Advisory Boards – TribalNet

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.

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.

James Castillo

Director of IT
Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians

James Castillo is currently the Director of IT for the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians in Coarsegold California. He has over fourteen years of experience in the Information Technology industry. He holds an Associate of Applied Science in Computer Network Systems as well as a Bachelor’s of Science in Information Security Systems. He started his career off as help desk and has worked his way up the ranks. The majority of his career has been in the computer consulting industry where he has managed and took care of multiple tribes along with local, state, and federal government offices.

Roy Corby

Senior Vice President & General Manager
Agua Caliente Casino – Palm Springs

I got my start in the gaming industry more than 30 years ago working as a craps dealer and slot attendant in Atlantic City. Spa Resort Casino marks the ninth tribe I have worked for in leadership roles, most recently serving as general manager of casino operations / Chief Operating Officer for Sandia Resort & Casio in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 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, and now California. My previous roles include serving as 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.

Andrew Economon

Executive Director of Hospitality
Chumash Casino Resort and Hotel

Mr. Economon is the Executive Director of Hospitality for the Chumash Casino Resort and Chumash Enterprises. He is a member of the Executive Team and leads all the non-gaming efforts of the Chumash tribe at the Casino Resort as well the 2 boutique non-gaming hotel properties located nearby.

Andrew Economon brings over 15 years of casino experience including Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, Isle of Capri, and Hard Rock LV. Additionally, Economon has over 15 years of experience in the traditional hospitality world with Westin, Omni, Grecotel, Sol Meliá, and independents in both North America and Europe, and has been integral to countless multi-million dollar Hotel/F&B renovations, new-build casinos, and new-build hotels.

Mr. Economon holds a degree and university honors from the University of Houston and a degree from the Culinary Institute of America.

Economon currently serves as Vice President of the Visit Santa Ynez Valley board, Los Olivos School District Board, Los Olivos Chamber of Commerce, and is active in the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, SYV Spoke, and previously on the Epicurean Charitable Foundation Board.

Jon B. James

Chief Information Officer
Cherokee Nation

Jon has worked in the IT department for most of his 24+ 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.

Sarah R. Adler

Business Solutions Supervisor
Forest County Potawatomi Community

I was born and raised in Crandon, WI, surrounded by family, sports and racing! Graduated from college in 2002 and moved to Chicago for one year before returning home. This is where I started working for a technology company and assigned my first document management project with Forest County Potawatomi. This started out as overseeing the project, became certified in the product and continued the implementation of the solution set. This transitioned into the application support role and gained knowledge and experience in processes and workflow within the government. From there I earned my way into the Business Solutions Supervisor and oversee the business process analysts, the service desk team and the new media services department.

Upon returning back home, I also met my husband, Nate, of 12 years and we have 3 children ages 22, 10 and 9. Our kids keep our lives very busy with school, basketball, wrestling, baseball, and softball. In our spare time, we enjoy the outdoors as much as we can with camping, fishing, waterskiing, downhill skiing, hunting and riding dirt bikes!

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 plans to continue his education with working towards a Bachelor’s degree in Business or Management in the upcoming years.

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.

John Filippe

Executive Director of MIS
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.

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.”

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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).

David Owens

CEO
Skokomish Indian Tribal Enterprise, Inc.

David Owens began his gaming career in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1985, working at Caesars Palace as a dice dealer from 1989 to 2000. David relocated to Oklahoma with his family in 2003, where he worked directly with Tribes and developed and managed 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.

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. Read more about Christopher’s thoughts on life and leadership at chrisjorozco.com, and follow along with him on Twitter and Instagram.

Dan Garrow

Board Member St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and Consultant
VPS/The Hartmann Group

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.

Scott Cannaday

CFO
Isleta Resort and Casino

Mr. Cannaday is the Chief Financial Officer of Isleta Resort and Casino, having joined the enterprise in April of 2016. He is a member of the senior executive team and oversees all financial operations of the business including gaming, hotel & resort operations, retail activities, recreational offerings and business development activities.

Recruited by the property CEO for his ability to “be effective day one”, Scott has been instrumental in taking the lead on several major initiatives – the most prominent of which is a $40 Million casino expansion and renovation project.

Beginning his career in Wichita Falls, TX, Mr. Cannaday has over 25 years of experience in public accounting focusing his practice on the accounting, financial, and tax needs of high-wealth individuals and their related business activities. He also has a broad background in business consulting and accounting technology services.

For approximately 10 years, he also served as a consultant, senior content developer, and lead instructor for the tax software training division of A•Plus Tax, a high-end tax processing system for CPAs, tax attorneys, and the tax practice of Arthur Andersen.

Mr. Cannaday was introduced to the casino gaming market in southern Oklahoma. In only 8 years, he progressed in the gaming industry from Controller, to Director of Finance, and CFO serving in various Native American and commercial casino operations. He also has international casino experience serving as the Director of Finance and Acting VP of Finance for a luxury resort development in Nassau, Bahamas.

With this approach in mind, he supports the goal of making Isleta Resort & Casino the entertainment & hospitality destination of choice in the southwest.

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.

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.

Michael Rogers

Health Information Manager/CAC/RPMS Site Manager
Pit River Health Service

Mike Rogers has been a California Certified Medical Assistant (CCMA) for 14 years. He has worked with PRHS for 12 years in many roles. Health Informatics and Clinical Applications Coordinator are his main job duties. Mike worked with Electronic Health Record for both the PRHS sites; one in Burney, CA and the other in Alturas, CA, 90 miles away from the main facility. He has worked with UC Davis Telehealth and other Telehealth programs to bridge the gap of rural health care.

Health care has been going through some major changes in the last five years. It can be challenging or problematic to make our patients and providers comfortable with all these changes, but we have some great teams addressing these issues.

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) building, maintaining and supporting the Cherokee Nation Electronic Health Record.

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. Beginning in 2004, as the CAC, Toni provided support and training for the IHS-Electronic Health Record. In 2009, Toni’s role turned to CAC Manager, working with the Health IT Team, providing Health IT support to a network of nine health centers and one hospital throughout the Cherokee Nation.

Toni holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, OK. She is a member of the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma.

Sharon Postoak

IT Database Administration Supervisor
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.

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.

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.

Jimmy Williams

Executive Director IT/CIO
Choctaw Nation

Jimmy Williams is the Executive Director of IT for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. He joined CNO in 2012 after nearly twenty years as a technology professional in various industries. Jimmy is responsible for leading all IT functions for 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 also a member of the Choctaw Nation.

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.

Charles Scharnagle

CIO
Mohegan Indians

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.

Raul 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.

Christopher Luter

CIO
Forest County Potawatomi Community

Christopher Luter, CIO, leads technology operations for the Government and Administration components of the Forest County Potawatomi Community. Christopher has a diverse back ground in both business and technology operations. His career leading technology operations has spanned numerous business verticals from government to construction and biotech to manufacturing. Christopher has lead teams which have received industry recognition for innovation, value creation through strategic application of technology and execution of leading edge thought of industry specific solutions.

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.

Linda M. Arredondo

Director of IT
Citizen Potawatomi Nation

Linda M. Arredondo serves as the Director of Information Technology for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Arredondo has more than 16 years of successful IT leadership in a variety of vertical industries, including government, finance and emergency management.

As the Director of Information Technology for Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Arredondo oversees the design and management of technology infrastructure for CPN’s executive, government and judicial branches. Additionally, she provides IT leadership for CPN’s enterprise, industrial and health care initiatives.

In 2017, Arredondo received a Bachelor of Science degree in business, summa cum laude, from St. Gregory’s University in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

“My approach to education is rooted in the philosophy that lifelong learning is a valuable and meaningful endeavor,” Arredondo said. “As a female tribal member working in a STEM-oriented career, I hope that my continuous learning model sets a positive example for students across Indian Country.”

Patrick Tinklenberg

VP of IT
Sycuan Casino

Patrick Tinklenberg is the Vice President of Information Technology with Sycuan Casino where, for the last 6 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.

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 34 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.

Richard Rader

CTO
Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians

My organization provides all IT support to the businesses inside the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians. In 2012 the IT organization was restructured from just the casino and some businesses to overseeing all IT operations for the tribe. I have a staff of 20 Technologists over two different geographical locations supporting over 1,200 employees in the various businesses and government along with a tribal membership of over 1,300. The tribal history of the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians is quite impressive and shows the resilience of the people and their culture moving forward. The story is located on their Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians website. A good resource of information showing how the tribe was forced to disband and collectively were able to reinstate their rights and work as a cooperative partner with the community.

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.

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.

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.

John Ormond

Executive Director of Technology Services
Chumash Casino Resort and Hotel

John Ormond is a 14 year employee of the Chumash Tribe. Starting as a support desk tech, John has held several positions in the Technology Services department leading to his current title of Executive Director of Technology Services. 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 accomplished musician.

Fran Moore

VP of IT
Cache Creek Casino Resort

Information Technology professional with over 30 years of experience. I have ventured into entrepreneurial and corporate endeavors that have allowed me to experience many facets of the business world. I have held positions of authority in fortune 500 companies as well as upstart high tech companies. I have proven to be a resourceful and solution driven individual that combines the technical aptitude and the management acumen which elicit an overall confidence from team members, stakeholders and business partners. My ability to understand and assess essential workflow processes and emerging technologies allow me to better address functional requirements without compromising the effectiveness of the business.

I became involved with the gaming industry in 2005 after a very distinguished career in the private sector working for the world’s number one credit card processing company and providing technology innovations that transcended their global operations.

I am currently the Vice President of Information Technology and a member of the executive team at Cache Creek Casino Resort, which is owned and operated by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. It is a 415,000 square foot property that includes a well-appointed casino, luxury hotel, entertainment venue, restaurants, golf course and many other highly desirable amenities that you would expect from a full-service resort.

Angie Litchy

Chief Innovation Officer
Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures

Angie serves as the Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) for Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures (MLCV). As the CIO, Angie leads the Office of Innovation where she plays the essential role in identifying and delivering industry-changing innovation across all of the Mille Lacs Band owned businesses.

Angie has more than 25 years of experience in information technology industry, primarily in the gaming industry. Angie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Minot State University

Amy Gates

Director of IT
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan

Amy Gates has been the Director of Information Technology for the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe for the past 7 years and a member of the IT Department for over 15 years. She is responsible for coordinating the advancement and implementation of technology for the Tribal Government, Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort, Saganing Eagles Landing Casino and most recently the economic development corporation for the tribe. She is the Chairperson of the tribe’s IT Steering Committee. Amy has been a part of opening Soaring Eagle Casino in 1996, Soaring Eagle Resort in 1998, Saganing Eagles Landing Casino in 2007, and is currently working on the opening of Soaring Eagle Waterpark and Hotel.

Amy has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Central Michigan University in Computer Science. She has been a TribalNet Advisory Board Member for the past 8 years.

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.

2019 TribalNet Advisory Boards