Robert Cook is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe (Oglala Lakota).

Robert’s commitment to community service is shown with membership on several national and local organizations that include: President of the National Indian Education Association, minority at large board of director South Dakota Education Association,  board of director South Dakota Indian Education Association, member of the Technical Review Panel of the National Indian Education Study, member of the South Dakota Indian Education Advisory Council, Rapid City School District Title VII PAC, South Dakota Charter School Advocacy Group, Stern Foundation Board of Directors, Kiwanis/KEY Club advisor and Little League Baseball and elementary basketball coach.

Robert has been the recipient of many education awards and honors that include: Little Wound School Educator of the Year in 1998 and 1999; Lower Brule Teacher of the Year 2000-2001, South Dakota’s 2005 Milken National Educator, Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation American Indian 2006 Teacher of the Year and National Indian Education Association’s 2006 Teacher of the Year and in 2008 was named one of Black Hills State University’s 125 Most Accomplish Alumni.

Robert attended Brigham Young University and graduated from Black Hills State University in South Dakota with a degree in Secondary Education. He is proud to be a tribal college graduate and received his master’s degree in Education Administration from Oglala Lakota College. Robert has eighteen years of teaching and administrative experience in American Indian education.

Robert is married to Daphne Richards-Cook (Oglala) and together they have two sons; Lamont and Caleb. Both boys are Indian Head Start graduates and attend public school in Rapid City, South Dakota. Lamont, a ninth grader and Caleb, a fourth grader both play violin and are active in the school orchestra program.

Robin Butterfield is an enrolled member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska with ancestry also from the White Earth Ojibwe Tribe of Minnesota.

Robin has over thirty years of experience as an educator. She is Senior Liaison to the American Indian/Alaska Native Community through the Minority Community Outreach department at the National Education Association (NEA). Robin comes to NEA from the position of Professional Development Specialist at the Center for School Improvement within the Bureau of Indian Affairs, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She recently managed the contracts with thirteen Tribally Controlled Community Colleges and state universities, providing staff development to BIA funded schools.

Robin worked at the classroom level in tribal and public schools in Wisconsin; coordinated the Salem-Keizer Indian Education Program at the district level; served in the position of Indian Education/Civil Rights Specialist for the State of Oregon for nine years, and worked at two different regional educational technical assistance centers, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in the Research and Development for Indian Education Program, and the Gonzaga University Indian Education Center III Technical Assistance Center.

Robin has written publications focusing on parental involvement, curriculum development, teacher training, and multicultural education. She has served in many leadership capacities at the state and national level, and has been elected President while serving three, three year terms on the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) Board of Directors. She has delivered hundreds of workshops on a wide variety of topics; has created a leadership program for Indian middle and high school aged youth, and has a broad network of individuals and organizations in the American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities.

Robin is the proud parent of three children; all of whom have graduated from the University of Oregon.

Kara Briggs is a Journalist, having worked at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane and the Oregonian in Portland. Kara authored and edited the book, Shoot the Indian: Media, Misperception and Native Truth which was published by Buffalo State College in 2007. The book is a collection of essays about media and media strategies for Native America. Kara is also a former president of the Native American Journalists Association and Unity: Journalists of Color. She is author of 'Reading Red', 2002 and 2003, for the Native American Journalists Association.

Kara is currently employed as a columnist for Indian Country Today. She is an entrepreneur and owner of Red Hummingbird Media Corporation. She produces a monthly news service for over 1,000 media outlets, primarily in Native America, for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.

Kimberly Yellow Robe is an enrolled member of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate(Rosebud Sioux) from South Dakota. Working with the Social Security Administration as a Regional American Indian Public Affairs Specialist, she serves as the Chair of the American Indian Alaska Native Advisory Council. Kimberly is  Co-Founder of the National Society of American Indian MBAs. She also has a Bachelors Degree in Political Science. Kimberly has four daughters and her family participates in Powwow.