MICHAEL WILLIAMS

Director of Casino Operations
Remington Park Racetrack Casino

Michael has been in the gaming industry for over 20 years working for numerous tribal gaming operations on the west coast and more recently Boyd Gaming in Las Vegas. He is currently the Director of Casino Operations for Remington Park Racetrack and Casino. Remington is owned and operated by Global Gaming Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chickasaw Nation.

Reese Weber, MBA, CISSP

Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer
Indian Health Service, California Area Office

Reese Weber is the Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer for Indian Health Service at the California Area Office in Sacramento, CA. In this role, she works with Federal, Tribal and Urban healthcare facilities throughout California to improve their cybersecurity posture, technical infrastructure, privacy and security policies, and HIPAA compliance. In her 10 years at IHS, she served as both the System Administrator and Information System Security Officer (ISSO) before becoming the California Area Office CISO. Prior to joining Indian Health Service, she served as an ISSO for the Department of Defense, and before that, as a Technical Sergeant in the United States Air Force. Ms. Weber holds an MBA from Brandman University, a graduate certificate in Public and Non-Profit Leadership, a BBA in Information Systems, and the highest information security credential, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). Her combined 20 years of civil service has given her a wide breadth of IT, security and leadership experience that lend to her passion and enthusiasm for all things cybersecurity. Ms. Weber has a mild (read: major) Disney obsession; and she loves traveling with her family.

Richard Rader

CTO
Umpqua Indian Development Corporation & Seven Feathers Casino and Resort

My organization provides all IT support to the businesses inside the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians.  I have a staff of 20 Technologists over two different geographical locations supporting over 950 team members in the various diverse businesses.  We support casino operations, resort operations, commercial colocation data center, working ranches, farm tractor sales, and agricultural operations.

Raul G. Mavis

IT Director
Pascua Yaqui Tribe

Raul has over thirty years technology and leadership experience in diverse industries, including U.S. Navy, global electronics distribution, manufacturing, retail, and most recently 16 years in local government technology leadership. He headed efforts in implementing diverse technologies supporting assorted disciplines within local government, such as public safety & emergency management, legal & judicial, public works & economic development, finance, and education.

As IT Director for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Raul leads a department of 25 supporting and providing technology services to over 1,000 government employees across multiple locations of the 23,000 tribal members. Technology services include helpdesk, project management, telecommunications, procurement, programming, and infrastructure/outside plant.

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is progressive and forward looking: the first to develop a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) compliant Enhanced Tribal Card, as well as implementation of a Personal Identity Verification-Interoperable (PIV-I) card, both in collaboration with DHS/FEMA.

Matthew Dodd

General Manager
Elk Valley Casino and Founder at Disruptiv3Innovation.com

Matthew has worked in the casino industry for more than 28 years, with leadership roles in poker, table games, and slots leading to his current role as General Manager for Elk Valley Casino on the Northern California coast. Currently, Matthew is involved in working with the Elk Valley Rancheria to build a brand new casino, which will open in 2022. Throughout his experience, Matthew has had an interest in mentoring and leadership development, which most recently culminated in a M.S. in Business Psychology from Franklin University in Ohio. Matthew also holds a B.A. degree from Ohio State University. Matthew enjoys consulting on business leadership, growth and development in Indian Country with Disruptiv3Innovation.com, a company he founded in early 2019. Disruptiv3Innovation.com develops growth and ascension planning for Tribal Members and property leaders within their own casino businesses. When not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife, three children, and two dogs at the beach or in the redwoods.

Bryant Santini

CIO
Casino Arizona/Talking Stick Resort

Mr. Santini’s tribal experience has been with the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community in Scottsdale Arizona as their Chief Information Officer since 2009. His team oversees infrastructure, data security, data Center Operations, portfolio management, application, project management, providing desktop support and audio visual for all aspects of the gaming and non-gaming enterprise. Mr. Santini has extensive experience directing all aspects of IT and focuses on managing a cultural of change to create a professional environment based on mutual respect and open and consistent communications. Prior to Indian Gaming, Mr. Santini served 42 years in MIS, extensively with the “Big 5” major oil companies.

Prior to accepting a position at Casino Arizona centered in Information Technology, Financial Services, Strategic Planning, IT Project Office, Facilities Management and Procurement. Mr. Santini has held managing positions at Standard Oil of Ohio now BP, senior positions at Tosco, Phillips 66, ConocoPhillips and Alimentation Couche Tard (Circle K). The latter positions consisted of involvement in implementing retail automation solutions for approximately 5,000 convenience stores, truck stops, car care centers and assisting in acquisitions and divestitures as well as overseeing the disposition of the acquired/divested assets.

Mr. Santini holds a B.S. degree in Business Management, Information Services and a minor in Operations Research from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, formally known as Clarion State College, Clarion Pennsylvania.

Amy Gates

Director of IT
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan

Amy Gates, Director of Information Technology for the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. Amy began her career in Tribal IT over 24 years ago and for the last 17 years has been the Director of IT. Amy is responsible for the overall vision and direction of technology for the Tribe as well as Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Saganing Eagles Landing Casino and Hotel, Soaring Eagle Waterpark and Hotel and Migizi Economic Development.

Amy has been an Advisory Board member of TribalNet for over 15 years and serves as an Advisory Board member for Gaming and Leisure Magazine. Amy holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Central Michigan University and a Master of Science in Cybersecurity Technologies from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Hugh Lambert

Director, Department of Information Technology, Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority
Eastern Band of Cherokee in NC

I am an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. I am the Executive Director of Information Technology at Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority (CIHA). 

I have been in IT Management since 1987 and a tribal employee since 2000. I have been the Executive Director of Information Technology at Cherokee Indian Hospital since early 2015. In six years we have grown our IT staff of from five to fifteen. In the course of six years we have moved our data center three times (typically a once in a career event). We built a new 75K square foot new hospital that opened in 2016 and have subsequently added a 60K mental health facility that opened last week. In 2017 our IT Team was given the IHS Excellence award. Our hospital has also taken over almost all of the tribe’s health departments including a 100 bed nursing home. We have been aggressive adopters of Telehealth starting in late 2015. We are also the first tribal “Managed Care” entity (MCO) in Indian Country.

Thanks to my hospital I have survived DM and a brain tumor I have been and am a fierce advocate for my tribe’s healthcare system. Perhaps the most important thing about me is I am Nadia’s husband, Kim’s dad and Kira and Ethan’s grandfather.

Herb Kraft

MIS Manager
Prairie Knights Casino & Resort

Herb is the MIS Manager at Prairie Knights Casino & Resort in Fort Yates, ND. He has been in the tribal gaming industry since 2001, starting at Seven Feathers Casino Resort in Oregon, where he moved up the ladder to IS Director before moving back home to the sunny plains of North Dakota. He also enjoys moonlit walks on the beach.

John Filippe

Executive Director of Technology
Quinault Beach Resort and Casino

John Filippe is an accomplished Resort Executive with over 25 years of Casino/Resort IT experience. He has worked nationally and internationally for several Resort properties, and across many types of resorts from commercial, tribal, and riverboat entertainment facilities. He was a vendor with Bally Gaming and Systems in the late 90’s, and worked with the large expansion of tribal gaming during that time. His unique style of IT management was featured in the book “The Tech Buzzkill: How Top IT Leaders Fend Off the Tech “Buzz” to Focus on the Business” by Gerry Robinson and Manish Sharma. He is currently the Executive Director of MIS for Quinault Beach Resort and Casino in Washington state.

JON SUTHERLAND

Director of Technology
Quinault Indian Nation

Jon Sutherland is the Director of Technology for the Quinault Indian Nation located on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Jon began serving in his position in December 2017. In addition to his current role, Jon also is part of the Quinault Indian Nation Ocean Fiber Task Force, which will bring the first transoceanic communications cables to the Washington coast in 25 years.

Jon has over 20 years experience in the IT industry. Prior to joining the Quinault Indian Nation, Jon was part of the Special Projects Group for Right! Systems, Inc., an Olympia, Washington-based technology consulting company, the IT Operations Manager for Exotic Metals Company in Seattle from July 2015 to December 2017, and the Support Services Manager for ImageSource, a content management software, from April 2010 to January 2015.

Jon is a graduate of Tumwater high school and holds over 15 certifications and licenses from ITIL, Microsoft, Oracle, and Cisco.

In Jon’s spare time he enjoys riding off-road vehicles in the Oregon Sand Dunes.

JEFF CARROLL

Information Technology Manager
Cherokee Nation – Information Technology Dept.

Jeff Carroll has been in the Technology Field for over 21 years. Jeff is currently serving in the role of Information Technology Manager for Cherokee Nation. Jeff started at Cherokee Nation in 1999 and has worked in many roles. Starting as a hardware technician, then Network Technician, Network Administrator and into present position of IT Manager.  Jeff has also served on the board for Indian Capitol Technology Center for technology for the past 18 years. Jeff has also taught many IT classes for ICTC and Cherokee Nation Adult education programs. Jeff is also currently an adjunct Professor at Connors State College, teaching cyber security and intro to computers courses for the past 5 years. Jeff currently holds a Master’s of Science in Information Technology Management, a Bachelor of Science in Pre Law and many other IT certifications, including A+, N+, I-Net+ CTT+, CCNA, Axis Certified Professional, Genetec Certified Professional, Panduit Certified Professional and Certified Internet Webmaster Associate. Jeff also edits and is cohost of his own podcast.

Aaron Wheeler

IT Director
Suquamish Tribe

Aaron Wheeler is the Information Technology Director for the Suquamish tribal government, located on the Port Madison Indian Reservation in the Central Puget Sound Region of Washington State.  Aaron has been with the IT department for over 15 years and has been serving as its director since 2015.  His background is a mix of business and IT, focusing on server infrastructure, design, and implementation. 

Aaron leads a team of 8 IT technicians and engineers, who support and maintain the systems for the nearly 400 government employees.  This includes the helpdesk, telecommunications, server and network infrastructure, cloud architecture, EHR structures, and an upcoming tribal broadband service.  Aaron has a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Administrative Management from Central Washington University, is a certified Red Cross CPR/ADE/First Aid Instructor, and recently graduated from Washington State University with his Executive Master’s in Business Administration. 

John Miller

IT Director of Government Services
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

John has over twenty years of unique experiences in technology across multiple technology sectors in a global environment. Heleads a diverse team for member service programs, which focuses on tribal government, the judicial branch, and education. John is actively serving on the Choctaw Nation’s steering committee for broadband services. He has a passion for the return-on-vision from tribal leadership, “Reliable and Affordable Broadband Access,” for our tribal communities.

Christopher Abel

Director of IT
Citizen Potawatomi Nation

Christopher Abel serves as the IT Director for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation where he has worked for over thirteen years.  His passion for family and history drove him to seek out a position at the tribe where he is also a tribal member in the IT department for CPN in 2005.  Starting as a network technician, Christopher has diligently worked his way up to recently be named Director.

Christopher has a passion for network and server engineering and has demonstrated such over his thirteen years at CPN.  Christopher took the opportunity to move into management at the earliest chance he could and served as the manager for help desk services, server administration services, and network engineering.  In 2016, Christopher was named Assistant Director of IT and continued his goals to be named Director in 2018.

Christopher has a passion for learning and continuing education as well as a passion for fixing things. He graduated from St. Gregory’s University in Shawnee, OK. in December of 2017 and from Mid-America Christian University in December of 2020 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems.

Steve Neely

General Manager
Rolling Hills Casino

Steve Neely is the General Manager of Rolling Hills casino, located about 90 minutes North of Sacramento, California, where he has oversaw a 25% increase in revenue over the past 22 months, primarily through improved marketing efforts specifically database marketing. Prior to joining Rolling Hills Steve served as the COO and CMO for Casino Del Sol in Tucson. He also served as the Vice President of Marketing at Rivers Casino in Chicago, Illinois, the highest grossing casino in the state. Additionally Steve has held a senior level casino positions at a number of properties around the country including Pechanga Resort and Casino in Southern California, Isleta Casino and Resort and Sandia Resort and Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was the Corporate Director of Marketing for Cherokee Nation Enterprises, and oversaw the marketing activities of their seven properties in Eastern Oklahoma. In addition to his property level experience, Steve also has performed consulting work specializing in strategic processes and program development and implementation for properties around the country. Prior to entering the gaming industry Steve held multiple positions in radio and television including on-air personality, account executive, Sales Manager, General Manager and Market Manager. 

Dawn McGrady

Director of Finance
Little River Casino Resort

Dawn McGrady is a Tribal Member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business and a Master’s in Business Administration. Dawn has 25 years of gaming experience working in multiple Tribal casinos in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and currently in Michigan.

John Ormond

Chief Information Technology Officer
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians

John Ormond has spent 18 years within the technology division of Chumash Enterprises. Starting as a support desk tech, John has held several positions in the Technology Services department leading to his current role of Chief Information Technology Officer for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.

He is known in the gaming technology community to be a skilled practitioner in the strategic application of gaming technology.

John is a member of several professional organizations and holds certifications in multiple technology disciplines. He attended Morehouse College on a basketball scholarship and is also an accomplished musician.

Patrick Tinklenberg

VP of IT
Sycuan Casino

Patrick Tinklenberg is the Vice President of Information Technology with Sycuan Casino where, for the last 8 years, he has been responsible for technology and strategy for the casino, hotel, and golf resort. Previously to this position, Patrick was the IT Director for the Barona Band of Mission Indians for 7 years where he ran the IT operations at all tribal government service facilities, government-supported enterprises, and the Barona Gaming Commission. A veteran of the IT industry for over 25 years, he has worked with companies in Hospitality, Transportation, Medicine, Real Estate, Government, Manufacturing, and Retail to align business objectives with technology.

Since joining the Tribal IT industry in 2005 he has facilitated projects across all areas of government and casino operations. As a gaming operations executive, he has been instrumental in the implementation of innovative loyalty programs, digital content managements systems, CRM, and a number of strategic infrastructure initiatives. Highlights of government initiatives include: reservation-wide wireless broadband, GIS mapping, electronic document management, implementation of citizen service platforms, and unified communications.

Toni Potts

Director of Health Applications
Cherokee Nation Health Services

Toni Potts currently serves as Director of Health Applications in the Health Information Technology (Health IT ) Department for Cherokee Nation Health System, located in Tahlequah, OK. She works with a team of Clinical Applications Coordinators (CAC) configuring, maintaining and supporting the Cherokee Nation Electronic Health Record (EHR) and alongside the Health IT Team providing Health IT support to a network of ten health centers and one hospital throughout the Cherokee Nation.

Toni began her career with Indian Health Service (IHS) in 1995 at W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital, Tahlequah, OK, where she worked in various capacities, including Medical Records, Business Office and Health IT. She now brings more than 15 years of experience in providing support of an EHR. Toni holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, OK and certification as a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS).

Jimmy Williams

CIO/Executive Officer IT
Choctaw Nation

Jimmy Williams is the Executive Officer of IT for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. He has over twenty years’ experience as a technology professional in various industries. Jimmy leads integrated IT functions supporting commerce/gaming, tribal government and health services. Jimmy holds a BS degree in CIS from SOSU and an MS degree in Management from ERAU. He is an Army veteran and a member of the Choctaw Nation.

CDR Brian Johnston, DPh., MHA

U.S. Public Health Service, Director of Ancillary Services
Chickasaw Nation Department of Health

I am a commissioned officer of the United States Public Health Service, my clinical training is in pharmacy and I have spent the past twenty years working in tribal health systems in Oklahoma. I have interest in the areas of clinical informatics, health leadership and public health. I am a proud citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and very much enjoy helping others.

Charles Scharnagle

CIO
The Mohegan Tribe

Charles Scharnagle is the CIO for the tribal government of the Mohegan Indians of Connecticut based in Uncasville, Ct., which serves the interests of tribal members throughout the U.S. Chuck has spent the past thirty years in the high-tech, manufacturing and government environments including the headquarters for Black & Decker, Fruit of the Loom, EMC, Pegasystems and International Power America. Chuck’s experience includes implementing disaster recovery systems, redesigning computer centers and managing international support organizations.

In Chuck’s current role, he helped to create the Judge Scoring System (patent pending) which is a new way for MMA and boxing officials to score fights. Chuck then led the team to create and patent an app which allows fight fans to score their favorite fighter.

Chuck currently serves as a member on several boards including TribalNet – the industry resource for technology professionals in the Native American industry, the MS-ISSAC – the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Centers and the CTC – the Connecticut Technology Council. Chuck holds a B.S. degree in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a Masters in Management from Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland.

Jon B. James

Chief Information Officer
Cherokee Nation

Jon has worked in the IT department for most of his 25+ years with the Cherokee Nation. Jon served the last seven years as the CIO of Information Technology and as the Executive Director prior to that. His strengths include: IT security, networking, routing, Microsoft domain architecture, data infrastructure, and engineering, Cisco VoIP as well as database programming in various languages and applications.

Jon has a Computer Science Degree from Northeastern State University located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Having served in the United States Air Force, he got his first exposure to mainframe computers in 1984 and has been working with computers and computer systems ever since. He is Vice President of the Oklahoma Native American Technology Council, a member of InfraGard, MS-ISAC, Tulsa CIO Forum, and various other organizations.

The Cherokee Nation headquarters is located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The Tribal Jurisdictional area of the Cherokee Nation covers over 7,000 square miles and a total of 14 counties in northeast Oklahoma. The wide area network strategically covers this area with support from over 65 staff in the Information Technology team. These staff members support over 3700 employees with all of their data and telecommunications needs.

Katie Johnson

Integrated Care Coordinator
Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board

Katie Johnson graduated from the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy with a Pharm D in 2004. She then joined the United States Public Health Service as a Commissioned Corps Officer and completed an ASHP Pharmacy Practice Residency at Warm Springs Health and Wellness Center in 2005. She was able to start working with RPMS EHR and informatics during this time, as Warm Springs was an early adopter of RPMS EHR.
She continued to work with the Indian Health Service in Whiteriver Indian Hospital where she worked as both a pharmacist and Clinical Applications Coordinator, gaining experience implementing RPMS EHR in new settings (Emergency Room and Inpatient). She then moved to the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board in 2011 to take on Health IT policy initiatives and EHR support for the 43 Tribes in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

CDR Andrea Scott, MBA, BS

Deputy Director of the Office of Information Technology
Indian Health Service (IHS)

CDR Andrea Scott, MBA, BS currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Office of Information Technology for the Indian Health Service (IHS). CDR Scott’s past employment with IHS as a civilian and PHS Commissioned Officer are a combined service of 27 years. These positions were as a microbiologist/medical technologist at facilities in the Phoenix and Navajo Areas, Clinical Applications Coordinator at the Phoenix Area Office, Navajo Area Office, and Phoenix Indian Medical Center, Medical Staff Office Credentialing/Privileging Supervisor at Northern Navajo Medical Center, and a variety of acting positions within the Navajo and Albuquerque Areas as the Director of Information Technology, CEO and Administrative Officer. She is an enrolled member of the Yavapai-Apache Nation and a descendant of the Navajo and Hopi Nations. CDR Scott’s hobbies/interests are running and cycling.

David Owens

CEO
Skokomish Indian Tribal Enterprise, Inc.

David Owens began his gaming career in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1985, notably at Caesars Palace as a dice dealer from 1989 to 2000 and as a member of the opening management team of the Aladdin (now Planet Hollywood) in 2000. David relocated to Oklahoma in 2003, where he worked directly with Tribal Councils and gaming commissions developing and managing Tribal businesses and Casinos as a Casino General Manager, Director of Gaming and Vice President of Development. David is currently the CEO of Tribal Enterprises for the Skokomish Tribe of Washington.

Ram Patrachari

CIO/VP of IT Services
Viejas Enterprises

Ram has more than 25 years of experience in IT and has worked at premier companies like Bell Labs, Compaq, Exodus Communications and AT&T wireless. Ram Patrachari is a forward looking IT entrepreneur with extensive experience in implementing and managing highly scalable information systems across a diverse portfolio. Prior to joining Viejas, Ram managed the enterprise devices segment at AT&T wireless. His responsibilities included rolling out state of the art wireless devices to the enterprise wireless segment.

Over the last three years he has been nominated for the San Diego Top Tech awards every year. In 2015 the IT team from Viejas which he leads won the Tribalnet Game Changers Technology award. In 2012, he was awarded the Top Tech Exec award by San Diego Magazine. In 2010, he was the recipient of the Information Technology Executive of the year award sponsored by the San Diego Business Journal. Also, in 2010 the Viejas Information Technology team won the 3rd Annual Tribal Technology Leadership award sponsored by Tribalnet.

Ram holds an MBA degree from Monmouth University and a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. Ram has also obtained credentials from the CIO Institute at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and University of Chicago’s Kellogg school of business He is a certified PMP, CISSP and a Certified ScrumMaster. He is also a member of the IEEE Computer Society.

Eric Olander

VP of Information Technology
Grand Casinos

Eric has worked in IT for over 30 years, the last 20 years with Grand Casinos Mille Lacs and Hinckley.  He and his team of 32 are responsible for keeping all Gaming, Hospitality, Infrastructure, and Back Office / Administrative systems running smoothly for 2 casinos, 5 hotels, 15+ Food & beverage venues and much more.  Eric and his team also partner with the casinos operations teams to identify, evaluate, select, and implement new technologies that provide outstanding guest experiences, and streamline operations.

Eric is also the Chairperson for the Midwest Tribal Technology Council, a group of tribal IT leaders  that have organized as a group to “Promote the common business interests, growth, and opportunity of information technology resources among tribal communities in the Midwest and to improve the business conditions for information technology resources among such tribal communities.”

Sharon Postoak

IT Database Administration Health Manager
Chickasaw Nation Medical Center

Sharon Postoak is Choctaw\Chickasaw\Mississippi Choctaw. Sharon is currently at Chickasaw Nation Medical Center as the IT Database Administration Supervisor and RPMS Site Manager. She has worked for the Chickasaw Nation for 23 years. During this time she has worn many hats. Sharon started working as Technical Support, then moved on to create the first Service Desk /Call Center for the Nations IT support in 2000 as the Technical Support Manager. She has been involved with many projects at Chickasaw Nation including the implementation of the Electronic Health Record, VistA Imaging and many third party integrations.

Christopher Orozco

Director of Team Member Relations
Win-River Resort & Casino

Christopher is the Director of Team Member Relations at Win-River Resort & Casino. He believes the fundamental purpose of HR is to improve the quality of life of every single person within an organization, both inside and outside the workplace. He’s passionate about purposeful leadership; listening to the needs of others, setting out to intentionally do good for others, and seeing the potential in someone to empower them to add something meaningful to our world. You can read more about Christopher’s thoughts on life and leadership by following along with him on Twitter.

Dan Garrow

Board Member Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort and Consultant VPS

Mr. Garrow has over forty years of IT experience in several industries. As a 20+ year veteran of the hospitality and gaming industry, Mr. Garrow served as Chief Information Officer in the management teams at Mohegan Sun, Turning Stone Casino, the Choctaw Casinos, and Baha Mar.

Roy Corby

Senior VP of Operations- Global Gaming Solutions
Chickasaw Nation

I got my start in the gaming industry more than 30 years ago working as a craps dealer and slot attendant in Atlantic City. Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma marks the tenth tribe I have worked for in leadership roles, most recently serving as the Senior VP of Operations for their Global Gaming Group. My career has taken me across the country, having worked in New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida – where I worked on cruise ships – New Orleans, Detroit, Arizona, Las Vegas, Seattle, New Mexico, Califonia and now Oklahoma. My previous roles include serving as the general manager of casino operations / Chief Operating Officer for Sandia Resort & Casio in Albuquerque, New Mexico, general manager at Jena Choctaw Pines Casino in Dry Prong, Louisiana and Chief Gaming officer at Snoqualmie Casino in Washington. I also worked as the Chief Operating Officer for Sol Casinos in Tucson, Arizona, during a $122 million expansion. In addition, I served as Chief Operating Officer at Acres 4.0 in Las Vegas, a leading gaming technology firm, and Vice President of casino operations for the five-star property The Greenbrier in West Virginia, a more than 200-year-old historical resort.

CAPT David R. Taylor (ret.), MHS, RPh, PA-C, RN

Clinical Informatics Consultant
BCMA Federal Lead, BCMA Training and Deployment IHS Office of Information Technology

Captain Taylor (ret.) is a retired Commissioned Officer in the United States Public Health Service and is a certified physician assistant, registered pharmacist, and registered nurse. He holds more than 42 years of public health, clinical, and clinic-administrative experience in the IHS as both a commissioned Officer and Federal Employee. Mr. Taylor has served as a pharmacist, physician assistant, quality manager, risk manager, and compliance officer for the Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and Cherokee, North Carolina Indian Hospitals. He has also served as an HIV/AIDS/STD consultant, performance improvement consultant, pharmacy consultant, diabetes clinical consultant, and RPMS health informatics consultant for the Nashville area Indian Health Service. Since 2002, Mr. Taylor has been assigned to the Indian Health Service Office of Information Technology as a National MedicalInformatics Consultant and has been charged with both training and deployment of the Meaningful Use of an Electronic Health Record throughout the entire Indian Health Care system. David was awarded the PHS Meritorious Service Medal in recognition for his accomplishments in the EHR arena during his Commission.

Renita DiStefano

VP of IT/CIO
Seneca Gaming Corporation

Renita DiStefano is the Vice President of Information Technology/Chief Information Officer for Seneca Gaming Corporation. Renita joined team Seneca in 2006 as the Customer Care Manager and has risen through the ranks to serve as Director of IT Security, Vice President of Information Technology, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and now Chief Information Officer. In her current role, Renita is responsible for driving the information technology strategy for multi-property gaming and hospitality operations. Renita holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration & Information Systems as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA). She holds a number of information technology and information security certifications and credentials including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), CISM, CISA, CGEIT, CRISC and CSOX.

Chris DeCamp

Director of Technical Services
Win-River Resort & Casino

Christopher DeCamp has worked in the IT industry since 1996, serving in roles ranging from technical, engineering, management, and executive management. Christopher has been a part of the Win-River Resort Casino team since July of 2006. In his current position, Christopher serves as the director of technical services for Win-River Resort Casino, in this role his responsibilities are directing the information technology, facilities, and housekeeping divisions as well as capital project management and construction management.

Virgil Debrosse

IT Sr. Account Manager
Chickasaw Nation

Virgil began his career in Gaming in 1989 with Resorts International. During his 15-year tenure, Resorts International became Sun International then Kerzner International with properties in Atlantic City, South Africa, Dubai, Mauritius, Mexico and the Bahamas. His career there included Accounting, Cage Operations, Marketing, Operations and Information Technology.

From 2004 until 2006, Virgil worked at Barona Resort and Casino in San Diego as the Business Analyst Supervisor. During his time at Barona, they were always were looking at bleeding edge technology which resulted in a very intense development and a mature SDLC. Virgil led the conversion from IGS to Bally’s ACSC at that property in 2004 which included typical IT tasks, such as vendor management, testing, hardware requirements, etc, but also included tasks from a business standpoint (i.e. operational and marketing settings, direct user training, etc.).

In 2006, Virgil started his tenure at the Chickasaw Nation as the “IT Director of Gaming and Hospitality Applications” (and then IT Executive Director of Gaming and Hospitality Applications). His responsibilities included the Gaming Applications team, Hospitality Applications Team, POS Applications Team, Surveillance Applications/Technical Team. As a leader within the Chickasaw Nation Information Technology department, there are Gaming, Non-Gaming, Hospitality, and Surveillance responsibilities as well that include strategic, technical and transformative decisions.

In 2016, Virgil took on a more technical role of IT Sr. Manager – Shared Services. His responsibilities included leading the entire Network, Server, Storage, Power Systems, Database Administration, Communication and Environmental teams that supported the entire Chickasaw Nation.

In November of 2018, Virgil went back to Gaming as the IT. Sr. Account Manager. He is the primary IT person for 18 individual gaming, hotel and retail properties.

Ashley Tuomi

CEO
American Indian Health and Family Services

Ashley Tuomi is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde in Oregon. She grew up in a military family traveling around the United States. When she returned to Oregon, she became very active with her tribe and participated in tribal royalty for seven years. This experience became the stepping stone to her career serving the health needs of the American Indian/Alaska Native population. She graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology while working as a Certified Nursing Assistant at a nursing home. She then went on to get her Master of Health Policy and Administration from Washington State University. During the summer she interned with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention working with American Indian/Alaska Native grantees. She used this experience and completed her thesis on Secondary Prevention of Diabetes Complications in AI/AN members from the Eastern Band of Cherokee and tribes in Oklahoma. Recently Ashley graduated from A.T Still University with a Doctorate in Health Sciences.
She currently serves as the Chief Executive Office of American Indian Health and Family Services of Southeastern Michigan in Detroit Michigan. She has worked in Indian Health since 2007 in both Urban and Tribal Centers. Ashley is also a board member of the National Council of Urban Indian Health and serves in many other leadership roles with the American Public Health Association and the Great Lakes Area Tribal Health Board. She enjoys working with RPMS and other technology in the clinic. She has also directed a national training program in RPMS for the Urban Indian Clinics throughout the U.S.

Lisa Lyon

Senior Clinical Informatics Coordinator
Cherokee Nation Health Services

Lisa Lyon, MS, RN, CDE has been a nurse with Cherokee Nation for 20 years, with the last 12 being spent in Health IT. Lisa has served in several national roles and committees including ONC Health IT Fellowship, HIMSS Nursing Informatics Committee, is currently part of the HIMSS Nursing Informatics Networking and Education Taskforce and brings many years of Health IT expertise to the table. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado, obtaining a Masters in Healthcare Informatics.

Marlon Ortiz

Director of IT
Avi Resort and Casino

Marlon Ortiz, Information Technology Professional. Creative professional with 20+ years of information technology knowledge in the gaming and hospitality industry. Highly skilled in information security, project management and planning with a strong background in data management, security, analytics and technical strategy. A proven leader who understands that the value of IT lies in delivering solutions to complex business problems within the Gaming and Hospitality Industry. A leadership style that emphasizes the development of people, processes and tools to achieve specific strategic business goals. Focused on connecting IT to other departments within the corporation and delivering effective solutions for business costs and operations. Marlon possess a Master’s in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance from The Pennsylvania State University, he also has the following security Certifications; CISSP, CISM, and Security+. Previously held high level IT Management positions at American Casino and Entertainment Properties, the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, and Harrah’s Entertainment.

Chris L. Baca

Director of IT
Santa Clara Development Corporation

Chris L. Baca has over 18 years of successful IT leadership experience. Chris gained this experience while managing IT operations for different agencies for the State of New Mexico. Baca is currently serving as the Director of Information Technology for the Santa Clara Development Corporation (SCDC). SCDC owns and operates the Santa Claran Resort, the Black Mesa Golf Club, the Puye Cliff Dwellings, the Santa Clara Travel Centers, and the Big Rock Bowling Center. Previously, as a member of the SCDC Board of Directors for 12 years, Baca was instrumental in the creation and upkeep of these businesses for the Pueblo. Baca currently is a member of the IPCC/IPMI Board of Directors, which is a five member board appointed by the 19 Pueblo Governors in the State of New Mexico. This board has oversight over the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque New Mexico and the recently developed Avanyu Plaza.

Chris has earned a BA degree from the University of New Mexico. Chris and his wife Janice have two children, Jenyce and Jareth who both attend college at Northern New Mexico College.

Michael Serio

Director of IT
Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians

Michael Serio has been working for the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians for 6 years. He specializes in networking, but takes special pride in a talent he likes to call the Swiss Army Knife of IT; doing everything from help desk requests to project management for large tribal wide technology initiatives.

Andrea Storm

Clinical Applications and Data Manager
Forest County Potawatomi Health & Wellness Center

Andrea Storm is the Clinical Applications and Data Manager for the Forest County Potawatomi in Northern Wisconsin. She grew up in rural South Dakota and made her way to Madison, Wisconsin to attend graduate school. After spending several years in Madison working as a Project Manager with electronic health record implementations, she moved to the beautiful Northwoods of Wisconsin. While working at the Forest County Potawatomi Health and Wellness Center, Andrea has served as a clinical data analyst, meaningful use coordinator, and quality improvement manager. She has been involved with many projects including the implementation of new electronic health records and interfaces. Andrea enjoys collaborating with IT department and loves working in a health care setting.

Douglas W. McLemore

Management Analyst
Phoenix Indian Medical Center

Doug McLemore is a proud member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and is currently a Management Analyst within the Information Management Department at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center (PIMC) in Phoenix, Arizona. PIMC is the largest federally operated Indian Hospital within the Indian Health Service. Mr. McLemore leads and consults on a multitude of technology initiatives including the development of many organization specific projects designed to improve technology in the healthcare environment.

Mr. McLemore began his IHS career in 2010 at the Colorado River Service Unit in Parker Arizona as an IT Specialists/Systems Administrator. Subsequent roles in IHS include Information Security Officer (ISSO) and Chief Information Officer (CIO) (a) at the Tucson Area Office, and Supervisory IT/Specialist at the Phoenix area office.

Prior to joining IHS Mr. McLemore spent 20 years in the private sector working in the Electric Utility Industry specializing in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), database development, and project management.

Mr. McLemore earned his Master’s in Information Assurance in 2007 and his BS in Business Information Systems in 2001. In addition, Mr. McLemore is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).