< Previous| tribalnetonline.com20BYBRAD WORTHLEYINTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED CUSTOMER SERVICE, LEADERSHIP EXPERT AND AUTHORBrad Worthley is an accomplished business consultant with over 44 years of management experience. He is also an internationally acclaimed leadership and customer service expert who has authored four books and produced numerous training videos and audio programs with well-knows such as Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, John Maxwell and others. Visit www.BradWorthley.com. To contact Brad, email him direct at Brad@BradWorthley.com or phone at 425-957-9696.ABOUT THE AUTHORIf a director, manager or supervisor decides to leave your organization, there should be no stress about who is going to assume the role. It should be a drama-free decision, with no emotion and only one challenge: how are we going to decide between all of the highly qualified candidates? Narrowing your choice down from the large pool of candidates should be the only stressful part about promoting someone. Unfortunately for many Indian gaming casino operations (and tribal governments), the stress is normally related to a lack of qualified candidates, which is why hiring someone from the outside becomes necessary. When our organization does not have a deep enough leadership pool, we start making really poor decisions about filling the role. When trying to promote someone, we sometimes look first at people who are good at their job, and we blindly believe that if they are good at their job, they must be good at leading and teaching others to be good as well — this is not always true. Just because you are good at your job does not mean you are a great leader of people — those are two different qualifications. We also consider longevity, which is very poor criteria for promoting someone because it has nothing to do with their ability to lead and inspire people. Of course, decisions are also made based on nepotism and political affiliation, which creates undue drama and trauma within an organization. All of the above scenarios can set people up for failure.The most important thing to remember about promoting people into a leadership role is if you make a poor decision and put an unqualified person in the role, the ones who get punished and suffer the consequences are:• The person being promoted (they struggle in their role and it crushes their confidence and career)• The person’s family, who has to deal with the emotional trauma, stress and depression associated with failure • The employees who have to work under the unqualified person (employee turnover goes up dramatically)• The HR department, because they have to deal with the employee grievances and turnover• The peers who have to work with this person (it can kill relationships, communication and productivity)• The supervisor, because trying to train and coach someone who is unqualified is frustrating and unproductive• The entire organization, due to the uncalculated costs associated with all of the above consequencesTo deepen the leadership pool, every leader should be communicating with the people they lead and asking who has an interest in moving into a leadership role within the organization. Identifying employees who show an interest in a leadership career path is the first step to deepening the leadership pool. Every leader should have no less than two people under them who are being groomed to move up into their role. Providing each of those employees with regular and consistent leadership training and coaching requires a significant but crucial time commitment. Being proactive and working to educate future leaders on a regular basis pays huge dividends, especially if you yourself want to move up in the organization as well. If you want to move up and take on a higher level role, every organization should require that you have someone qualified to take over your position. When you move up, it should be a seamless process, through which it is business as usual and the employees and customers feel no pain. The best-case scenario is promoting people from within the organization, with tribal preference a high priority. FEATURE | SUCCESSION PLANNINGHOW TO DEEPEN THELeadership PoolTRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019HERE ARE SOME OF THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO INTERNAL RECRUITING: • You will have a clearer track record of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.• If you are promoting a person who is well respected, their influence can be immediate and effective.• There are no costs associated with the recruitment process, so it saves the organization money.• There is higher employee morale because it sends a very positive message throughout the organization that you develop and promote from within.• There are generally fewer organizational culture conflicts because people from within the organization are acclimated and accustomed to the current culture. HERE ARE SOME OF THE POSSIBLE CHALLENGES WITH INTERNAL RECRUITING:• It takes considerable time and resources to train and develop potential leadership candidates.• New leaders could potentially lack creativity and ingenuity since they may be bound by the organization’s current culture.• Sometimes the personal relationships and family ties within the organization can become a detriment.• If there is no formal career path process, a person’s development could be stagnated and impair their progress.EXTERNAL RECRUITING IS AN OPTION AND HERE ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF DOING SO:• You save money by hiring people that are already fully developed in their leadership role and have experience. • Experienced people may bring fresh new ideas and perspectives into the organization, which can be helpful.• They may have valuable competitor or industry knowledge, which can provide you with a competitive edge.• Bringing in people from other industries can provide innovative new ideas and thoughts into your culture. HERE ARE SOME OF THE POSSIBLE CHALLENGES WITH EXTERNAL RECRUITING:• Since employees do not enjoy change, your current staff may struggle with new leadership styles.• You may not have a clear track record of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses (relying only on references).• The costs associated with recruiting outside candidates can be high.• There can be organizational culture conflicts by bringing in people unfamiliar with your culture. One of your top priorities should be hiring and promoting people into leadership roles who are good at building relationships. We live and breathe by the relationships that we create. Positive working relationships must be pervasive throughout the entire organization, especially with those in leadership roles. Eighty-five percent of a person’s success in business will be because of their ability to properly communicate their message. Great leaders must have strong relationships and communication with their customers, employees, peers, supervisor and vendors in order to be effective. Our deep bench of industry experts understand tribes, tribal governments and tribal enterprises. This growing team, along with our network of partners have the knowledge and experience to transform your organization and the ability to get it done.Contact us today! *TribalHub members receive5% o all service agreementsIT Assessments • Security AssessmentsOrganizational Assessments • Change ManagementNew Build/Expansion Consulting269.459.9890 • ContactUs@TribalFocus.com • TribalFocus.comTRIBALFOCUS SERVICES: Consulting & Management Services....a division ofmemberbenet| tribalnetonline.com22A GROUP TOGETHER IS STRONGER THAN WORKING ALONENEW RESEARCH BUILD EFFECTIVE LAND MANAGEMENT THROUGH GIS OFFICEDoes your tribe have a geographic information system (GIS) program? Where does it reside? In 57% of the tribes surveyed, the GIS office is located either in the department for land and planning or in the department for natural resources and environment.Many departments throughout your tribe will find they need the services of the GIS office. Tribes often find that the GIS program serves the greatest number of departments when it is centrally located and aligned with the IT department.The NATRC’s new research explains how tribal governments can successfully approach a centralized GIS project.Source: Info-Tech’s NATRC GIS Survey, 201834%34%9%23%Historic PreservationLand and PlanningGIS and ITNatural Resources and EnvironmentWhere does the GIS program reside in tribal organizations?23The NATRC, together with its members, helps to strengthen tribal nations by supporting their information technology initiatives to achieve a brighter future for future generations.Linda Marie ArredondoDirector of Research, NATRC 850-339-9075 | larredondo@infotech.comLinda Marie Arredondo serves as Director of Research for Info-Tech’s Native American Technology Research Center (NATRC). Before joining Info-Tech, Linda Marie served as the Director of Information Technology for her tribe, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, where she provided IT leadership throughout all areas of the Nation, including executive, government, and judicial branches, healthcare, enterprise, gaming, and hospitality. Linda Marie has 20+ years of successful IT leadership experience, with a focus on developing expert-level knowledge in the areas of change management, project management, service management, and strategic planning. Arredondo received a Bachelor of Science in Business, summa cum laude, from St. Gregory’s University.Photo: Sharon HoogstratenINFO-TECH IS COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING YOUR TRIBEMEET THE NEWEST MEMBER OF INFO-TECH’S NATRC TEAMIn 2018, there were more than 124 recorded natural disasters including flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, cyclones, tornados, drought, mudslides, earthquakes, and a volcanic eruption. Many tribes were directly impacted by these disasters. The newly created Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is helping tribes strengthen their public safety communications infrastructure through tribal consultation, which is critical to successful response and recovery efforts. Historically, the DHS Emergency Communications Division (ECD)—formerly known as the Office of Emergency Communications (OEC)—has collaborated with federally-recognized tribes to enhance public safety communications capabilities. While our name and placement in the Department has changed, our commitment to enhancing tribal public safety communications through training, technical support, tools, and guidance to enhance tribal public safety communications has not.CISA has coordinated directly with individual tribes to assess and document public safety communications capabilities, governance, infrastructure and challenges. This process has provided access to CISA resources and opened the door to collaborative relationships with other federal agencies and state, regional and local public safety entities.Tribes have benefitted from CISA’s technical assistance and gap analysis of communications infrastructures such as coverage area assessment and tower placement. CISA has also helped tribes develop public safety communications dispatch and operations centers and identify and partake of grant funding opportunities to support infrastructure build-out. CISA has worked alongside tribal leaders to develop and implement standard operating procedures and continuity of operations plans, coordinate exercise planning and implementation, and identify opportunities to utilize CISA technical tools and resources. These tools and resources include Priority Telephone Services (PTS) such as the Government Emergency Telecommunication Service (GETS) and Wireless Priority Service (WPS). GETS provides first responders prioritized network access when landlines are overloaded and WPS provides prioritized access on cellular networks. CISA facilitates multiple committees and working groups involving participation from subject matter experts at all levels of government. These committees and working groups provide tribal leaders opportunities to share information, best practices and resources while supporting the development of guidance and tools to enhance the public safety community as a whole.CISA has recently increased tribal membership in SAFECOM, an organization that fosters collaboration among emergency responders and elected officials across all levels of government. SAFECOM works to improve emergency responders’ inter-jurisdictional and interdisciplinary emergency communications interoperability with Federal Government entities and across state, local, tribal, territorial, regional and international borders. Recent joint SAFECOM and National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (NCSWIC) efforts include revision of the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) Governance Guide, which recommends best practices for establishing emergency communications governance in support of the Emergency Communications Ecosystem. Tribal leadership chaired the effort to address the unique needs, challenges and best practices specific to tribal communities.Supporting Tribal Emergency CommunicationsThe newly created Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is helping tribes strengthen their communications infrastructure through tribal consultation. AGENCY UPDATE: DHS, CISADEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (DHS), CYBERSECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY (CISA)TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW YOUR TRIBE CAN BENEFIT FROM CISA’S TRIBAL ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE TO TRIBES, CONTACT CISA TRIBAL AFFAIRS AT CISATRIBALAFFAIRS@HQ.DHS.GOV.AGENCY UPDATE | DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (DHS)PUBLIC SAFETY communications| tribalnetonline.com24In the Fall 2018 issue of TribalNet Magazine, I raised the question of whether tribal laws were keeping pace with the rapid development of technology in the field of data management. In response, I provided concrete examples of laws that have been enacted by tribal governments to address database authorization, data retention, accuracy assurance, dissemination of data and enforcement mechanisms. As pointed out in that article, these types of tribal laws are necessary “to protect tribal government operations, finances, public safety and the privacy of individual tribal members.”One of the unique things about data management is that because of the fluid nature of data, tribal policymakers and legislators are being forced to reconsider how to address jurisdictional issues. Jurisdictional issues are not new to Indian country. The field of federal Indian law has largely developed around jurisdictional issues. Since the time that the US Supreme Court initially pronounced that state law had no effect in Indian country (Worcester v. Georgia, 31 US 515), civil jurisdiction and criminal jurisdiction in Indian country have been subject to extensive legislation and litigation. The legal definition of "Indian country," 18 USC 1151, largely limited the exercise of tribal sovereign authority to strict geographically defined territories.The 2010 US Census reports that 78% of American Indians/Alaska Natives live outside of Indian country. When tribal governments consider how best to serve their constituent members, they often must reach out to those living outside reservation boundaries. For example, the Red Lake Nation recently found a way to provide assistance to homeless tribal members living in Minneapolis. The federal Indian Health Services agency has long found it necessary to provide clinic-based health care services to "Urban Indians."In addition to demographic changes affecting the day-to-day lives of tribal members, technology has been rapidly evolving, and the information age has now arrived. As data flows through the US and across international boundaries virtually instantaneously (and often wirelessly), old jurisdictional concepts are being rethought. Tribal data now has implications far beyond reservation boundaries and tribal governments are already making use of this expansion of tribal sovereignty.The FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division provides tribal criminal justice agencies with a number of tools to improve public safety of tribal members — not just on the reservation, but nationwide. Certain types of tribal court orders, such as domestic violence protection orders, can be entered into the FBI CJIS National Crime Information Center (NCIC). For example, when a tribal court issues a domestic violence protection order to protect a tribal member from abuse and then that order is entered into the NCIC system, that tribal member will be protected wherever they may be in within the United States (18 USC 2265). In addition, domestic violence perpetrators convicted in tribal courts are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms anywhere in the United States, 18 USC 922(g)(8)-(9).Other tribal court orders that can have a nationwide impact through effective data management include tribal data pertaining to tribally convicted felons (25 USC 1302(b)-(d)), persons subject to sex offender registries (18 USC 2250), and fugitives from tribal jurisdictions. Not only may tribal criminal justice agencies enter data into national FBI CJIS systems, but they may also access data submitted by other tribal, state, and federal jurisdictions, 28 USC 534(d).The expansion of tribal data sovereignty is not limited to the field of law enforcement nor is it limited to information sharing through federal databases. The National Congress of American Indians Policy Research Center conducted a survey of tribal governments to assess the current environment of tribal data issues. The resulting 2018 report, “The State of Tribal Data Capacity in Indian Country: Key Findings From the Survey of Tribal Data Practices,” found that 64% of the responding tribes shared data about participants in service programs among tribal government agencies, that tribes utilize data maintained by federal, state and county governments and that tribes utilize tribal member data for a variety of purposes including delivering services and communicating with tribal members.The data revolution has brought a new dimension to tribal sovereignty and the implications of tribal data extend far beyond old notions of geographic limits to tribal sovereignty. Since some aspects of tribal data have legal implications nationwide, the exercise of tribal sovereignty, at least in some respects, now has nationwide impact. Tribal data is the new frontier of tribal sovereignty and tribes are now utilizing these principles to strengthen and protect their communities and individual tribal members.Christopher B. Chaney is a member of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation and serves as Unit Chief for the FBI Office of the General Counsel’s Criminal Justice Information Law Unit. The contents of this article are not necessarily the views of the U.S. government, the Department of Justice, the FBI, or the FBI Office of the General Counsel.ABOUT THE AUTHORTHE EXPANSION OF Tribal Data SovereigntyBYCHRISTOPHER B. CHANEYUNIT CHIEF, FBI OGC CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION LAW UNITtribalnetonline.com |25SOVEREIGNTY | FEATUREIn our decision-making series, we have looked at the two basic decision types — revocable and irrevocable, as well as reviewed the first of three most common decision pitfalls, groupthink. Today we’ll look at the second decision pitfall, sunk cost.| tribalnetonline.com26Chris hit the button again and stared at the reel. Another near miss…so close. After four hours of play he was down over $500, an amount he could not afford to lose. “I’m in it too deep, I can’t give up now…just one more.” Sound familiar? Chris has succumbed to a common decision-making hazard known as sunk cost. A sunk cost is any expense or investment you can’t get back. The sunk cost decision pitfall is believing future resources are justified because of past investment. Studies show that sunk cost can get us to make bad decisions because of two basic human traits: 1) we focus more on potential gains than past losses (known as the Prospect Theory), and 2) we have a tough time admitting we are wrong. These two human traits help explain to some extent why casinos do so well.If you remember the last article in the fall issue, we talked about the guy who spent 20 years building a shoe company that never made a dime. Because of groupthink, the people surrounding him did not question him, but because of sunk cost, he did not question himself. He believed that any nay-sayer was blind to the wonderful future possibilities and that the only way to prove everyone wrong was to keep going. The fact that he had lost all his savings, his house, marriage, his relationship with his kids and his friends not only didn’t sober him, but he used those reasons to justify pushing on.So how do you tell the difference between making a sunk cost mistake and giving up too early? One of my old board members repeatedly told me, “Most people give up one day too soon.” In my experience, most people do give up on great ideas too soon but give up on bad ideas way too late — and there’s the rub — how do you know?Governments are by far the worst culprits of sunk cost. Since government organizations are ultimately driven by politics, there is an acute awareness of, “What will they think?” But instead of “they” being a few friends, it’s a bunch of voters. That puts tremendous pressure on those who authorize large dollar projects to justify the results. If you get funding for a $10-million project and after spending the money are only a fourth of the way there, the tendency is to get more funding for the project because a 10-million-dollar failure costs more politically than a 50-million-dollar overbudget success. A famous government contractor was heard bragging that he made 100-million dollars on a few 1-million dollar federal contracts.That said, there are times when you should keep going even though sunk cost has yet to yield results. One key to knowing when to double down and when to quit is evaluating how much of your decision is driven by emotions. Being honest about how much is driven by facts about why you are so far off from initial predictions, versus feelings like embarrassment and pride.Just One More—Grasping “Sunk Cost”FEATURE | DECISION MAKINGBYANDREW TRAWICK, CEO, TRUVIAN GROUPAndrew Trawick has more than 25 years of international business leadership and development experience in over 30 countries. Currently he is with The Truvian Group which helps organizations create high performance cultures in which people desire to work.ABOUT THE AUTHORThere’s a famous story in which Intel CEO Andy Grove was faced with a difficult decision about the future of the company. Although Intel had dabbled in CPU design, its focus, investment, and expertise was in memory chips. The problem was that Asian producers were starting to manufacture the same basic chips for much cheaper. Grove had to decide if Intel should invest more in marketing touting quality or spend millions in new equipment to stay ahead. Do they cut profit margins and reduce the size of the company? Grove gathered the executive team and announced, “You are all fired.” He then walked them out of the building. To the team’s relief, when they got to the parking lot, he hired them all back as his new executive team. They went back in the building and, with a whole new mindset, began tackling the problem. This was a brilliant move because it reset their thinking — same people, new perspective, new mindset, liberated from sunk cost. They concluded Intel should phase out the memory business and focus on CPU’s, and they are CPU leaders to this day.It would have been accurate to argue that Intel had hundreds of millions of dollars invested in memory chip production and turning away from that would be a waste. Freeing the team to let go of past investments, as well as their own personal decisions (remember — the people that built that old company were “fired”) provided them the perspective to see a future they otherwise would have missed.But that sounds like what our slot machine player is doing, he’s thinking of that future win, right? Not exactly. He’s mesmerized by the future win and not changing his behavior to get there. He is trying to justify his past investment by the idea that the same behavior will yield a different result — a basic form of insanity.So how do you know when you should give up or keep going? Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help counter the sunk cost pitfall. If you are working with company resources ask, “If this was my money would I keep going? Would I invite my friends and family to participate because this is such a great opportunity?” If the answer is a hard “No,” then seriously think about changing course. Be honest about your emotions. Ask, “Am I continuing primarily because I’m afraid of being embarrassed, being labeled a failure or not wanting to admit to being wrong?” If these are your drivers, odds are you should stop.Next, and this is key, ask, “If I just walked into this situation today, and took over as the new guy without any ties to past decisions, what would I do? This is the question that could persuade the shoe guy to throw in the towel and did cause Intel to focus on CPU’s. Finally, seek out sound advice. Go to those true friends and advisors that take pleasure in your success and listen carefully to what they have to say. If you do, you’re much more likely to walk away from that slot machine.TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019CONGRATULATIONS-2018 INDUSTRY AWARD WINNERS!INSPIRE. IMPACT.INNOVATE. MOTIVATE.Bring your IT team into the spotlight! The TribalNet Industry Awardsrecognizing deserving IT departments for over a decadeQUESTIONS? ContactUs@TribalHub.com Tribal Business/Enterprise Category: Pearl River Resort, IT DeptTribal Government & MemberServices Category:Squaxin Island Tribe, IS DeptNOMINATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTEDBEGINNING AUGUST 1ST!Stay Tuned For More Information.tribalnetonline.com |27| tribalnetonline.com28WHAT IS AI?Artificial intelligence (AI) is — according to Google — the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. Although “artificial intelligence” was coined by John McCarthy in 1955, AI research proved challenging for decades — with major progress not being made until the late 1990s and early 2000s. Key milestones included computers beating world champion chess players in 1997 and a victory over top Jeopardy! gameshow players in 2011. Fast forward to today: thanks to powerful computers, access to vast amounts of data, and advancements in data science, AI has grown significantly. Large technology firms have several AI offerings including solutions, applications, platforms and infrastructure. Hundreds of companies are entering the AI market with venture-capital investments exceeding $9.3 billion in 2018.HOW IS AI USED TODAY?AI solutions serve both consumer and enterprise needs. Amazon’s Alexa is a well-known product powered by AI. According to Amazon, over 100 million Alexa devices have been sold. AI is enabling intelligent website chat-bots and helping customer support agents address caller needs quickly and in the best possible fashion. In the business world there are too many AI solution types to count. AI promises value across every business unit — from AI-powered customer segmentation and growth marketing, to intelligent supply chain and distribution network optimization, to predictive maintenance and predictive quality for asset management and manufacturing, respectively.WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES?The AI opportunities mentioned above suggest that “AI must be everywhere.” Yet, for many companies, AI unfortunately remains aspirational. While reasons vary across companies, there are two key reasons why AI adoption hasn’t kept pace with the growing availability of AI technologies.Companies don’t know where to startThanks to years of low costs of collecting and storing information, every company division has volumes of data — with each seeking scarce resources to invest in AI. With so many options, the challenge is understanding where to place the bets: What are the AI opportunities? Which investments will create the greatest value or mitigate the most risk?AI takes a long time and is expensiveDespite the availability of AI tools and services, growth in AI solution deployment remains constrained by the data science expertise required to build the AI models. Thoughtful design of use cases and solutions requires a deep understanding of the business processes being targeted for improvement plus the AI data science required to make it all work. This requires multiple experts on a well-managed team. Furthermore, unlike traditional software, AI solution deployment is not “set it and forget it.” The algorithms require continual oversight by data scientists. These factors — expert resources, software fees, and complexities of solution deployment — result in lengthy and costly deployment cycles.A BREAKTHROUGH MODEL FOR AI?Many challenges with AI adoption at scale are addressed by the AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS) model from California-based WeR.ai, Inc. (www.wer.ai). WeR.ai Founder and CTO, Man Chan, who helped build Netflix’s recommendation engine, created a platform used by WeR.ai’s data scientists to quickly assemble algorithms, AI services, and analytics design patterns into instrumented machine-learning systems called Solves™. Requiring only a solution definition and access to the data needed to enable it, WeR.ai builds Solves™ at the use case level then keeps them running and “learning” as an AIaaS subscription. “We do not sell you a toolbox,” Man clarifies. “Instead, we enable the intelligence that powers your AI use case and helps it improve over time.”WeR.ai’s customers quickly responded to their value proposition. WeR.ai’s CEO, John Vigouroux, says, “We are able to produce AI data science quickly and for a fraction of the cost. Our clients range from small, privately-owned digital marketing and health insurance companies to multiple Fortune 500 giants. They are all ecstatic about our model and our ability to deliver 10 or more AI solutions for the price of one from the big AI firms. Business leaders are lining up to have their solutions built. The amazing thing is that, with our model, we can do them all. We have flipped the equation: the pressure is now on organizations to enable the business for AI because the data science is no longer the bottleneck.”IDEAS FOR AI POSITIVELY IMPACTING TRIBESGaming• Accelerated evolution from a gambling destination to an entertainment destination• Smarter buildings, asset utilization• AI-enhanced process automation Government• Patient risk management, care plan optimization• Personalized education, job placement, attrition risk management• Operations optimization, compliance• Personalized engagement & innovationBYNATE REGIMBALGRANT THORNTON, INNOVATION & DIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONNate Regimbal is a Digital Transformation consultant at Grant Thornton LLP, helping companies define and implement digital and organizational strategies and solutions that enable business and growth objectives. Nate has worked for consulting and technology companies for over 14 years, serving clients across industries.ABOUT THE AUTHORPragmatic Artificial Intelligence: Moving Toward AI Adoption at ScaleFEATURE | ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCEtribalnetonline.com |29educationNATIVE AMERICAN FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION (NAFOA) | AGENCY UPDATENAFOA’s education work focuses on innovative programs that promote professional development and build the financial and economic skills of the next generation of leaders. In the fall of 2018, NAFOA received a $500,000 two-year grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation to increase the organization’s capacity to serve Native American youth, improve our outreach, and provide educational resources. This year, among the many developments, NAFOA is rebranding its youth program, which is now called the NAFOA Academy. The NAFOA Academy is open to 18-24-year-old Native American youths and will offer three levels of coursework that provide opportunities for participants to improve career readiness and advance their understanding of issues impacting tribal economies. The first two levels — Academy 100 and 200 — are free and open to eligible youths.• Academy 100 is a two-week intensive online course that addresses topics such as resume creation, dress for success, personal finance basics, and cultivating a professional persona.• Academy 200 will provide an introduction to the following core topics: money principles, budgeting, negotiations and investing.• Academy 300 is the NAFOA Leadership Summit which is open for application to eligible Native American youths who have completed Academy 100 & 200. Young people accepted into the NAFOA Leadership Summit participate in seminars led by top executives, managers and tribal leaders for one day prior to the Fall Finance and Tribal Economies Conference. Following the summit, participants attend NAFOA’s fall conference that facilitates dialogue between tribes, federal partners, non-profits and professionals regarding tribal finance and economic issues. To be eligible to apply for the NAFOA Leadership Summit, applicants must first complete Academy 100 and Academy 200 or submit an academic transcript that demonstrates completion of coursework relevant to Academy 200. During the summer of 2019, there will be 3 opportunities to complete the online NAFOA Academy 100 coursework and qualify for the NAFOA Leadership Summit. NAFOA Academy 200 will have an open enrollment policy for the duration of the program. Scholarships are available to cover the cost of attending the NAFOA Leadership Summit. IMPORTANT NAFOA ACADEMY DATES:Academy 100 Program DatesMay 27, 2019 – June 9, 2019June 10, 2019 – June 23, 2019 June 24, 2019 – July 8, 2019Academy 200 May 27, 2019 – Program OpensAugust 8, 2019 – Program EndsNAFOA Announces the New NAFOA AcademyThrough its work in growing tribal economies and strengthening tribal finance, NAFOA supports the advancement of independent and culturally vibrant American Indian and Alaska Native communities. NAFOA launched over three decades ago as the Native American Finance Officers Association to highlight the role of tribal finance in fostering economic opportunities. Since that time, NAFOA has grown along with tribal economies. AGENCY UPDATE: NAFOANATIVE AMERICAN FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATIONFOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: CODY HARJO, NAFOA Education Coordinator cody@nafoa.orgLeadership SummitProgram Date: October 6, 2019Applications Due: August 9, 2019NAFOA Fall Finance and Tribal Economies ConferenceOctober 7 – 8, 2019Next >