JR Walters

JR Walters is the Information Technology Executive Director with more than 13 years of service at the Samish Indian Nation, where he has progressed through increasing levels of responsibility into executive IT leadership. His career reflects deep institutional knowledge combined with a practical, service‑oriented approach to technology leadership, with a strong focus on digital transformation, operational efficiency, and cybersecurity.

At Samish, JR built the technology department from the ground up, establishing governance, risk management, and incident readiness aligned with both government and health service environments. He is relied upon within the organization as a trusted resource for security, privacy, and compliance‑related guidance, particularly in health and human services, and regularly reviews contracts for Samish involving health systems, IT services, and cloud platforms.

JR is starting to serve on the FCC Native Nations Communications Taskforce and is Co‑Chair of the MS‑ISAC Leadership Mentoring Program, supporting the development of cybersecurity leaders across state, local, tribal, and territorial governments. He has hosted Laserfiche User Groups and MS‑ISAC regional cybersecurity events and is committed to sharing lessons learned and success stories that help strengthen tribal technology programs.