First Person Radio: March 30: LEADERS IN NATIVE AMERICAN PHILANTHROPY – AUDIO is UP BELOW

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This week’s three guests are part of Native Americans in Philanthropy:

Carly Hare is Executive Director Native Americans in Philanthropy after having been a voting member for five years, serving on the institute planning committee for three years, and on the NAP Board of Directors for a year. Carly most recently held the position of the Director of Development for the Native American Rights Fund.

Carly serves on the Advisory Committee for the Denver Foundation’s Inclusiveness Project and Chinook Fund Board. She served as Director of Programs for The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County for five years. In 2006, Carly was selected as an Emerging Leader in International Philanthropy Fellow through the Center of Philanthropy and Civil Society at the City University of New York. She also received the Boulder County’s Multicultural Award for Community Service in 2008.

Carly’s Pawnee name is <i kita u hoo <i ]a hiks which translates into she is the leader of men. Carly is a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and a descendant of the Yankton Sioux Tribe. Carly is the eldest daughter in a family committed to social justice and identity and a proud auntie.

Yohantus Elaine Stephens is the Director of Development for Native Americans in Philanthropy. She began her philanthropy career as a clerical volunteer for the March of Dimes. At the March of Dimes, she used her creative relationship-building skills to foster relationships with key corporate donors to support high-profile events such as the Tribute Salute Dinner honoring producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer and Celebrity Ski Bum Tournament.

Since then Ms. Stephens has gained over 10 years experience in non-profit and philanthropic organizations in the arts, community and program development. Working at the Clark County Neighborhood Justice Center, she co-developed and trained mediators and developed new programmatic strategic partnerships including the Native American Tribal Center and others.

Most recently, Ms. Stephens was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Arts High Alumni Association working with three major stakeholders Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), Arts High School, and the Arts High Foundation navigating delicate political relationships to achieve multiple objectives with competing priorities. She was responsible for a wide range of development duties, including networking with corporate and individual donors including the development and production of the first Hollywood Tribute Event honoring Grammy-winner Josh Groban and Warner Brothers; an event that raised the highest and greatest number of donors and sponsors of prior year events. Yohantus Elaine is of Hopi and Cherokee ancestry.

Ron Rowell (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma/Kaskaskia/Chickasaw) is CEO of the Common Counsel Foundation. He earned his master¹s degree in public health from the University of California at Berkeley. His professional career has included health planning, refugee resettlement, economic development with American Indian tribes, and coordinating the HIV antibody-testing program at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. He founded the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center in 1987 with a group of Native health activists and became its first executive director in late 1988 where he served until August of 2000.

He began his philanthropic career as Program Officer for Social Justice at The San Francisco Foundation for the nine years prior to his appointment at Common Counsel Foundation. He is co-chair of the Public Policy Committee of Northern California Grantmakers and vice chair of Funders for LGBTQ Issues. He was awarded a German Marshall Fund Fellowship in 2005 working in the Berlin and Dresden Community Foundations in Germany. Ron previously served as vice chair and secretary- treasurer of Native Americans in Philanthropy and on its Awards Review Committee.

In the nonprofit world Ron serves as the president of the board of the Friendship House Association of American Indians of San Francisco, an 80-bed residential and outpatient drug and alcohol treatment program for Northern California. He is also on the board of the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival of San Francisco and the board of the French American Cultural Society at the Consulate General of France in San Francisco.

FPR’s RICHARD LaFORTUNE with Andy Driscoll interviews this week’s guests.