Cynthia Chavez Lamar is the director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. She is the first Native woman to head a Smithsonian museum. Chavez Lamar oversees the museum’s three facilities: the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the museum’s George Gustav Heye Center in Lower Manhattan and the Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, Maryland.

Chavez Lamar is an accomplished curator, author and scholar whose research interests are focused on Southwest Native art and the methodologies and practices involved in collaborating with Indigenous communities.

Since January 2021, Chavez Lamar has served as acting associate director for collections and operations at the museum. She was responsible for overseeing its collections, facilities, safety and information technology departments. She led efforts to ensure effective management of and care for the museum’s collection, which is composed of more than 1 million objects and photographs and more than 500,000 digitized images, films and other media documenting Native communities, events and organizations.

Chavez Lamar has been at the museum most recently since 2014, and earlier in her career was a museum intern (1994) and later an associate curator (2000–2005). From 2014 through 2020, Chavez Lamar served as assistant director for collections at the museum.

Zoya Awan is the Director of Public Affairs at Walmart. In her role she directs the strategic outreach and engagement strategy for Walmart’s strategic partnerships within multicultural and minority communities including People with Disabilities, Native Americans, and Emerging Generations across communities.

Prior to her work at Walmart, Zoya worked at Microsoft in Government Affairs, in the State Department’s office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and various non-profits. Zoya has an MBA from Georgetown University and her B.A. in International Affairs and Communication Studies from American University.

Zoya is a proud Pakistani- American Muslim woman and an explorer who loves to travel and explore all things in the world.  Zoya is passionate about giving a voice to the voiceless and building partnerships to work across sectors to make impact in communities. Born and Raised in Long Island, New York a longtime Washingtonian Zoya currently resides with her family in New York.

Andrea Palm is the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As Deputy Secretary, she is the Chief Operating Officer and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Department.

Palm most recently served as Secretary-designee of the Department of Health Services (DHS), overseeing one of the largest state agencies in Wisconsin as a member of Governor Tony Evers' cabinet. In this role, she had responsibility for the state's Medicaid program, its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and behavioral health programs, among others. DHS is also Wisconsin's public health agency, and as such, Palm led the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previously, Palm held a number of policy and operational roles in the Obama-Biden Administration at HHS, including Acting Assistant Secretary for Legislation, Counselor, Chief of Staff and Senior Counselor to the Secretary. During her eight-year tenure, she worked on a variety of Administration priorities, including the Affordable Care Act, as well as providing leadership for the Department's work to combat the opioid epidemic.

Palm was born and raised in rural, upstate New York. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Cornell University and a Master's degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

Chief Mutáwi Mutáhash (Many Hearts) Marilynn “Lynn” Malerba became the 18th Chief of the Mohegan Tribe on August 15, 2010, and is the first female Chief in the tribe’s modern history.The position is a lifetime appointment made by the Tribe’s Council of Elders. Lynn follows in the footsteps of many strong female role models in the Mohegan Tribe, including her mother, Loretta Roberge, who was a member of the Tribal Council that achieved Federal Recognition for the Tribe and held the position of Tribal Nonner (elder female of respect) as well as her great- grandfather Chief Matagha (Burrill Fielding). Before becoming Chief, she served as Chairwoman of the Tribal Council, and served in Tribal Government as Executive Director of Health and Human Services. Preceding her work the for the Mohegan Tribe, Lynn had a lengthy career as a registered nurse ultimately as the Director of Cardiology and Pulmonary Services at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital. She earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice at Yale University named a Jonas Scholar. She was awarded an honorary Doctoral degree in Science from Eastern Connecticut State University and an honorary Doctoral Degree in Humane Lettersfrom the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, CT. She earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Connecticut, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the College of St. Joseph and her diploma in nursing from Hartford Hospital School of Nursing. Lynn was appointed by President Biden and is currently serving as the Treasurer of the United States.

NDN Girls Book Club is an organization founded by Diné writer Kinsale Drake that is dedicated to uplifting Indigenous authors, promoting Indigenous literature, supporting young Indigenous writers, and centering Indigenous booksellers and tribal libraries. The Book Club hosts free author talks, free workshop programming, and an extensive database of resources for emerging writers. It has been featured since its early 2023 launch in Teen Vogue, NPR, Indian Country Today, The Salt Lake Tribune, Yahoo’s In the Know, and more.

Lily Painter Brings Water, also known by her English name, Lily, is a 21 year old citizen of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. She is a poet, writer, community and arts advocate, filmmaker, and was an inaugural Remembering Our Sisters Fellow with the Center for Native American Youth where she advocated nationally for MMIWG2S+ awareness and policy advancement. In 2023, she was the White House’s first Native American Intern in the Domestic Policy Council and was named as one of Teen Vogue’s 21 under 21. She is a UNITY 25 under 25 and the reigning 2023 Miss Indian Oklahoma. In her free time, she assists with graphic design for NDN Girls Book Club.

Victoria Vasques is the Owner and Chairwoman of Tribal Tech, LLC and Cowan & Associates, Inc. Both companies are American Indian, SBA 8(m), third-party verified, woman-owned small businesses (WOSB) that provide management and technical services to federal, state, tribal and corporate clients.

For more than 30 years, Ms. Vasques has been an advocate for American Indians, leading education reform, health care and advancing energy initiatives.

Her career in public service includes serving as the Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Office of Indian Education, U.S. Department of Education, where she was the principal point of contact within the federal government for Indian education across the nation. Prior to that, she served as the Director of Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy. She also served as executive director of the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities, as an education program specialist in the Office of Indian Education, on the President’s Commission on Indian Reservation Economics, and on the President’s Commission on the HIV Epidemic. Her experience with Indian issues outside the federal government includes serving as a technical assistant specialist at the National Congress of American Indians and as tribal liaison at The Committee for the 50th Presidential Inaugural.

Ms. Vasques received her Bachelor of Science degree from California State University at Fullerton, then went on to receive teaching credentials from the University of California at Irvine. She is Diegueno of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, Valley Center, California, and is a former American Indian Woman of the Year.

She also serves on various boards for national and local non-profit organizations dedicated to supporting and promoting education and health care. Vicki has created a non-profit organization, The Ronald Maese Peralta (RMP) Foundation, in honor of her father. RMP’s mission is to improve the education, health and wellness of all people, especially those throughout Native communities.