Youtube X-twitter Facebook-f Instagram Linkedin
Calendar
Donate

Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals

Listening to Tribes and understanding Tribal priorities drives our programs and services we offer.

Tribal Wellbeing for Seven Generations Program

Tribal Wellbeing for Seven Generations Program (TW7G)
Pueblo Ladder

Advisory Committee

Click on a committee member’s photo to read their bio.

Tribal/Tribal Organization Representatives

Jerry Cain

Jerry Cain

Environmental Manager
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

Jamie Donatuto, Ph.D.

Community Environmental Health Analyst
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

Michael Durglo, Jr.

Department Head of the CSKT’s Tribal Historic Department
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

Shasta Gaughen

Shasta Gaughen, Ph.D.

Environmental Director
Pala Band of Mission Indians

Desirae Mack

Desirae Mack

Senior Program Manager
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

Federal Agency Representatives

Erica Bollerud

Erica Bollerud

State and Local Energy and the Environment Program
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Rachael Novak

Coordinator of the Tribal Resilience Program
Bureau of Indian Affairs

Chris Swanston

Chris Swanston

Director of the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science
U.S. Forest Service

Paul Wagner

Tribal Liaison
U.S. Geological Survey

Lisa Bacanskas

Climate Change Division
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Alicia Bell-Sheeter

Policy Analyst
U.S. Forest Service

Ashely Fortune Isham

National Conservation Training Center
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Tribal Resilience Liaisons

Malinda Chase

Tribal Liaison for Alaska's Tribes
Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center

Chas Jones

Tribal Liaison for Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians
Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center

Sara Smith

Midwest Tribal Liaison
Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center (NE CASC) and College of Menominee Nation

Stefan Tangen

Stefan Tangen

Tribal Liaison
North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center

April Taylor

April Taylor

South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center
Sustainability Scientist for the Chickasaw Nation

Casey Thornbrugh

Northeast/Southeast Climate
Adaptation Science Center and USET Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Alethea Walker-Ortiz

Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center and The American Indian Higher Education Consortium
Nez Perce, Hopi, and Gila River Tribes

CONNECT WITH US

Nikki Cooley
Co-Director
Nikki.Cooley@nau.edu

Karen Cozzetto
Manager
Karen.Cozzetto@nau.edu

TW7G Team
Advisory Committee
Newsletter
TW7G Calendar
DONATE

Your tax deductible donation supports ITEP’s programming efforts.
Please contact us if you would like to contribute to our endowment or for any additional information regarding donations.

Jerry Cain

Environmental Manager

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

Jerry can be reached by e-mail at Jerry.cain@choctaw.org

Jamie Donatuto

Community Environmental Health Analyst

Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

Dr. Donatuto is a Community Environmental Health Analyst for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, located in the beautiful Salish Sea in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. For 17 years, Jamie has been enacting investigations on behalf of the Tribe, including researching toxics in local traditional foods, tribal health – related impacts from climate change, launching an environmental health education program, and developing community – based indigenous health indicators. The Indigenous Health Indicators project is a collaborative effort with long – time colleague Swinomish elder, Larry Campbell. Jamie and Larry most recently launched the Swinomish Community Environmental Health Program and they work extensively with community education and outreach projects. Dr. Donatuto completed her doctoral studies at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, in the interdisciplinary graduate program of Resource Management and Environmental Studies.

Jaime can be reached by e-mail at jdonatuto@Swinomish.nsn.us

Michael Durglo, Jr.

Department Head of the CSKT’s Tribal Historic Department

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

Michael is Department Head of the CSKT’s Tribal Historic Department and has been a leader in climate change adaptation work for nearly a decade. He facilitated the development of a Flathead Reservation Climate Change Strategic Plan for CSKT, the third Tribe to do so in the United States. After completing the plan, he continued to build on the work by diving deep into the perspectives of the elders and integrating traditional knowledge into the plan. Particularly unique has been Michael’s all – inclusive and open approach towards climate planning. He has established monthly meetings of a Climate Change Advisory Committee and welcomes all stakeholders, both tribal and non – tribal. This has opened conversations among multiple jurisdictions, connecting people and adding value to solving the problems that will be faced by the impacts of climate change into the future. In 2016, Michael received the White House Champion of Change award and in 2017, Michael received the Climate Leadership Award for Natural Resources. Michael has also brought climate education and action to the youth of the CSKT by establishing the Environment Advocates for Global and Local Ecological Sustainability otherwise known as the “EAGLES”. These youth are learning about, taking responsibility for their environment, and starting young to integrate environmental considerations into their lives. Michael served in the Montana Army National Guard from 1981 to 1987 and is currently a member of the Mission Valley Honor Guard.

Michael can be reached by e-mail at Michael.Durglo@cskt.org

Shasta Gaughen

Department Director

Pala Band Mission Indians

Shasta is the Environmental Director and the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Pala Band of Mission Indians in Pala, California. She has worked for Pala since January 2005, and established Pala’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office in 2008. She is also an adjunct professor in the Anthropology Department at California State University San Marcos. Dr. Gaughen received her B.A. in Anthropology and B.S. in Natural Resources at Humboldt State University in 1996, her M.A. in Anthropology from San Diego State University in 2001, and her PhD in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico in 2011. She is Chair of the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, Secretary of the Board for the Native American Environmental Protection Coalition, a member of the advisory board for the Climate Science Alliance – South Coast, a member of the Institute of Tribal Environmental Professionals’ Climate Advisory Group, and a director for the Upper San Luis Rey Resource Conservation District.

Shasta can be reached by e-mail at sgaughen@palatribe.com

Desirea Mack

Senior Program Manager

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

Bio information coming soon.

Erica Bollerud

State and Local Energy and the Environment Program

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Erica Bollerud is the Tribal Contact for the State and Local Energy and the Environment Program

Erica can be reached by e-mail at Bollerud.Erica@epa.gov

Rachael Novak

Coordinator of the Tribal Resilience Program

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Rachael Novak, Navajo (Diné) is Coordinator of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) Tribal Resilience Program (Acting) and also serves as the Tribal Resilience Science Coordinator. Her first clan is Tse’ Deeshgizhnii (Gap in the Rock Clan) and her maternal grandfather’s clan is Kinyaa’áanii (Towering House Clan). At BIA, she leads efforts to support tribal resilience including the annual competitive funding opportunity for tribal adaptation planning and the development of the Tribes and Indigenous Peoples Chapter of the 4th National Climate Assessment (as Coordinating Federal Lead Author). From 2008-2015, she worked on the development of water quality standards through the Clean Water Act at the Office of Water at the U.S. EPA in Washington, DC. She has a M.S. in geosciences from the University of Arizona and a B.S./B.A. in Environmental Science (geoscience track)/International Studies in Environmental Science from Oregon State University. She currently resides in Washington, DC with her husband and new baby boy.

Rachael can be reached by e-mail at Rachael.Novak@bia.gov

Chris Swanston

Director of the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science

U.S. Forest Service

Chris is the Director of the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) and based in Houghton, Michigan.

Chris can be reached by e-mail at cswanston@fs.fed.us

Paul Wagner

Tribal Liaison

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Paul has joint appointments as adjunct faculty and fellow at Virginia Tech’s Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability, and as a Division Chief at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources (IWR). At IWR, Paul serves as a senior ecologist and director of 16 subject matter experts working on water resources science, policy, and planning methods. For the last two decades, Paul’s technical work has focused on global change science and policy issues with particular emphasis on climate change. This work includes climate change vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning, decision analysis and scenario planning for climate change, and Federal interagency collaborations as part of the Nation’s responses to climate change. Paul teaches several climate courses including Climate Change Fundamentals, Vulnerability Assessment, Climate Smart Adaptation Planning, Decision Analysis for Climate Change, and Climate and Sustainability for Senior Executive Leaders. He formerly served as the Deputy Associate Director for Climate Adaptation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, where he worked to advance President Obama’s Climate Action Plan and Executive Order 13693: Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change. Prior to moving to the National Capitol Region, Paul worked as a research scientist and policy analyst for the EPA’s Regional Vulnerability Assessment program and for EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment. Paul has also worked as a Senior Aquatic Ecologist for The Nature Conservancy where he was responsible for ecoregional planning. Paul received his Ph.D. in Biology from Virginia Tech in 2001

Paul can be reached by e-mail at Paul.F.Wagner@usace.army.mil

Malinda Chase

Tribal Liaison for Alaska’s Tribes

Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center

Malinda serves as the link between Alaska’s tribes and the climate research community. In her role, she seeks ways to connect, support and further initiatives between these two groups, along with additional collaborators, which assists tribes in preparing for and responding to climate impacts. Malinda’s experience includes community planning, non – profit management, post – secondary/distance and Alaska Native education, Native language revitalization and indigenous program evaluation. She also serves as the land manager for her village corporation. More recently, she’s focused on climate change education that sought to engage our AK Native community, and led to her current liaison position.

Malinda can be reached by e-mail at malindac@apiai.org

Chas Jones

Tribal Liaison for Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians

Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center

Chas joined the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) as their Tribal Liaison with the Northwest Climate Science Center. He is an interdisciplinary expert in the dynamic interactions between climate, water, ecology, and society. He acquired his Ph.D. in Hydrology from the University of Alaska, where he incorporated traditional knowledge and science to assess exposure of indigenous people to the impacts of climate change. In his postdoctoral research at the E.P.A., he assessed hydrologic vulnerability to climate across the continental U.S. Chas also acquired a M.S. in Environmental Science and Policy and a B.S. in Biology from Northern Arizona University, where he studied the ecological impacts of dams and the potential restoration of rivers through the removal of dams

Chas can be reached by e-mail at cejones@usgs.gov

Sara Smith

Midwest Tribal Liaison

Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center (NE CASC) and College of Menominee Nation

Sara serves as the Midwest Tribal Liaison and is based out of the College of Menominee Nation in Wisconsin. Sara is a direct descendant of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. Her experience is in research and development, natural resources, ecology, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), and working with indigenous communities in the Midwest. Sara’s interests entail forest ecology and dynamics, bridging the gap between science and indigenous knowledge, climate resilience education, and community outreach.

Sara can be reached by e-mail at ssmith@menominee.edu

Stefan Tangen

Tribal Liaison

North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center

Stefan comes from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, where he received his Master of Natural Resource Management (MNRM) degree with a focus on climate adaptation science and planning with indigenous communities. He serves as the Tribal Liaison and is based in Fort Collins, CO. In Alaska, Stefan worked with several Alaska Native communities including the community of Shaktoolik . In Shaktoolik , Stefan partnered with the Tribal Council to understand how success is perceived among groups involved in Shaktoolik’s recent climate adaptation process to highlight best practices for planning with rural, indigenous communities in the state.

Stefan can be reached by e-mail at stefan.g.tangen@gmail.com

April Taylor

Sustainability Scientist for the Chickasaw Nation

South Central Climate Adaption Science Center

April is the Sustainability Scientist for the Chickasaw Nation and based out of Oklahoma. She holds a B.S. in Marine Science from Texas A&M University and a Masters in Earth and Environmental Resource Management from the University of South Carolina. As a Chickasaw citizen with a family tradition of Native American grafted pecan trees, she is inspired by helping the tribes manage and plan for the many environmental impacts of climate variability and change.

April can be reached by e-mail at April.Taylor@ou.edu

Casey Thornbrugh

Northeast/Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center and USET

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Casey is a citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and earned his Ph.D. in Geography at the University of Arizona with an emphasis on climate education in Native communities. He is the Tribal Liaison with the United South & Eastern Tribe’s (USET) Office of Environmental Resource Management (OERM). Casey works out of the NE CASC in Amherst, Massachusetts where he also resides.

Casey can be reached by e-mail at CThornbrugh@USETINC.ORG

Aletha Walker-Ortiz

Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center and The American Indian Higher Education Consortium

Nez Perce, Hopi, and Gila River Tribes

Althea has tribal affiliations with the Nez Perce, Hopi, and Gila River nations, and is an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community In addition, she holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental Technology Management from the Arizona State University Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering. For the past three years she has worked for the Gila River Indian Community’s Department of Environmental Quality as an environmental education and outreach specialist. Among other accomplishments, she has also served as a National Science Foundation Intern and is a former intern for ITEP.

Althea can be reached by e-mail at AWalker@aihec.org

Rebecca Stevens

Chair

Coeur d’Alene Tribe – Idaho

Program Manager/Restoration Coordinator
Working with the Tribe since: 2005

Rebecca is the Program Manager for the Tribe’s Natural Resources Department-Hazardous Waste Management Program. She also serves the role as the Restoration Coordinator with the Restoration Partnership. Rebecca has been working on water quality related issues for over 19 years. She represents the Tribe in the Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site working with EPA while implementing their remedy for the Basin. She is also the Tribe’s Restoration Coordinator for the Restoration Partnership for which all Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) claims have been settled and on the ground restoration work has been underway since 2019. Rebecca continues to work with other Tribes on NRDA issues while coordinating with the US DOI, USDA, and the State of Idaho.

Rebecca is a proud member of the Tribal Waste and Response Steering Committee where she also serves on the Tribal Superfund Work Group and Advisory Council. Rebecca enjoys x-country skiing in the winter, summertime water sports, Frisbee golf, and spending time with her friends, family, and blue heeler. Rebecca is very honored to work for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and is proud to be a part of restoring natural resources in the Coeur d’Alene Basin.

Rebecca can be reached by e-mail at rstevens@cdatribe-nsn.gov.

National Tribal Forum on Air Quality

The National Tribal Forum on Air Quality (NTFAQ) aims to support tribal programs by fostering information-sharing and networking opportunities that are focused on building tribal capacity in air quality management. The event’s agenda is driven by tribal input and priorities, with a focus on increasing tribal engagement in air quality initiatives that are relevant to tribal communities across the nation.