Judith Wright

Valley Center, California

Judy Wright is an enrolled member of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians and began her career in human resources in 1981 at Hewlett-Packard Company located in San Diego, California. In 2001, she joined Valley View Casino & Hotel, an enterprise of San Pasqual where she serves as Vice President of Human Resources and sits as a member of the board of directors of the San Pasqual Casino Development Group, a tribally chartered corporation created under tribal law to oversee the Tribe’s gaming operation. Judy is co-founder of Valley View’s Women at Work program and a founding member of the Southern California Indian Gaming HR Roundtable. Judy first attended NNAHRA in 2003 and has been actively involved on the board since 2012, before assuming the role of President in 2015. Judy’s outlook and vision for NNAHRA has added valuable resources to its foundation, conference and events which have attracted and assisted HR professionals at all stages of their career. Judy’s experience, leadership and wisdom have positively impacted NNAHRA and our colleagues in Indian Country.

Anthony “Teharonhiorens” Tillman

Akwesasne, New York

Anthony Tillman is of Otoe-Missoura, Mohawk, and Muscogee (Creek) Descent and has served as NNAHRA’s Vice President since 2015. Anthony has worked in the Human Resource field and for Indian Country in various positions in both the United States and Canada and is currently the Cannabis Compliance Manager for the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe. Responsible for development, implementation, and oversight of Cannabis licensing of cultivation, processing, distribution, retail, and testing of the Cannabis industry. Anthony received his Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and Management and Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership Studies from Oklahoma State University. Anthony has a very dynamic background that has helped shape his passion for the human resources field. Anthony feels NNAHRA provides Tribes throughout the North American opportunity to strengthen the voice of Human Resources professionals in Native Country and also gives him the opportunity to help all of native country work toward self-sufficiency.

Azadeh Tavakoli

Rohnert Park, California

Azadeh Tavakoli is both Meskwaki (Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa) and Iranian. Human Resources is her passion, and she has worked with both with Tribal and Medical employers since 2007. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Illinois State University and continues to learn her specialty by being certified by with Tribal Human Resource Professional (THRP), Certified Adjudicator, (PSC), and the Society of Human Resource Management’ s Certified Professional (SHRM-CP). She is proud to have served on the NNAHRA Board on and off since 2015. Azadeh’s primary goal on the NNAHRA Board is to enhance ways for NNAHRA to be a resource for all Tribal HR professionals.

Suzanne Clem

Pendleton, Oregon

Suzanne Clem is the Human Resources Director at Wildhorse Resort and Casino (WRC), owned by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. She has been with WRC since 2001 working as the Manager of Training and Employee Development, until becoming the Director in 2021. Suzanne joined NNAHRA as a speaker back in 2006, and was elected to the board in 2008. During that time she has taken pride in playing a role in quadrupling membership, revenue and outreach. Sharing in developing the THRP and expanding the conference topics and attendees has been a true highlight! Suzanne believes strongly that HR is one of the biggest assets for a tribe in protecting sovereignty and she is very proud to be a part of the efforts to bring members together to educate, support and guide during their HR journey. Being a part of NNAHRA has been a true honor.

Arnold Williams

Sissenton, South Dakota

Arnold Williams is a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate on the Lake Traverse Reservation of South Dakota. Arnold has 17 years’ experience working in Human Resources and is currently serving as the HR Director for his tribe. He has also served as the Payroll Manager, worked in Law Enforcement and has held various positions within the gaming industry. He has been involved with NNAHRA since 2007 serving as Vice Chairman and on the Board of Directors. He is active in his community working with youth, teaching the culture, history, and songs of his tribe and promoting awareness of issues like suicide and alcohol/drug abuse. Since attending his first NNAHRA conference, he has gained more confidence over the years which has helped him in his current position as HR Director.

Dorothy Cyr

Pendleton, Oregon

Dorothy Cyr is a tribal member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) and works at Wildhorse Resort and Casino, located in Pendleton, Oregon, where she serves as the Employment Manager. Dorothy has sixteen years of Human Resources experience, including one year serving as a HR Specialist and five years as the Tribal Employment Specialist. As the Tribal Employment Specialist she was responsible for the PRIDE (Proudly Reaching in the Direction of Excellence) Program, a CTUIR Tribal Member program that engages members from hire, to developing career goals, personal development, training opportunities, and youth outreach to retirement planning. The PRIDE Program was the first recipient of the Sam Henny Award in 2012.

Mike Caputto

Valley Center, California

Mike is a descendant of the San Pasqual band of mission Indians and for the past 20 years has been working for Valley View Casino & Hotel, which is owned and operated by San Pasqual. He spent his first 10 years working in both the Security and Transportation department. After ten years in operation, Mike joined the Human Resources department as the Director. In this new role, Mike brought with him his passion for the people side of the business. He attended Cal State San Marcos and completed the Human Resources Management certification program in 2012 and has been a member of NNAHRA since 2011. He obtained his THRP certification in 2016.