Stephen Roe Lewis was raised in Sacaton, “Gu-u-Ki”, on the Gila River Indian Community. His father is the late Rodney Lewis and mother Willardene Lewis. Mr. Lewis has a son, Daniel currently attending Arizona State University.
Sarah EchoHawk, a citizen of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, has been working on behalf of Indigenous people for over 20 years. She has led AISES, an organization dedicated to Advancing Indigenous People in STEM, since 2013, and currently serves as its President. Prior to joining AISES, Ms. EchoHawk was the Executive Vice President at First Nations Development Institute, a national nonprofit organization with a focus on economic development for Indigenous peoples and their communities.
Maria Dadgar is an enrolled member of the Piscataway (Pi-Scat-Away) Tribe of Accokeek (Ack-Ko-Keek), Maryland. Maria has worked in the fields of Higher Education, Non-Profit Executive Management and Tribal Economic Development for more than 20 years. Throughout her career, Maria has been involved in advocating for public policies and legislation on behalf of Tribal nations regarding Economic Development, Education, Health Equity, Social Justice, and Environmental Quality.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or BIL) created several new programs to expand broadband access.
Brooke (Diné) is the assistant director of the Indigenous Leadership Academy at the American Indian Policy Institute. With experience in K-12 classrooms and a background in navigating educational policy, she advocates for equitable opportunities within diverse learning environments. Previously, Brooke served as a Program Coordinator for the Office of Indian Education at the Arizona Department of Education where she advocated for Indigenous children, families, communities, and Tribal Nations of Arizona through capacity building, technical assistance and strategic partnerships.
Earlier this month, H.R. 7888 was introduced to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA).