Twelve new members have been appointed to the Center for Indian Country Development (CICD) Leadership Council, effective immediately. This advisory council convenes key representatives from tribal nations, national organizations, and tribal policy, research, and finance practitioners. In pursuit of economic stability, the CICD seeks to address structural barriers limiting tribes’ ability to generate or access predictable and sufficient revenues.

“Indian Country is a vital part of our national economy, and it’s important that we address the barriers that inhibit tribal nations’ full economic participation,” said CICD Director Casey Lozar. “We are focused on providing valuable information to tribal governments that respects their inherent self-governance and advances tribal economic prosperity goals.”

The Leadership Council will provide input into the CICD’s applied research, data analysis, and policy development agenda by helping to uncover gaps in the knowledge base and by identifying and explaining the systemic impediments to economic opportunity and inclusive growth in tribal communities. Members are appointed by Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari to three-year terms.

CICD Leadership Council

• Fatima Abbas, Director of Policy and Legislative Counsel, National Congress of American Indians
• Melanie Benjamin, Chief Executive, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
• Jackson Brossy, Executive Director, Native CDFI Network
• Dawson Her Many Horses, Head of Native American Banking, Wells Fargo
• Townsend Hyatt, Partner, Orrick
• Chris James, President and CEO, National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development
• Lynn Malerba, Chief, Mohegan Tribe
• Arlan D. Melendez, Chairman, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony
• Robert J. Miller, Professor, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, Willard H. Pedrick Distinguished Research Scholar and Faculty Director of the Rosette LLP American Indian Economic Development Program, and Chief Justice for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Court of Appeals
• Donald Ragona, Director of Development and House Counsel, Native American Rights Fund
• Leah Sixkiller, Of Counsel, Hogen Adams PLLC
• Desi Small-Rodriguez, Assistant Professor, UCLA Department of Sociology and American Indian Studies, and Director, Data Warriors Lab

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System, the nation’s central bank. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is responsible for the Ninth Federal Reserve District, which includes Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous banking organizations, and provides a variety of payments services to financial institutions and the U.S. government.