Board of Directors

Kara Bobroff - Executive Director, One Generation Fund

Tribal Affiliation: Diné/Lakota

Chair, 2022-Present

  • The One Gen Fund is led by Executive Director Kara Bobroff (Navajo/Lakota). Kara is an Indigenous leader who has dedicated her career to working for positive change and Indigenous students and families. She was the Founding Principal of the Albuquerque-based Native American Community Academy (NACA) and has more than 25 years of experience in Indigenous Education leading the effort to bring families at the forefront of community-led school design and by drawing upon the strengths of the community in which she serves to create a transformative mission and vision for NACA. In 2014, Kara founded the nation’s first network solely dedicated to Indigenous Education - NACA Inspired Schools Network who supports communities dedicated to creating schools of Excellence and Relevance in Indigenous Education. She was recognized by President Obama as one of 100 top social innovators in the nation, Kara is a Paraha Fellow, Broad Fellow, and Ashoka Fellow and served to establish the first office of Identity, Equity and Transformation as the New Mexico Public Education Department Deputy Secretary of Identity, Equity, and Transformation to build a statewide focus on Equity and CRL education prior to founding One Generation. She serves and works to support early-stage innovations that build sustainable solutions for Indigenous communities, Indigenous Education, and Indigenous Leaders who are poised to impact systems change in senior-level roles in the government, philanthropic and nonprofit sector. She has also been recognized with the Zia Award for University of New Mexico alumni for distinguished service in the field of education, as a “Woman of Influence'' by Albuquerque Business First, as a recipient of the New Mexico Ethics in Business Award, and as a recipient of the Excellence in Educational Leadership Award sponsored by the University Council for Educational Administration. Her volunteer roles have included serving as an advisory board member for Harvard Urban Principal Center, New Mexico Now, Explora Children's Museum, and Learning Alliance New Mexico, Education Reimagined, Currently, she serves as a board member for the New Mexico Dream Team and Emerita Member of the NACA Inspired Schools Network, Food Corps and Appleseed New Mexico, and an Equity Advisor to the NM Public Education's Statewide Language and Culture Division.

Regis Pecos - Founder/Director, The Leadership Institute

Tribal Affiliation: Cochiti Pueblo

Vice Chair, 2022-Present

  • Regis Pecos is the former Governor of Cochiti Pueblo and served on the Traditional Council for 35 years. He received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his graduate degree from UC Berkeley. He is also a graduate of the Senior Government Executive Program at the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University. Regis was the longest serving Chief Executive of the New Mexico Office of Indian Affairs, a position he held for 16 years. The late President Wendel Chino, longtime Chair of the New Mexico Commission on Indian Affairs, referred to him as the chief architect of building State/Government relations. He served as the Chief of Staff to the late Speaker of the House Representative Ben Lujan for 12 years. Regis has also served as the Chief of Staff and the Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs to former Representative Rick Miera in the Office of the Majority Floor Leader. He is a Trustee Emeritus of Princeton University. He has taught each summer for the last 14 years in the Junior Policy Institute at the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He is the Chair of the prestigious Board of Governors for the Honoring Nations Program at the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University He has also been an Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of New Mexico. He is the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Leadership Institute, an Indigenous Think Tank based in Santa Fe, New Mexico on the campus of the Santa Fe Indian School now in its 24th year.

Cecelia Fire Thunder - Tribal Leader & President of Oglala Lakota Nation Education Coalition

Tribal Affiliation: Oglala Lakota

Secretary, 2022-Present

  • Cecelia Firethunder is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation, her clan is the Kiyaksa Tiospaye from the Pejuta Haka/Medicine Root District of Kyle, South Dakota. She was given her first Lakota name by the elders in her clan, which is Tawachin Waste Win (her will is good) and as an adult in ceremony the grandfathers gave her the name of a grandmother who had been watching her to carry, Mato Canali Win. Spoke only Lakota till age five, at catholic boarding school learned English. Cecelia moved with her family to California on the Relocation program, complete high school and became a nurse. Cecelia co-founded the American Indian Free Clinic in Los Angeles in the 70’s, after moving to San Diego co-founded the American Indian Health Center in 1979. After living and learning away from home she returned to Kyle in 1987, co-founded the Oglala Lakota Women’s Society whose work brought attention to the violence against Lakota women and children. The Oglala Sioux Tribe was the first tribe in 1989 to pass a mandatory arrest ordinance in response to the women’s work. The tribe and community also addressed the child abuse/sexual abuse issues by reviewing and strengthening the children’s code along with training and investigation protocols for tribal law-enforcement. Cecelia traveled for years to tribal communities in U.S. and spent ten years across Canada on many reserves for wellness and healing. Of the hundreds of keynotes given the most memorable was the Spirit of Worldwide Healing where she addressed over a thousand in her beginning period of being deaf in 2003. She was the only native person from U.S. invited to the gathering in Edmonton, Alberta where the many reserves shared their projects/programs from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation grants on the impact of residential schools. In April of 2003 soon after setting up an office for the re-election of Senator Tim Johnson she lost her hearing, however continued to work with volunteers in six of the nine districts and traveling to University of Iowa Medical Center for evaluation and subsequent surgery for cochlear implants which allowed her to hear. Senator Johnson retained his seat and she ran for the Presidency of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and became the first woman ever chosen to lead the Tribe. She is the President of Oglala Lakota Nation Education Coalition (after 10 years of advocacy in DC the bill to allow schools to access health insurance from federal government was signed in law which will benefit 133 tribal schools) Board of Directors for Little Wound School (K-12) and an elder /matriarch Tasunke Wakan Okolakiciye, Medicine Horse Society, addressing trauma in children using Lakota healing practices, and after a long career in health, returned to school and is a Certified Lakota Language teacher. She is an adjunct instructor at Oglala Lakota College where she teaches Lakota Culture, Lakota Traditional Art, American Indian Women, American Indian/Lakota Psychology and Graduate course on Lakota Community Organizing. Along with her Uncle John Around Him and Cousin Robert Two Crow, designed and created the Lakota Philosophy Exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. She makes time to work on her creative side, sewing, beading and making dolls. She recently took the blue ribbon for her entry in the doll category after a hiatus of 29 years at the Northern Plains Tribal Art’s Show.

Dr. Curtis Chavez - Director of Advancement for the Keres Children’s Learning Center

Tribal Affiliation: Cochiti Pueblo

Board Member, 2023-Present

  • Dr. Curtis Chavez was born and raised in Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico in Native American Studies. He then went on to complete his Master of Science degree and PhD from the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University (ASU). Dr. Chavez has worked within the tribal and public-school sector for many years but most recently made the shift to offer his assistance in the nonprofit world. Currently, Dr. Chavez is the Director of Advancement for the Keres Children’s Learning Center (KCLC) where he focuses on grant writing and fundraising. He also serves as an advocate for Native American youth.

Emily White Hat - Vice President of Programs at the American Indian College Fund

Tribal Affiliation: Sicangu Lakota

Board Member, 2023-Present

  • Emily R. White Hat, J.D., Nape Waste Win (Good Hand Woman) is a Sicangu Lakota, Aske Gluwipi Tiospaye from St. Francis, South Dakota. Emily is the Vice President of Programs at the American Indian College Fund and supports implementation of place-based programming to strengthen educational opportunities for Native students at tribal colleges and universities.

    Emily earned a Juris Doctorate degree and a natural resources law certificate from the University of New Mexico School of Law. She has a bachelor’s degree in forestry with a concentration in fire science and a minor in rangeland ecology from Colorado State University, along with an associate of arts degree in Lakota history and culture from Sinte Gleska University.

    Her experience as a former firefighter, emergency medical technician, policy researcher, evaluator, and legal background have all been vital to her work in program development and implementation, strategic planning, national outreach, qualitative research, writing, curriculum implementation, and evaluation with tribal nations and colleges using a capacity-building approach.

    In 2015, Emily was recognized by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development as one of the “Native American 40 Under 40” award recipients.

    Emily enjoys quilting, beading, horseback riding, and hot yoga.

Dr. Virgil Moorehead - Clinical Psychologist & Executive Director at Two Feathers Native American Family Services

Tribal Affiliation: Yurok/Tolowa

Board Member, 2023-Present

  • Dr. Virgil Moorehead Jr. (Yurok/Tolowa), a member of the Big Lagoon Rancheria, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and the Executive Director at Two Feathers Native American Family Services in McKinleyville, CA.. A graduate of University of California at Davis (BA) and California State University, Sacramento (MA), Dr. Moorehead received his Doctorate of Psychology in Clinical Psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA in 2015. During his graduate work, he completed his doctoral internship at the University of Michigan and post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford University. Dr. Moorehead’s research focuses on developing and testing community based strategies for health promotion with Native American communities. Dr. Moorehead received the Richard Alan Smith Scholar’s Award in 2015 for his work on Digital Storytelling with Urban Native Americans in Oakland, CA and the 19th Annual Anne Medicine Mentorship Award in 2017 for his work with Stanford Native American undergraduate and graduate students.

Derek Eagle Lee Williams - Production Executive, Cherokee Film

Tribal Affiliation: Morongo/Quechan (Yuma)/Choctaw

Board Member, 2023-Present

  • Derek Eagle LaRance is the localization production executive at Cherokee Film, overseeing the dubbing and subtitling of popular TV and film content into the Cherokee language. He has played a key role in developing business strategies to better serve Indigenous customers across various industries, including entertainment, tech, health, education, policy and economic development. Derek is the former head of Amazon’s Tribal Affairs Office, where he increased engagement with First Nations globally. Recognized as a vocal advocate for private investment and economic development in Indigenous economies, he received the Corporate Advocate of the Year award from the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED) in 2023. In 2022, he helped launch Indigitize, a nonprofit partnered with Amazon aimed at bringing computer science education to Native nations across the U.S. Derek currently serves on the board of directors for the National Fund for Excellence in American Indian Education, the congressionally chartered nonprofit for the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education. Additionally, he serves on the board of directors for Taking IT Global, focused on increasing First Nations student outcomes in Canada. He also served as the VP of the Indigenous@Amazon affinity group. A descendant of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Derek graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and led units across the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. He now resides with his family in Owasso, Cherokee Nation.

Shawna Ann Claw - Council Delegate, Navajo Nation Council

Tribal Affiliation: Diné

Board Member, 2023-Present

  • Ya’at’eeh! My name is Shawna Ann Claw. My clans are Hooghanłani (Many Hogans), born for Tódich’ii’nii (Bitterwater). My maternal grandparents are Táchii’nii (Red Streak Running into the Water) and my paternal grandparents are Kiyaa’aańii (Towering House). I am originally from Three Turkey Ruins, Arizona. I was raised by my paternal grandparents, the late Paul Claw, Sr. and Alice Ben Claw. I spent most of my childhood at sheep camp at Three Turkey Ruins and Fluted Rock, AZ. I am a lifelong resident of Chinle, Arizona. I graduated from Chinle High School. I attended Arizona State University, Diné College, and Northern Arizona University. I obtained my degrees in Business Administration with an emphasis in Enterprise in Society. I also have a degree in Social Science with a minor in Psychology. I dedicated over twenty-six years working with the Navajo Nation working with youth. I taught parenting classes and worked with students K-12th grade. I was an adjunct instructor at Diné College. I taught Introduction to Business while employed with Diné College. I am a governing board member and the current Governing Board Clerk for the Chinle Unified School District #24. I enjoy my work as a public servant for the school district. I am also a current member of the Navajo Nation Bar Association, Inc. I enjoy photography and hiking. I also contribute stories to the LEADING THE WAY MAGAZINE. I love promoting culture and indigenous art. My primary job is being a “Wing Mom” to my sons who are serving in the United States Air Force, the United States Marines, and the United States Army. I was elected as a Navajo Nation Council Delegate for Chinle. Chinle is one of the largest voting communities of the one hundred and ten Navajo Nation chapters. I serve on the Resources & Development Committee. I am also a part of the Navajo Nation Water Rights Negotiation Team. I was also nominated as one of the two Arizona Caucus representatives for the Navajo Nation Council.

Lorissa Garcia - Interim Director of the Student Success Center, Institute of American Indian Arts

Tribal Affiliation: Acoma Pueblo

Board Member, 2023-Present

  • Lorissa Garcia is a full-blooded citizen of Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico. She is a wife, and in a blended family, she and her husband have 10 children and 7 grandchildren.

    Lorissa’s return to college began late in life with a start at a Tribal College in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the Southwestern Polytechnic Institute, she earned two Associate’s Degrees before transferring to Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Indigenous Studies. Lorissa went full circle and returned to SIPI to serve as the Mentor for the Native American Women’s Leadership Program. She left her beloved TCU to be of service to her Pueblo community and served as the President of the Acoma Board of Education for four years. In this role, she governed education-based services for Pueblo members from birth through adulthood and was a key participant in the transition of the local BIE school to a tribally-controlled school. In 2020, Lorissa went back to college and earned a Master’s Degree in Education from Harvard.

    With a passion for service to Indigenous communities, Lorissa presently works at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Having begun her career at IAIA as a Student Success Advisor, she was quickly promoted to the Career & Internship Director’s position where she most notably helped secure three internship positions for IAIA students with Nike, Inc. Not long after, she was promoted again to her current position. Lorissa serves as the Interim Director of the Student Success Center. In this position, she works directly with students, staff, and faculty to help ensure quality support services and resources are available for all students. Additionally, she serves the IAIA community as a co-chairperson for the Indigenizing Pathways to Success Committee, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium Team, and is a Fulbright Adviser.

    Lorissa remains committed as a staunch advocate of equitable education and educational resource access for underserved populations, with an emphasis in aiding Indigenous students. She is also an engaged, proactive education professional who believes that her direct experience helping students navigate their educational journeys and being of service to Indigenous communities and Peoples drives her passion.

    In her spare time, Lorissa enjoys sewing, crafting, dancing, and spending time with family and friends.