IndiJ Public Media Board elects new officers
IndiJ Public Media's board of directors, pictured from left: Derrick Beetso, Navajo Nation; Natasha Moore, Atka Aleut; Rhonda Le Valdo, Acoma Pueblo (top); Jeanne Givens, Coeur d’Alene (top); Holly Cook Macarro, Red Lake Band of Ojibwe (bottom); Jessica Skye Paul, Nez Perce and Lakota (bottom); Karen Lincoln Michel, Ho-Chunk (bottom).
PHOENIX – Diné law professor Derrick Beetso is the new board chairman of IndiJ Public Media, the national nonprofit news organization that owns ICT, formerly known as Indian Country Today.
Beetso, a professor and director of the Indian Gaming and Tribal Self-Governance Programs at Arizona State University, was elected on Nov. 20 to succeed Karen Lincoln Michel, Ho-Chunk, who will continue as a member of the board.
Michel, who is the CEO of IndiJ Public Media, resigned as chairwoman to separate her dual role as CEO and board chair.
“It has been a pleasure serving as board chair these past few years,” said Michel, who was elected in January 2021 and previously served as board chair of the Indian Country Today Board of Managers. “I know the IndiJ board will be in great hands with Derrick Beetso as its leader. Derrick’s knowledge of the law and Indigenous issues, combined with his strong managerial skills, will help guide IndiJ and ICT to the next level.”
Beetso is based in Phoenix at ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, just blocks from ICT’s broadcast studio at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
"I thank my colleagues on the IndiJ Public Media board for the opportunity to serve as board chair,” Beetso said. “We're looking forward to a wonderful 2024, and we celebrate a rich past — including the service of past board members like Wayne Ducheneaux. This rich past has helped enrich our readers' news options by lending support to the sharing of Indigenous stories through Indigenous voices."
Also elected on Nov. 20 was Natasha Affia Moore, an enrolled Atka Aleut tribal member based in San Francisco and a product equity strategist in Reality Labs at Meta. Moore was elected to fill the remaining term of Wayne Ducheneaux II, who resigned as a board member and as board treasurer on Nov. 8. Moore was elected to succeed Ducheneaux as board treasurer.
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Michel welcomed Moore to the board at the Nov. 20 meeting. Moore was nominated by board member Jessica Skye Paul, a former colleague of Moore’s when she worked at Meta. Paul, who is Nez Perce and Lakota, put forward Moore as a candidate for the open board seat because of Moore’s experience as the finance lead within Meta’s Leadership Council and as a leader of Meta’s Native American Employee Resource Group.
Before Ducheneaux left the board, he interviewed Moore and reported back: “I believe she would make a fantastic board member and treasurer.”
Michel said Moore has already demonstrated a strong financial acumen in her approach to reviewing and helping to pass the organization’s 2024 budget.
“Native voices need to be lifted and ICT continues to lead the way in supporting this mission,” Moore said. “I’m humbled to join the board with the executive team to amplify our stories in our own words.”
Also on Nov. 20, two members were re-elected. Rhonda LeValdo, Acoma Pueblo, and Holly Cook Macarro, Red Lake Band of Ojibwe, will each serve a two-year term. LeValdo was re-elected as board secretary. Jeanne Givens, Coeur d’Alene, also serves on the seven-member board of directors.
ICT is owned by IndiJ Public Media, an Arizona 501 (c)(3) public charity. IndiJ Public Media honors our ancestors and future generations through stories that make Indigenous peoples come alive.
ICT is an independent, nonprofit news enterprise that serves Indigenous communities. We reach audiences through our digital platform, ictnews.org, and a half-hour, weekday broadcast, “ICT Newscast with Aliyah Chavez”.
ICT sustains itself with funding from members, donors, foundations, and supporters and offers a variety of advertising, sponsorship, and underwriting opportunities.
