Education: BS in business administration, management, communications and leadership, Concordia University; MLS in indigenous peoples law, University of Oklahoma
Experience: I began my career 35 years ago as an intelligence specialist in the United States Navy before moving on to roles in business, non-profit and government organizations. I currently serve as Oregon’s Council Member to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, as Director of Indigenous Programs at Yale’s Center for Environmental Justice, Lecturer at Yale’s Environmental School and Oregon Tribes Scholar in Residence and Senior Fellow for the Native Environmental Sovereignty Project in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center at the University of Oregon.
What skills and experience do you bring to the board?
Most recently, I served as the 19th director of the National Park Service where I oversaw 433 National Park units, with over 20,000 staff and an annual operating budget of $3.5 billion.
I also have extensive executive management experience across a wide variety of Native American and mainstream organizations, where I worked to address people’s environmental, educational, and health needs.
Why is it so important to continue to focus on the mission of the co-op at the board level?
We protect what we know and what we love. The outdoors is worth protecting and preserving now and for future generations to enjoy and experience. REI’s mission—connecting people to the power of the outdoors—resonates with my belief of the importance of getting people outside to learn about the importance of public spaces.
How have you been involved—through non-profits, ESG work, or similar—in activities that tie to our impact agenda and mission?
I am proud to be a self-nominated candidate to serve on the REI Board of Directors. I have dedicated much of my professional career to protecting, preserving and enhancing land, water, air, flora and fauna. Over the past 35 years I have conserved over 200,000 acres of land; restored salmon in the Columbia River Basin; and restored the American Bald Eagle in Washington D.C., Northern Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, and New York City. I’ve worked on a national climate change strategic plan for the national park system and continue to provide professional development and educational opportunities to the next generation of environmental stewards.
Where’s your favorite place for outdoor adventure, and what do you like to do there?
I am so fortunate to have grown up in the foothills of the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon. I spent my youth along the banks of the Umatilla River and its tributaries. I learned to hunt, fish and gather foods and materials in the Blue Mountains. I was taught outdoor skills by my grandparents, my great uncles, and my parents. Today, I teach those same skills to my children, nieces and nephews.
What impact has life outdoors had on your quality of life?
Being outdoors centers me as a human being, reminding me of the connections I have with land, water, air, flora and fauna and the reciprocal and symbiotic relationship we all have with the natural world. Our interdependence is not happenstance; we must be good stewards of our natural resources for they give us life.