Advisory Government/Membership Services

Michael Williams

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

2021 TribalNet Advisory Boards

Christopher Abel

Jeff Carroll

John Miller

Charles Scharnagle

Jon Sutherland

Aaron Wheeler

Jimmy Williams

Our Info

MICHAEL WILLIAMS

Reese Weber, MBA, CISSP

Raul G. Mavis

JON SUTHERLAND

JEFF CARROLL

Aaron Wheeler

John Miller

Christopher Abel

Jimmy Williams

CDR Brian Johnston, DPh., MHA

Charles Scharnagle

Jon B. James

Christopher Orozco

Chris L. Baca

Michael Serio