Source: Native News Network
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO – The American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association, AIANTA. secured a full Board of Directors at the 15th Annual American Indian Tourism Conference held at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa last month.
AIANTA Pacific Region Board Member Leslie Johnson and At Large Rep James Surveyor
The AIANTA Board of Directors (AIANTA Board) is composed of two representatives from each of the six cultural tourism regions of the country: Alaska, Eastern, Midwest, Pacific, Plains, Southwest and two At Large positions to represent all of Indian country. Each representative is elected by their respective region to serve a three year term and At Large representatives are elected by the entire AIANTA membership. Each member of the AIANTA Board brings a multitude of varied expertise and resources to the national nonprofit organization.
New to the AIANTA Board, James Surveyor, Marketing and Special Events Manager for Moenkopi Legacy Inn & Suites will represent Indian country At Large. Surveyor is of the Hopi Tribe of northeast Arizona and the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. In addition to this role at Moenkopi Legacy Inn & Suites, Surveyor continues to support the Moenkopi Developers Corporation vision of a better, sustainable, economic future for the Upper Village of Moenkopi and the Hopi reservation.
Leslie Johnson, Squaxin Island Tourism Director was appointed to represent AIANTA’s Pacific Region, a role she previously held. Johnson is a member of the Puyallup Tribe. Additionally, she is the co-chair of Northwest Tribal Tourism, a consortium of 10 tribes along the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas, and tribal representative for the Washington Tourism Alliance.
Also at AITC, Aimee D. Awonohopay was reelected to serve the AIANTA Midwest Region for another term. She is currently an elected official of the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin as a St. Croix Tribal Council Member, and is the previous executive director of Native American Tourism of Wisconsin.
AIANTA Board veteran Janeé Doxtator was appointed to serve as the new Eastern Region representative alongside AIANTA President Mary Jane Ferguson. Doxtator previously served as an AIANTA Midwest Region representative and most recently, she served as an AIANTA At Large representative.
AIANTA Vice President Sherry Rupert was reelected to the AIANTA Board as a Southwest Region representative; AIANTA Treasurer Jackie Yellowtail was reelected to the AIANTA Board as a Plains representative; and LaDonna Brave Bull Allard was elected to serve a full three-year term as an AIANTA At Large representative.
AIANTA Board of Directors:
Mary Jane Ferguson, President – Eastern Region
Sherry Rupert, Vice President – Southwest Region
Rachel Moreno, Secretary – Alaska Region
Jackie Yellowtail, Treasurer – Plains Region
Rowena Akana – Pacific Region
LaDonna Brave Bull Allard – At Large
Aimee Awonohopay – Midwest Region
Tony Azure – Alaska Region
Michele Crank – Southwest Region
Janeé Doxtator – Eastern Region
Leslie Johnson – Pacific Region
William Lowe – Plains Region
Kirby Metoxen – Midwest Region
James Surveyor – At Large