Abbot-Todd, Sherry -District Court Judge Sherry Abbott Todd was born in Ada, Oklahoma, to Joe Kent and Jean Abbott. She lived on her family s Indian

Transcription

1 Abbot-Todd, Sherry -District Court Judge Sherry Abbott Todd was born in Ada, Oklahoma, to Joe Kent and Jean Abbott. She lived on her family s Indian Allotment land in the Pecan Grove area south of Ada. Zona Abbott, her paternal greatgrandmother was a Chickasaw original enrollee. She attended Latta Schools, 1-12 grades, where she was active in basketball, 4-H, FHA, drama and interscholastic competitions. She graduated as Salutatorian of her class and went on to East Central University. At East Central, Judge Todd majored in Speech and Drama, and Education. She was a member of Alpha Honor Society, Pi Kappa Delta, Alpha Psi Omega, and Who s Who in American Colleges and Universities. She was selected as Outstanding Member of Alpha Gamma Delta and East Central Student of the Month. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Education, she taught high school English at Byng Schools. She implemented the gifted/talented program and was selected as an Outstanding Secondary Educator of America. Judge Todd attended the University of Oklahoma H.H. Herbert School of Journalism. At the graduate school, she was awarded the Laura Hamilton Billingsley Scholarship. She then graduated from OU School of Law. At the school of law, she was a member of the ABA Appellate Advocacy Team and the ATLA Trial Team, Inns of Court and Order of the Barristers. She received the Joe G. Wolfe Appellate Advocacy Award, and the Outstanding Trial Advocacy Award. She and her competition partner were the winners of the OU Law Day Oral Argument Competition, which was argued before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. They also won the Law Day Best Brief award. During law school, Judge Todd interned with the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) in Washington, D.C. At NARF, she researched issues in Indian Law and monitored U.S. Senate Committee hearings. Upon graduation from OU Law School, she served as an Assistant District Attorney in Oklahoma County. She was lead prosecutor in numerous felony trials to include charges of burglary, rape, child abuse, and murder. She left the District Attorney s Office to accept a position as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Oklahoma. While there, she prosecuted Worker s Compensation Fraud and later represented the State of Oklahoma and its employees in the Civil Litigation Unit. She was twice awarded the Attorney General s Shark Award, for outstanding achievement in her cases. In her years as Assistant District Attorney and Assistant Attorney General, she tried approximately 100 jury trials in both state and federal court. She is licensed to practice in the State of Oklahoma, Western District of Oklahoma, Eastern District of Oklahoma, Northern District of Oklahoma, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court and the Chickasaw Nation. Within the Chickasaw Nation judicial system, she served as a magistrate after the Nation took over its court system in After she retired from the Attorney General s Office, she was appointed to fill the vacant Special Judge position for the Chickasaw District Court. She took the Oath of Office in 2011.Judge Todd has been recognized as a Chickasaw Dynamic Woman. In addition, Judge Todd continues a family tradition of serving the Nation. Her father, Joe Kent Abbott and her uncle, Barney Abbott, were legislators for the Chickasaw Nation. Judge Todd has a daughter, Shanda Todd Nelson. Shanda, is a graduate of University of Central Oklahoma, lives with her husband, Jack and their two children, Parker and Payton, in Yukon, Oklahoma.

2 Ahola, Amber AmberAhola is the IV-D Director for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in Northern Minnesota. She graduated with a B.A. from San Francisco State University in 1991 and received her J.D. from the University of San Francisco, School of Law in Amber has worked with IV-D issues in a variety of capacities over the years. She was as an attorney for Anishinabe Legal Services, serving the residents of the Leech Lake, Red Lake and White Earth reservations in Northern Minnesota for eleven years. During that time, she represented many custodial parents trying to get child support in the Red Lake Court. As a result of that work, she collaborated with personnel from the Red Lake Nation to successfully write their IV-D start-up grant proposal in In 2006 she was appointed as a Judge for the Red Lake Nation and continued to work on child support issues in that capacity for several years. Amber then worked as a criminal defense attorney for Regional Native Public Defense for a few years just prior to her return to the child support arena. In her spare time, she makes her 14 year old daughter proud as a hard-hitting blocker for the Babe City Rollers Bemidji, Minnesota s skater run roller derby league. Brave-Heart, Jeremy A., Esq.,Senior Attorney, Eastern Shoshone Tribe Jeremy Brave-Heart, a member of the Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, holds degrees in law, anthropology, and political science. As a tribal member and lawyer specializing in all aspects of Federal Indian and Tribal Law and Policy, Mr. Brave-Heart has had the honor of serving dozens of tribes. Prior to returning home to the West, Mr. Brave-Heart was in private practice in Washington, D.C., at the Indian Law firm of Hobbs, Straus, Dean, & Walker, LLP. While in Washington, D.C., Mr. Brave-Heart defended and advocated for critical tribal issues such as Education, Health, Gaming, Treaty Rights, Federal Indian Policy, and as is so often necessary these days, litigation on behalf of tribes at the state and federal court levels. Mr. Brave-Heart wears many hats at the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, and the Eastern Shoshone Child Support Program is one that he holds particularly close to his heart. Outside of practicing law, Mr. Brave-Heart s passions include hunting, fishing, ceremony, writing poetry, and above all, spending time with his family. Hatcher, Daniel - Professor Before joining the faculty in 2004, Hatcher was in a statewide position with the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau, serving as the assistant director of advocacy for public benefits and economic stability. He previously worked as a staff attorney for Legal Aid in the Baltimore Child Advocacy Unit representing abused and neglected children, and in the Metropolitan Maryland office representing clients in public benefits, housing, consumer and family law issues. He was also a senior staff attorney with the Children's Defense Fund in Washington, D.C., where he worked on policy development and legislative advocacy in areas affecting child and family poverty. Hatcher has testified before Congress, the Maryland General Assembly and in other governmental proceedings regarding several issues affecting children and low-income individuals and families. Hatcher s recent scholarship has addressed the conflicts between state agencies revenue maximization strategies and the agencies core missions to serve low-income children and families including the practice of state foster care agencies converting foster children s Social Security benefits into state revenue, welfare cost recovery policies in the TANF program, and foster care cost recovery through child support enforcement. His scholarship has attracted national attention, including significant press coverage, congressional testimony, citation in multiple

3 Congressional Research Service reports, requests to draft legislation, and continued participation in national policy reform efforts Keahna, Tish - Attorney Lac Courte Oreilles Child Support Program Tish Keahna is Meskwaki, an enrolled member of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa. Her grandmother was Frances Goodwin Keahna, a well-known Ojibwe black ash basket maker of the White Earth Nation. Tish graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1992, was licensed to practice law in Minnesota and within a few years became a stay at home parent for many years. After becoming a single parent, she was forced to take the Wisconsin bar in 2012 where she was sworn in by Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson in December She happily chose to have the child support case for her three children enforced by the White Earth Nation Child Support Enforcement Program because she is a strong believer in tribal sovereignty. The Lac Courte Oreilles Child Support Program attorney since January 2012, she joined LCO in the start-up phase through their transition to a comprehensive program one year ago and has enjoyed working with Wisconsin state child support and OCSE leaders. King-George, Tallis Tallis King George has been the child support attorney for the Puyallup Tribe since She has practiced tribal law since 1980, first as code writer for fourteen tribes, as a prosecutor and as Port Gamble S Klallam s tribal attorney for fifteen years. She has been involved in tribal child support since the early 1990s. She and her husband, Gilbert King George, live on the King George allotment on the Muckleshoot reservation where they raise raspberries, smoke salmon, research tribal genealogy and enjoy their nine grandchildren. Long, Lawrence - Attorney Born and raised in New Mexico, presently employed with the Navajo Nation Department of Justice assigned to the Navajo Nation Department of Child Support Enforcement Program. Have been practicing for over thirty years on the Navajo Nation. Started with People s Legal Service, as Director of Tribal Law Development and Litigation Unit and moved on to the following: Office of the Prosecutor; Child Sexual Abuse, working with the District Attorneys in Utah, New Mexico and Arizona; Navajo Housing Authority, served as General Counsel for six months; Private Practice for over a year. Serviced in the United States Army for over thirty years, in Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan. Presently working on updating the Navajo Nation Tribal Code in regards to Child Support Act which is outdated by several years. Advising Child Support Enforcement Officer in their daily operations and working with the Navajo Nation Office of Hearings and Appeals. Enjoy my work with the staff, and feel that I have accomplished something during my life time. Otherwise, living life to the fullest. Lujan, Philip D. (Honorable) Philip D Lujan is a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Taos Pueblo. He grew up in the Rainy Mountain community of Kiowa County in Oklahoma. He is the graduate of Washburn University and the University of New Mexico, School of Law. He has worked exclusively with tribal governments and the courts for over thirty years. Legal Experience: Staff Attorney, UNM s American Indian Law Center

4 Tribal Court Experience: Chief Judge for Potawatomi Nation (15 Yrs.); Kaw Nation (2 Yrs.); Iowa Nation (10 Yrs.). Formerly Chief District Judge for Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes (6 Yrs.), formerly Chief District Judge for Kickapoo Tribe (4 Yrs.), Sac & Fox of Oklahoma (18 Yrs.). Federal Magistrate for Courts of Indian Offences for Anadarko Area serving the Kiowa, Commanche, Apache, Fort Sill Apache, Wichita, and Affiliated Tribes, Caddo, and Delaware Tribes (20 Yrs.). Seminole Agency (5 Yrs.), Formerly the Chickasaw Agency CFR (4 Yrs.), Prosecutor 1978-*1983 Andarko Agency CFR Court. Academic Experience: Judge Lujan retired as a Professor Emeritus after twenty-five years of teaching at the University of Oklahoma. He was an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication. He taught various courses including Intercultural communication and the First Amendment. He has worked as a consultant and made numerous presentations in Native American communication. He was the Director of Native American Studies for twelve years and wrote the successful proposal to the Board of Regents which established a Native American Studies Major in the Arts and Sciences College Marquardt, Dawn M. Dawn M. Marquardt is the Deputy Director and Policy Section Chief for the Oregon Child Support Program at the Oregon Department of Justice. Prior to her recent move to the Pacific Northwest, she was an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the Dane County Child Support Agency (Madison, WI) from April 2012 to January From 2005 to 2012, she worked for Columbia County (Portage, WI) as the Deputy Corporation Counsel/Director of the Child Support Agency/Assistant Human Resources Director. In addition to serving as the attorney for the Child Support Agency, she also handled mental commitments, guardianships, collections and zoning enforcement cases for Columbia County. Dawn received the Wisconsin Child Support Enforcement Association Attorney of the Year Award in 2009 and served on its Board of Directors from 2010 to She has been a member of NCSEA since Prior to joining the public sector, Dawn was in private practice in Columbia County focusing on family law-related issues. Dawn has a Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Orcutt, Robert J.D., Lead Attorney, Stockbridge-Munsee Community Robert W. Orcutt received his undergraduate degree from High Point University in High Point, North Carolina and his law degree from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. Before joining the Stockbridge-Munsee Community as Lead Attorney, Mr. Orcutt served as an attorney for the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin and Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. Rob is a member of the Indian Law Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin and focuses his practice on Indian Law issues including: litigation, tribal gaming, and business development. Plumer, Joseph (Honorable) EDUCATION Oberlin College, Oberlin,Ohio. Degree: Bachelor Of Arts In Psychology (1980) Case Western Reserve University School Of Law, Cleveland, Ohio. Degree: Juris Doctorate (1983) EXPERIENCE

5 Plumer Law Office, Bemidji,Minnesota Self-employed attorney October1,2002 through present, specializing in the representation of Tribal Governments, and providing service to Tribal Courts as a Tribal Court Judge. Provide a variety of legal services to the White Earth Band of Ojibwe as the Tribal Attorney including representation in litigation between thetribal Government and other governments; negotiation of the terms of commercial agreements; advise the White Earth Tribal Council and its various agencies; develop legal strategies to accomplish the goals of TribalGovernment. I have served as General Legal Counsel for the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the White Earth Reservation Housing Authority since October,2002 through the present. Presently serve as Tribal Court Judge in the following courts: Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, served.as the Chief Judge of the Tribal Court from July,2005 through the present. Mille Lacs Band of Oiibwe,served as a Special Magistrate for the Tribal Court and Pro Tern Judge of the Mille Lacs Band Court of Appeals since June,2002. I am an enrolled member of the Leech Lake (WhiteOakPoint/Mississippi) Band of Chippewa Indians. I am a husband and father of six children and I presently reside in rural Bemidji, MN. Sager, Kelly Kelly Sager is the Attorney-Manager for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation s Office of Child Support Enforcement. Ms. Sager graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1997 and is admitted to practice in Oregon and Montana. Her legal background includes work as a public defender, legal services attorney, and federal law clerk. Sell, Janet W. Janet W. Sell is Unit Chief Counsel of the Legal Counsel and Complex Litigation Unit of the Child Support Section of the Office of the Attorney General where she has practiced for seventeen years. She was a trial attorney for four and a half years in the East Valley CSE office. She was in charge of training from 2001 until She is the section expert on technology and automation issues, and has assisted the Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) with several large automation projects including an online arrears calculator and implementation of a new document generation program. For the last several years she has been the primary legal advisor to the DCSE Administrative Review Unit and was lead counsel to the Policy and Resource Administration. She has also been a key contributor in the area of family court rules, child support guidelines and legislation. Prior to joining the Attorney General s Office, she had her own practice which concentrated in family and child welfare law. She has substantial experience representing children, both as attorney and Guardian ad Litem. She earned both her Bachelor of Science and her Juris Doctorate at Arizona State University and has been practicing since She regular provides training about child support issues to courts, attorneys, caseworkers, and community groups both in and out of Arizona. She is a frequent contributor to the State Bar of Arizona Family Law News. Sokolik, Kathy Kathy has worked in the child support program for more than 25 years. She has worked in both the public and private sectors, and has worked with child support at the county, State, and federal levels. Kathy is currently employed by SRA, Inc. on contract to central OCSE, working on all things Affordable

6 Care Act. Kathy served as President of the CA Child Support Directors Association, is an Honorary Lifetime Board Member for WICSEC, and currently serves as President-Elect of NCSEA. Kathy holds both a BA and MPA from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. Go Geoducks! Voluck, David Avraham (Honorable) David Avraham Voluck graduated from the Universityof Pennsylvania with a major in the Sociology of Religion. Moving to the Pacific Northwest, he attended the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College where he received his Juris Doctorate with a Certificate in Environmental Law and was inducted into the Cornelius Honor Society. Upon graduation from law school, he moved to Sitka, Alaska to serve as the land and trust resources attorney for the Sitka Tribe of Alaska and was eventually promoted to the Director of the Tribe s Law and Trust Resources Department. In 1998, David moved to Anchorage to join the firm of Landye, Bennette, and Blumstein, LLP to work under the mentorship of David S. Case specializing in federal Indian law, traveling to rural villages both as a municipal and tribal attorney. During the next three years, David was privileged to travel the expanse of Alaska, providing representation to the Tlingit, Haida, Athabascan, Inupiat, Yupik and Aletiiq peoples. During this time, David was also privileged to work with David Case co-authoring the revision of the legal treatise, Alaska Natives and American Laws. His experience with the Native peoples awakened a renewed interest in his own culture and history, and David took a two year sabbatical from the practice of law to attend the Rabbinial College of America, focusing on Talmudic andjewish legal Studies. David eventually returned to Alaska to continue his Indian law practice and to serve seriously emotionally disturbed youth and theirfamilies. In April of 2008, David was appointed Chief Judge of the Sitka Tribal Court, and was hired as Adjunct Professor Indian Law for Lewis & Clark Law School s Summer Indian Law Program. In November of 2010, David was appointed to sit as Magistrate/Judge for the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska per the Tribe s Family Responsibility Act. May of 2012, David was appointed as presiding Judge Pro Tem for the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island Tribal Government. David is a noted lecturer on a variety of topics related to Indian law, Tribal Courts, Native culture and the interplay with religion. Walden, Kent Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, Tribal Child Support Enforcement Mr. Walden started his career in Child Support Enforcement in November of 2003 with the Chickasaw Nation Child Support Enforcement Division in Ada, OK. In May of 2008 he became the STEEP Coordinator/Investigator for the Modoc of Oklahoma, Tribal Child Support Enforcement office in Seminole, OK. The STEPP Program is an alternative to incarceration for parents who have failed to meet their child support obligations. In September of 2010, along with his current duties as Investigator/STEPP Coordinator, Mr. Walden was promoted to the Assistant Director for the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, Tribal Child Support Department and then into the Director s position on October 1, Mr. Walden has a Bachelor s of Arts degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, with a minor in Criminology from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. Mr. Walden is a C.L.E.E.T. certified Law Enforcement Officer thru the state of Oklahoma, and for the past 13 years has worked as a Reserved Deputy for the Pontotoc County Sherriff s Office in Ada, Oklahoma. Mr. Walden is a also a Reserve Police Officer for the Seminole Nation Lighthorse Police Department in Seminole, Oklahoma and the

7 Absentee Shawnee Tribal Police Department in Tecumseh, OK. Mr. Walden is a current board member for the Nation Tribal Child Support Association, and the President of the National Association of Tribal Child Support Directors. Webb-Fors, Lara - First Assistant Greene County Prosecutor, Director of the Springfield Regional Prosecutors Child Support Office Lara currently serves as the Director of a multi-county prosecutors office in Springfield, MO where her staff judicially establishes and enforces child support orders in Greene, Christian and Taney counties. Lara has spent her entire legal career in the IV-D program and all but six months has been in the state of Missouri. She has worked in the Kansas City, Jefferson City and Springfield areas. Before returning to this office in July 2011, she served as the IV-D Deputy Director of the Missouri Family Support Division. Lara currently serves as President of the Eastern Regional Interstate Child Support Association (ERICSA) and is a past president of Missouri s state association, MCSEA. Lara has presented at numerous conferences and events including the Missouri Bar Association, MCSEA, ERICSA, the Western Interstate Child Support Enforcement Council (WICSEC) and the National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA.) Lara received her undergraduate degree at Central Methodist College (now University) in 1992 and received her J.D. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in She is a member of both the Missouri and Kansas Bars.