DCI America

Co-founder of DCI Training, Kathryn Mills has been a driving force for the company since its inception in 1990.

Ms Mills spends most of her time in Hanover, New Hampshire, home to DCI's corporate office, with occasional travel to conferences and trade shows in Indian Country. In addition, she has been fortunate enough to visit several reservations and been honored to meet with community members, leaders and elders. These meetings have given her the opportunity to gain insight that has served to aid in the administration of workshops, conferences and technical assistance offered by DCI and help in the development of new offerings.

Corie Moran Adakai is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of the Anishinabe Ojibwa of Belcourt, North Dakota. She is a nurse by profession and resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is a private consultant, national facilitator and is quite popular and in high demand by private corporations, Indian tribes, federal and state agencies. She travels and facilitates quite substantially and does keynotes, men, women and youth wellness, team and trust building, communication, community mobilization, domestic violence, prevention and treatment training at most major conferences in the United States. She also does the Gathering of Native Americans (GONA) training throughout Indian country and wherever requested. She is the co-founder and co-coordinator of the annual Wellness/Healing Skills Training Conference and the New Years Sobriety Powwow Association.

Frank Adakai is an enrolled member of the Dine' Tribe of Manuelito, New Mexico but resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He retired from Federal Service after 37 1/2 years in the Criminal Justice field (8 years in uniform and 29 1/2 years as a Federal Agent with the Bureau of Indian Affairs). Completed administrative and management training through the Department of Interior Fifth Consolidated training in Washington, DC. Completed the instructors course through Northwestern Traffic Institute in Evanston, Illinois and is a graduate of the National FBI Academy of Quantico, Virginia. Actively instructed at various Criminal Justice Training Academies, specialty was reorganizing federal and tribal law enforcement programs throughout Indian Country and trained their law enforcement personnel. Performed criminal and internal affairs investigations and conducted law enforcement program evaluation and inspections.

He is the co-founder and co-coordinator of the annual Wellness/Healing Skills Training Conference held in Albuquerque, NM and the New Years Sobriety Powwow held in Bernalillo, NM.

Brenda is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. She is an attorney and graduated from University of Oregon School of Law in 1981. She has served as a Tribal Administrator for the Coos Tribes, the Education Director for the Coos Tribes, and in the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a Tribal Government Services Officer where she worked on Special Projects such as Legislation and Administrative Rules, a Community Services Officer, and Acting Superintendent and Deputy Director of the Office of Indian Gaming. She has also taught for approximately 15 years and is an avid weaver. Brenda is an accomplished instructor in such subjects as; Indian Law, Ethics. Tribal Courts, Enrollment, Law for the Tribal Council, Indian Land and the Law, Law for the Board Member, and The Indian Child Welfare Act. She is currently involved in the development of a course on Gangs in Indian country.

Jeri Lynn Brunoe, Wasco, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon now resides in Burbank, California. Jeri has over 20 years of experience working in Indian Country as a motivational speaker, trainer and consultant. Her style is innovative, fun, direct and value driven which reciprocates the theme of the circle. Jeri has attended Oregon State University and has a back ground in psycho-linguistics, neuro-linguistics, prevention, wellness and has been an advocate for youth issues. She took the lead in establishing the Youth Commission as a working body at the National Congress of American Indians as well as serving as lead trainer for United National Indian Tribal Youth for 18 years.

Mr. Anthony Caole currently serves as Senior Management Consultant with Northern Management, the community planning and management division of CE2 Engineers, Inc. in Anchorage, Alaska.

Mr. Caole previously served as Tribal Administrator for the Native Village of Kwinhagak as well as Tuluksak Native Community. In both communities, he spearheaded major overhauls to existing administrative systems, consolidating the municipal and tribal administrations in Kwinhagak, and completely retooling the tribal administration in Tuluksak while restoring positive cash flow. Through administrative reform, innovative planning, and strategic leveraging, he worked with community leaders to bring millions into both communities for new infrastructure and program development. He is currently coordinating the disaster response for the community of Sleetmute, which lost all core facilities in a recent catastrophic fire.

Mr. Caole graduated with a B.A. in Rural Development at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, completing his studies using the statewide audioconference system outside in the only payphone booth in the remote village of Platinum. He received his Masters in International and Intercultural Management from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, VT.

Ms. Garcia is a member of the Tohono O'odham Nation and is the former Director of the Enrollment Department for thirty years. As the director of a tribe that has members from both the United States and Mexico, she oversaw a complex array of membership programs and functions as well as appeals for denied applicants.

Ms. Garcia's duties included overseeing tribal elections and per-capita payments for the nearly 20 thousand members of her nation. Ms. Garcia supervised and trained her staff for all aspects of tribal enrollment from the initial processing of applications, to advanced research by staff members, right through to the acceptance of applicants. Ms. Garcia supervised a staff of more than 20 enrollment professionals and has facilitated tribal enrollment workshops and discussion groups for DCIAmerica.

Ms. Garcia holds a Bachelors Degree in Business.

Ms. Karen Hall is an active member of the Consortium of Native American Parliamentarians and has been a senior associate consultant with DCIAmerica for almost 15 years. Her expertise in implementing and facilitating training sessions and conferences ranges from Robert's Rules of Order, office management, information technology, supervisory training, and on a variety of other related issues such as time-management, mediation, board and staff relationships, and team building. She has many years experience as a tribal enrollment auditor.

Ms. Hall has participated in teaching courses with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute (Department of Justice, Office of Victims of Crimes), and has represented tribal interests in a variety of culturally-sensitive forums.

At present, Ms. Hall is a Regional Manager for the Native TANF program administered by the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. In the past, Ms. Hall has held administrative positions within the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, she has been a full-time faculty member at Little Priest Tribal College in Nebraska and Nebraska Indian Community College.

Ms. Hall received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Bellevue University, and has attended courses at Perdue University and West Los Angeles School of Law.

Elsie Lucero is a native speaker and was involved in the production of Isleta to English translation audio tapes at the tender age of just 14 years old. In 1985 earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Albuquerque.

More recently, Elsie is a member of an elite Enrollment Advisory Committee that conducts enrollment audits. Elsie is exceedingly qualified for such work having recently retired from the Department of the Interior as a Tribal Operations Specialist for the BIA for twenty-one years. During her tenure she provided technical assistance to Enrollment Committees for 30 tribes in the Southern California region.She was an advisor on such issues as criteria for membership in accordance with Tribal Enrollment Ordinances, and verification documentation. She provided assistance in updating membership roles and identified and established AIM (Individual Indian Monies) accounts used for distribution of tribal assets. Ms. Lucero is also experienced with reviewing documentation for corrections of blood degrees and providing recommendations to Enrollment directors for their approval. She is skilled at calculating fractions in determining blood degrees and has provided training to numerous Enrollment Committees on that subject. Elsie has vast experience issuing CDIBs and Indian Preference Forms.

Elsie also served as an Indian Child Welfare Coordinator responding to inquiries from social workers to determine whether children met the provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Mekko currently serves as a private consultant for select clients throughout Indian Country in the areas of; Indian Gaming, Government Relations, Federal Indian Law, Tribal Taxation, Tribal Elections, Enrollment, Economic Development and Public Policy matters. He is also a Senior Instructor with DCI America. Prior to his current role Mekko has had the distinct privilege to have served in several executive roles advocating for tribal interests including; former partner in a premier government relations firm, Executive Director for the New Mexico Indian Gaming Association Inc., President/CEO of a tribally owned development corporation, private practice attorney, and as chief legal counsel to a tribal government. During his tenure at these posts Mekko has successfully represented tribal governments and tribal organizations in numerous matters and aided in the creation of beneficial programs for the continued strengthening and capacity building of tribal communities. Mekko is an enrolled citizen of the Pueblo of Tesuque in northern New Mexico with shared heritage of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma.

Mekko received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from New Mexico State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Wyoming College of Law. Mekko currently serves as a Director to the NM State Bar Indian Law Section Board of Directors, and is a member in good standing of the state Bar of NM, the Federal District Court Bar, District of New Mexico, and several tribal court jurisdictions. Mekko and his wife remain committed to community service and generously donate their time and efforts to local charitable organizations that provide Native American and non-native youth educational and overall capacity and leadership building opportunities. Mekko continues to offer pro bono legal services for select clients in the field of domestic violence and domestic relations.

Dr. James E. Pete has a Bachelors degree in Business Administration, Masters degree in Organizational Management, and a Doctorate in Business Administration. Dr. Pete's Doctoral Project, entitled "Native American/Indian Tribal Organization and Leadership: Understanding the Past, Living in the Present, Designing the Future for Tribal Organizations & Leadership," concentrates on the encouragement of integration of traditional beliefs and philosophies into the Tribal Organization. Dr. Pete also offers services to organizations/individuals in the facilitation of creating a plan to address change, team building, personal healing, overall assessment, program development, and creating an atmosphere of cooperation and collaboration. Dr. Pete, whose Anishinabe name is Guyaushk (Seagull) is a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, is from the Eagle Clan, has two sons, and seven grandchildren.

Please visit www.guyaushk.com to learn more about Dr. James Pete.