Conference Speakers
basicImage
Carolyn Abeita



Bio
basicImage
Derrick Beetso


Bio
basicImage
Brenda Bellonger

Brenda J. Bellonger, is a tribal member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, Lake Traverse Reservation and has Minnesota White Earth Chippewa tribal heritage. Tax Director for Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe since May 2008. Licensed attorney in Colorado and South Dakota. Previously, Executive Director/Attorney, North American Indian Legal Services, Inc., a non-profit corporation in Denver that provided legal services in juvenile court to American Indian youth and attorney/mediation services in Indian Child Welfare Act cases.  Phone: (605) 698-8415 and email: brendab@swo-nsn.gov    J.D. from University of New Mexico Law School. BS from University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 
basicImage
Kara Briggs


Bio
Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri

NIGC Chair Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri

September 2013 to Present
Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri (Muscogee (Creek) was nominated by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in April 2015. Prior to this, Chairman Chaudhuri was appointed to the Commission by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and served brief turns as Vice Chair and Associate Commissioner before being designated as Acting NIGC Chairman by the President in October 2013. 
As the sixth presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed Chair, Chairman Chaudhuri brings to the NIGC extensive policy, legal, and judicial experience and a lifelong commitment to serving the Native American community. His varied experiences each stem from his understanding of the connection between the development of strong governmental institutions and Native American self-determination. 
Before joining the NIGC, Chairman Chaudhuri was Senior Counselor to the Department of the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs where he provided guidance and assistance on a wide range of national policy issues including Indian gaming, economic development, energy, Alaskan affairs, and tribal recognition. 
Chairman Chaudhuri has practiced law for more than 15 years, primarily in private practice representing tribal nations and commercial entities. Additionally, Chairman Chaudhuri served as a judge on five different tribal courts, including serving as Chief Justice of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Supreme Court, the highest court of the fourth largest tribe in the Nation. Chairman Chaudhuri’s professional background also includes serving as a community organizer, adjunct professor, public defender, legal services director, and author. 
Originally from Tempe, Arizona, but very much tied to his family roots in Oklahoma, Chairman Chaudhuri graduated in 1993 with a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1999. Chairman Chaudhuri’s volunteer and lifetime service has been spent on many issues regarding underrepresented communities.
basicImage
Kelly S. Croman

Kelly S. Croman serves as General Counsel for Marine View Ventures, Inc., the economic development arm of the Puyallup Tribe, whose portfolio includes numerous gas stations / convenience stores, marina, golf course, and industrial and commercial lands in and around the Port of Tacoma. Kelly previously served as CEO of Island Enterprises, Inc., a tribally-chartered corporation of the Squaxin Island Tribe, managing a diverse portfolio of enterprises including several gas station/convenience stores, cigarette manufacturing and distribution companies, a seafood company, and business development center. She also previously served the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation as director of the Office of Tribal Attorney, and the Squaxin Island Tribe as Tribal Attorney for nearly ten years with an emphasis on governmental relations, tax, economic development, gaming, and employment issues. Kelly led successful legislative efforts to secure cigarette and fuel tax compacts in Washington State, and has negotiated numerous tax rulings, gaming compacts, and government-to-government agreements regarding liquor, cigarette, and fuel sales in Indian country.
 
Ms. Croman is a member and past Chair of the National Intertribal Tax Alliance Board of Directors, a former member of the Tribal C-Store Summit Group Board of Directors and a past Chair of the Washington State Bar Association Indian Law Section. She holds an M.P.A. from the Evergreen State College and earned her J.D. with honors from the University of Washington School of Law.
basicImage
Renee Ferguson

For the Social Security Administration, Reneé Ferguson is currently the Assistant Regional Commissioner for Management and Operations Support in the Dallas Region comprised of 4,600 employees in 140 offices across AR, LA, OK, NM, and TX. Reneé supports the Agency’s Tribal Consultation Official, Nancy Berryhill, the Acting Commissioner for Social Security Administration with national responsibility as the Executive Champion for American Indian Alaskan Native affairs. Previously, Reneé provided executive oversight of the Office of Earnings and International Operations (OEIO) as well support to the CIO in the Office of Systems. She has nearly two decades of SSA experience including improving agency initiatives on improper payments to reduce work related overpayments in the Disability population and supporting initiatives to identify potential missed entitlements to beneficiaries. Her professional development includes an exchange and training program in the Executive Office of the President’s Statistical and Science Policy branch (SSP) to address barriers to statistical uses of administrative records and increasing interagency sharing of statistical protocols to create efficiencies. She was the founder and leader of a mentoring program for the Washington Internships for Native Students (WINS) program interning with SSA. With a Masters in Mathematical Sciences, Reneé began her career as an Actuary in the Office of the Chief Actuary developing cost estimates for Congress for potential policy changes that affect the OASDI trust fund. Reneé additionally served as a Statistician providing guidance for Open Government initiatives and a Deputy Director for the Office of Program Research.
Dave Flute

Dave serves as Cabinet Secretary for the South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations. He was born and raised in Northeast South Dakota on the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation and is a member of the Sisset on -Wahpet on Sioux Tribe. Prior to his appointment he served one year on the tribal council and three years as tribal chairman. During his chairmanship he was also elected to serve as the chairman of the United Tribes of North Dakota and Vice-Chairman of the Great Plains Tribal Chairman's Health Board, and was appointed to the HHS Secretary's Tribal Advisory Committee.
 
Dave served in the South Dakota Army National Guard and was part of Task Force Coyote, a humanitarian mission in Louisiana, to assist in the aftermath left by hurricane Katrina. He also deployed to Afghanistan with the 235th Military Police Company and was medially retired from service in 2009.
 
Dave attended college at North Dakota State University and graduated in 2014 with a BA in History and a BS in Public History with a minor in Anthropology. He plans on pursuing a master's degree in Anthropology with a focus in Archaeology.
 
Dave has two sons, a black lab and enjoys hunting, fishing and riding horses.
basicImage
Charles Foote


Bio
basicImage
Rep. Deb Haaland


Bio
Matthew L. Harrington

Mat Harrington is a Shareholder with Stokes Lawrence. He has extensive experience representing tribes, tribal corporations, and individuals in his litigation practice. He has successfully argued treaty rights before the Washington Supreme Court, and has recently tried a case to verdict in federal court regarding preemption of state and local taxes for on-reservation commerce. He graduated from the University of Chicago Law School. He can be reached at Mathew.Harrington@stokeslaw.com.
basicImage
Lacey Horn


Bio
Christie Jacobs


Bio
Pamela Jurgensen

Pamela (Pam) Jurgensen is the Director of Trust Funds Investments (OTFI) for the Office of the Special Trustee (OST). Pam was hired in this role in October 2017 and currently manages 4 investment officers and 1 department secretary. The division maintains approximately 3500 accounts for 250 Tribal entities with assets exceeding $4.1 billion, and over 404,000 Individual Indian monies (IIM) accounts with asset of approximately $869 million.  Pam manages the investment operations of those accounts.
 
Pam has devoted her career to the public sector, as she has worked managing fixed-income investment portfolios (as employee and consultant), as a securities investigator, and as an Investment Adviser; all of which, encompasses over 30 years of investment experience. She has managed investment programs for some of the largest school systems in the country and worked in state and local government agencies. She is considered a subject matter expert in directing investment programs; which include, authoring and amending investment policies and procedures. Pam is devoted to Indian country as she has brought this array of experience managing tribal funds.
 
She is originally from Chicago and has lived in Wisconsin, Nevada, and currently in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Pam enjoys sharing her experience and mentoring future leaders learning the investment process. Pam is a past board member of the Government Investment Officer’s Association (GIOA) and is a frequent speaker at investment functions. Pam currently is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and is also a Certified Fixed-Income Practitioner (CFIP), and previously held FINRA Series 7, 63, and 65 licensures.  Pam has held past board positions at Toastmasters International and enjoys giving tips on communication skills. She enjoys her dog rescues; Charlotte, Coco Channel, and Gabbana and also hanging out with her special needs nephew, Jimmy.

basicImage
Jim Kelley

Jill Kelley recently became general counsel of PointsBet USA Inc., an internet and retail sports book, where she focuses on state and tribal gaming law and related regulatory and compliance issues. Prior to this, Jill was senior legal counsel for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (2017 – 2019). Jill’s work for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe focused on tribal tax issues, economic development and commercial law, including representing the Tribe and their Gaming Enterprise in the development of tax policy and laws in furtherance of tribal sovereignty. From 2010 - 2017, Jill was an attorney with Withers Bergman, LLP where she worked as special counsel (New Haven, Zürich, and Denver) in their international corporate and tax division. Her work at Withers focused largely on strategic tax planning for businesses, investment funds, and private foundations, and she also provided advice on federal tax policy and business organizational issues for tax-exempt and tribal government entities. She began her legal career in 2006 at PricewaterhouseCoopers, providing legal advice on complex domestic and international corporate tax matters.  

Jill received her Bachelor of Arts from Villanova University in 2000. She earned her Juris Doctor, with distinction for international law, from Suffolk University Law School in 2006, and her LL.M. in taxation from Boston University Law School in 2010. 
basicImage
Catherine Langford


Bio
basicImage
Andre LeDressey


Bio
basicImage
Joshuah Marshall


Bio
basicImage
Mary Mashunkashey


Bio
Christine Masse


Bio
basicImage
Brenda McGregor


Bio
basicImage
Telly J. Meier


Bio
Kathleen Nilles


Bio
basicImage
Kelcey Packineau


Bio
basicImage
Ken Parsons


Bio
basicImage
Wendy Pearson


Bio
basicImage
Emery Real Bird


Bio
basicImage
James Rivera


Bio
Aubrey Seffernick


Bio
Rob Roy Smith


Bio
Mary Streitz


Bio
basicImage
Sharon Swepston


Bio
Michael Walch


Bio
basicImage
Dennis Wanya


Bio
Adam Weintraub


Bio
Dale White


Bio
basicImage
Bruce Zimmerman

Bio