By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
With students spilling out onto grassy quads and Boston’s Charles River bustling with rowers, Tulalip Tribal Councilmember Theresa Sheldon walked across the storied campus of Harvard Business School. For one week, she joined tribal leaders from across Indian Country for an intensive program designed to strengthen leadership skills and expand the tools available to Native governments.
Harvard’s Tribal Leaders Program is a premier executive education course tailored for tribal officials navigating the complex world of governance, sovereignty, and nation building. Theresa was one of more than 80 participants who spent six days immersed in case studies, lectures, and discussions inside the ivy-covered walls of one of the world’s most influential academic institutions.
Education has always been important to the now 47-year-old Theresa. Although she graduated college in 2005 with a pre-law degree, as a self-described lifelong learner she has sought out broadening her skill set and adding knowledge wherever possible. This latest educational experience, at prestigious Harvard of all places, was an opportunity to grow as a leader and bring innovative knowledge back to Tulalip.
“The biggest take away was learning about executive leadership from an international viewpoint as it helped me step outside the box,” she shared. “Many times, as an elected official you feel overwhelmed when you do not know an answer to something complex. This program helped teach you steps and processes for finding solutions that may seem unattainable.”
The course used real-world case studies of corporations and governments pushed to their limits, including some that rose to the challenge and others that failed. These examples, Theresa said, revealed the full spectrum of outcomes and offered insight into decision-making under pressure.
“Some did well, and others did horrible,” she said. “Being able to learn from the good and bad helps you to think creatively when under stress.”
Outside of the classroom, the Harvard campus became a hub of exchange and camaraderie. During long lunches under shady trees and lively dinners in the dining hall, Theresa and her peers dug into the unique complexities of their own tribal governance systems.
“The program had over 80 tribal officials and so we spent our lunches and dinners together on campus going over our own complex government systems and discussing how to govern in a more holistic manner,” she said. “It was really encouraging to be in a setting with nerds who wanted to learn and find better ways of leading.”
Those “nerds,” as Theresa affectionately called them, represented the heart of what made the experience so meaningful. A true gathering of Native leaders deeply committed to the hard work of self-determination and strengthening their communities.
For Theresa, the week reaffirmed her conviction that learning is not just for students in classrooms, rather learning is a right and worthy pursuit for every Tulalip citizen, regardless of age.
“The real highlight for me is if someone has an opportunity to learn a new skill, to take it, as we are lifelong learners,” she reflected. “Keep supporting our college students who are away from home learning new skills so they can bring it home and help their nation excel. True nation building is when we grow our people so they may contribute to the whole nation excelling together. Focusing on nation building also shouldn’t be limited to just today, but go well the future as we consider the generations yet to come.”
Secretary Sheldon’s participation and completion of Harvard’s Tribal Leaders Program is an investment in leadership and education. In addition, it’s a reminder that when tribal leaders strengthen their own skillsets, they also expand opportunities for their entire tribe and local community.
Theresa described her time in Boston as both humbling and energizing. Walking through Harvard’s historic lecture halls, she carried with her the responsibility of representing Tulalip, the voices of her community, and the aspirations of generations yet to come.
Now back home, she’s determined to translate the lessons learned into practical strategies that can help Tulalip navigate challenges and seize opportunities with confidence.
“I see this as part of the bigger picture,” she explained. “We are all tasked with building up our nation. By investing in ourselves as leaders, we’re also investing in the future of Tulalip. That is what true nation building is all about.”
The week at Harvard may have been brief for Theresa, but the knowledge, connections, and vision gained are already being woven into Tulalip’s ongoing journey of sovereignty and self-determination.