Tribal Technical Advisory Committee

SAMHSA's Tribal Training and Technical Assistance Center

The Tribal Technical Advisory Committee helps build and maintain SAMHSA’s government-to-government relationship with American Indian and Alaska Native tribes.

In 2008, in recognition of Presidential executive orders and memoranda on tribal consultation, SAMHSA formed the Tribal Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC) to enhance the government-to-government relationship and honor the federal trust responsibilities and obligations to tribes and American Indian and Alaska Native people.

The SAMHSA TTAC membership, made up of 14 elected tribal leaders from federally recognized tribes, provides a venue where tribal leadership and SAMHSA staff can exchange information about public health issues, identify urgent mental health and substance abuse needs, and discuss collaborative approaches to addressing behavioral health needs.

TTAC Member Roster

Alaska Area

Primary Delegate

Alternate Delegate

 Technical Support

Lisa Wade
Health, Education, & Social Services Division Director
Council Secretary
Chickaloon Village Traditional Council
Chickaloon, AK 99674

Mary Ann Mills
Council Member
Kenaitze Indian Tribe
Kenai, AK 99611

Alberta Unok
Village of Kotlik
Chief Operating Officer
Alaska Native Health Board

Seth Green, PhD
Behavioral Health Director
Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association
Anchorage, AK 99503

Albuquerque Area (NM, CO, TX)

Primary Delegate

Alternate Delegate

 Technical Support

Joseph A. Garcia,TTAC Co-Chair
Head Councilman
Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo
Ohkay Owingeh, NM 87566

Vacant

 Ohkay Owingeh Tribal Office

Bemidji Area (IN, MN, MI, WI)

Primary Delegate

Alternate Delegate

Phyllis Davis
Tribal Council
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians
Shelbyville, MI 49344

Keith Massaway
Treasurer
Sault Ste. Marie Band of Chippewa Indians
St. Ignace, MI 49783

Billings Area (MT, WY)

Primary Delegate

Alternate Delegate

Vacant

Vacant

California Area

Primary Delegate

Alternate Delegate

Juana Majel-Dixon, TTAC Co-Chair
Legislative Council
Pauma Band of Mission Indians
Pauma Valley, CA 92025

Vacant

Great Plains Area (ND, SD, IA, NE)

Primary Delegate

Alternate Delegate

 Technical Support

Vacant

Harold Frazier
Chairman
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
Eagle Butte, SD 57625

 Jerilyn Church
Executive Director
Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board

Nashville Area (Eastern US)

Primary Delegate

Alternate Delegate

 Technical  Support

Beverly Cook
Tribal Chief
Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe
Akwesasne, NY 13655

Marilynn Malerba
Chief
The Mohegan Tribe
Uncasville, CT 06382

Tori Reaves
USET Tribal Epi Center
Nashville, TN 37214

Annie Bero
Executive Administrative Assistant to Chief Cook

Navajo Area (AZ, NM, UT)

Primary Delegate

Alternate Delegate

 Technical Support

Jonathan M. Nez
President
The Navajo Nation
Office of the President & Vice President
Window Rock, AZ 86515

Charlaine Tso
Honorable Council Delegate
24th Navajo Nation Council
Window Rock, AZ 86515

 Theresa Galvan
Health Service Administrator
Navajo Division of Behavioral and Mental Health Service

Oklahoma Area

Primary Delegate

Alternate Delegate

 Technical Support

Jack Austin Jr.
Assistant Chief
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Durant, OK 74702

Terri Parton
President
Wichita and Affiliated Tribes
Tribal Administration
Anadarko, OK 73005

 Kristie L. Brooks MS, LPC
Global Behavioral Health Manager & Director, Behavioral Health, Choctaw Nation Health Services Authority
McAlester, OK 74501

Phoenix Area (AZ, CA, NV, UT)

Primary Delegate

Alternate Delegate

Vacant

Vacant

Portland Area (ID, OR, WA)

Primary Delegate

Alternate Delegate

 Technical Support

Marilyn M. Scott (Whe-Che-Litsa) 
Tribal Vice-Chairman
Upper Skagit Indian Tribe
Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284

Nate Tyler
Councilman Nate
Makah Tribe
Neah Bay, WA 98357

Tanesha Lane
Assistant to the Chairman

Sarah Sullivan
Health Policy Analyst
Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB)

Candace Jimenez
Technical Advisor

Laura Platero
Executive Director, NPAIHB

Tucson Area (Southern AZ)

Primary Delegate

Alternate Delegate

Vacant

Vacant

At-Large

Primary Delegate

 Technical Support

Nickolaus Dee Lewis Jr
"Jutskadim"
Lummi Indian Business Council
Bellingham, WA 98226

Carolyn Hornbuckle
Deputy Director & Director of Public Health Policy and Programs, National Indian Health Board (NIHB)

Courtney Wheeler
Public Health Project Coordinator, NIHB

AC Locklear
NIHB Policy Analyst

Aaron Payment, MPA, MEd, EdD
Chairperson
Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians
Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783

Nicholas Courtney
Policy Analyst, NCAI

Sheila Berger
Executive Assistant

Last Updated: 04/14/2022