratte	Navajo	Dir Office of Native Am. Affairs, Small Business Admin.	Washington, DC
Chris Province	Cherokee	Shift Manager, Cherokee Will Rogers Downs	Claremore, OK
Cherrah Quiett	Muscogee (Creek)/Cherokee	Councilwoman, Muscogee (Creek) Nation Council	Tulsa, OK
Deborah Reed	Cherokee	Legal Asst., Cherokee Nation Business, LLC	Catossa, OK
James Robinson	Miss. Band of Choctaw	President, Choctaw Ikhana Laboratory Services, Inc.	Choctaw, MS
Danelle Smith	Winnebago Tribe	Partner, Fredricks, Peebles & Morgan	Winnebago, NE
Brandon Yellowbird Stevens	Oneida Nation of Wisconsin	Councilman, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin	Oneida, WI
Richard Tall Bear	Sisseton Sioux	Owner & President, The Tall Bear Group	Los Angeles, CA
Kimberly Teehee	Cherokee	Senior Advisor, NA Affairs, The Whitehouse Domestic Policy	Washington, DC
Christina Theodorou	Lumbee of NC	Program Mgr., NC Indian Econ. Development	Raleigh, NC
Stacey Thunder	Red Lake Band of Chippewa	General Counsel, Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians	Red Lake, MN
Gina Timberman	Choctaw	Executive Director, NA Cultural & Education Authority	Oklahoma City, OK
April Whittemore Locklear	Lumbee	Clinical Counselor, Robinson Health Care Corp.	Fairmont, NC
Robin Williams	Kiowa/Apache	Sr. Academic Counselor, OK State Univeristy	Stillwater, OK