Indian Gaming Association
Board of Directors

Delegates

1

Eastern

Michael Conners
St. Regis Mohawk
Michele Scott (Alternate)
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
Robert McGhee (Alternate)
Poarch Band of Creek Indians
2

Eastern Oklahoma

Matthew Morgan
Chickasaw Nation
Billy Friend (Alternate)
Wyandotte Nation
Craig Harper (Alternate)
Peoria Tribe
Jerry Lankford (Alternate)
Miami Tribe
Justin Barrett (Alternate)
Eastern Shawnee
3

Great Plains

Collette Brown
Spirit Lake Nation
Bernardo Rodriguez (Alternate)
Oglala Sioux Tribe
Tyler Yellow Boy (Alternate)
Oglala Sioux Tribe
4

Midwest

Brandon Yellowbird-Stevens
Oneida Nation of Wisconsin
Alex Wesaw (Alternate)
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi
Melanie Benjamin (Alternate)
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
5

Navajo

Dr. Buu Nygren
Navajo Nation
Seth Damon (Alternate)
Navajo Nation
6

Northwest

Denise Harvey
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
7

Pacific

Mark Macarro
Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians
Gary Santos (Alternate)
Tule River Tribe
Richard Jones (Alternate)
Table Mountain Rancheria
Rosemary Morillo (Alternate)
Soboba Band
8

Rocky Mountain

Lee Spoonhunter
Northern Arapaho Tribe
Francine Dupuis (Alternate)
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
Jenni Wildcat (Alternate)
Northern Arapaho Tribe
9

Southern Plains

Michael McLane
Deleware Nation
Mark Woommavovah (Alternate)
Comanche Nation
10

Southwest

Stuart Paisano
Pueblo of Sandia
Melanie Martinez (Alternate)
Pueblo of Santa Ana
11

Western

Kasey Velasquez
White Mountain Apache Tribe
Paul Russell (Alternate)
Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation

Associate Member Delegates

(non-voting)
1

Carl Long

2

Chris Georgacas

3

Kelly Myers

Meet Our Chairman

Ernest L. Stevens, Jr.
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Ernie Stevens, Jr. is the Chairman and national spokesperson for the Indian Gaming Association (IGA) in Washington, D.C. Stevens is currently in his ninth two-year term as the organization’s leader, which is a position elected by the member tribes of the Indian Gaming Association.

As Chairman of IGA, Stevens represents the Indian gaming industry. In this role, he has worked to educate Congress, the media and the public about the positive impacts of Indian gaming on tribal and nearby communities. Stevens is also responsible for shaping policy initiatives that have the potential to impact the industry. Stevens has led the Association and worked to protect Tribal Sovereignty and strengthen the Indian gaming industry. During his tenure, Indian gaming revenues have risen from $11 billion in 2000 to over $37.3 billion in 2017 making Tribal Government Gaming the largest segment of the Gaming Industry in the United States, passing Commercial Gaming.

From 1993 to 1999 Stevens served as an elected councilman for the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin. He is a former First Vice-President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). As a respected leader in Indian Country, Stevens also serves as a long-standing board member on the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAID), the Nike N7 Foundation Board, the Executive Board of the Center for Native American Youth (CNAY) and the Native American Advisory Board for the Boys & Girls Club of America (BGCA).

Chairman Stevens received an Associate’s degree from Haskell Indian Nations University in 1983. Stevens also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Mount Scenario College in Ladysmith, Wisconsin (1986.)

Chairman Stevens is an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin. He and his wife Cheryl have been married for 35 years. Together they have 5 children and 15 grandchildren.