Wayne L. Ducheneaux II
Executive Director
Cheyenne River Sioux
Wayne is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. He grew up on his parents’ cattle ranch on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. His work for his Tribe included running the Cheyenne River Motel, a tribal enterprise, serving two years as Tribal Administrative Officer, and serving the people of Cheyenne River as a District 4 Council Representative. He was selected for a two-year term as Vice-Chairman of the Tribe from 2012-2014. He is an alumnus of the Native Nation Rebuilders program from Cohort 3. Wayne started his employment with the Native Governance Center in January of 2016 as Executive Director.
Jayme Davis
Program Director
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa
Jayme is a proud member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and descendent of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Before joining NGC, Jayme worked at the Turtle Mountain Community College in Belcourt, ND as the Tribal College Grant Program Director. Prior to her work at TMCC she worked for Senator Kent Conrad in Washington, DC as his Native American Affairs Liaison. Jayme has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the University of Mary.
Jane Townsend
Development Director
Jane has been working in nonprofit fundraising since 2001. Prior to joining NGC, Jane spent thirteen of those years with the University of Minnesota as a senior development officer, associate director of planned giving, and director of trusts and estates; and three years as managing director of development for Project SUCCESS, a Twin Cities youth development nonprofit. Before joining the University in 2001, she practiced law and worked as a trust officer and an estate planning consultant. Jane holds a B.A. from Colorado College and a J.D. from Hamline University School of Law.
Jane is a member and past chair of the Minnesota Planned Giving Council, an organization serving the nonprofit development community in the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota, and serves on the board of Xelias Aerial Arts, a circus arts school in northeast Minneapolis where her daughter trained to run away with the circus.
Apryl Deel-McKenzie
Program Manager
As program manager for Native Governance Center, Apryl supports the implementation of the organization’s Tribal Governance Support and Leadership Development programs. She is a citizen of the Diné Nation and has years of experience working with Indigenous communities on issues related to education and college access, including a position at Diné College. Prior to joining the Native Governance Center team, she completed her master’s degree in Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis with a concentration in American Indian/Alaska Native studies. While completing her degree, she also gained skills in the areas of social entrepreneurship, community development, and policy work. She is passionate about Indigenizing the future by reconnecting to our ancestral knowledge, teachings, values, and language.
Pearl Walker-Swaney
Program Manager
Pearl supports the implementation of Tribal Governance Support and Leadership Development programs as one of the organization’s two program managers. She is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and has family from White Earth. Pearl grew up in the Bemidji area, and she received her Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, in Indian Studies with minors in Chemistry and Ojibwe Language from Bemidji State University in 2011. Pearl went on to complete a Master’s in Public Health with a specialization in Health Management and Policy from the University of North Dakota in 2014. Before joining Native Governance Center, she was the INBRE Project Manager at North Dakota State University and worked with Tribal colleges to build research capacity. Pearl is also an alumna of the Native Nation Rebuilders program from Cohort 7.
Lauren Kramer
Development Manager
Prior to her role as Development Manager, Lauren served as the Native Governance Center’s Operations Coordinator. She has also worked as the Researcher/Development Assistant for Great Promise for American Indians in Austin, Texas and as a grant writer on the White Earth Indian Reservation. Lauren received a Master of Arts in Women’s and Gender Studies and a Graduate Portfolio in Nonprofit Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in May 2016; she graduated from St. Olaf College with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in American Studies and Biology in 2013. Outside of work, Lauren enjoys gardening, cooking, biking, and exploring northern Minnesota.
Lisa Giefer
Operations Coordinator
Lisa has a wide-ranging work background including stints in libraries, hotel guest services, human resources, and accounting. She worked for over a decade as Executive Assistant to the CFO at a large religious non-profit, and in Communications as webmaster, also assisting with editing and graphic design. Most recently, she worked for an environmental nonprofit supporting the programs and communications of an 8-person office.
