Organization Board Members & Staff
Board of Directors
Directors listed by region with links to Tribe website & personal bios - Contact information can be found in our Directory
Midwest
Rocky Mountain
Michael Black Wolf
Vice Chair
Fort Belknap Indian Community
Eastern Oklahoma
Billie Burtrum Secretary/Treasurer
Quapaw Nation
Great Plains
Position Open.
If you are interested in joining the NATHPO Board, please email melissa@nathpo.org.
Navajo
Northwest/ Alaska
Southern Plains
Southwest
Steven Concho
Pueblo of Acoma
Western
Position Open.
If you are interested in joining the NATHPO Board, please email melissa@nathpo.org.
NATHPO
Valerie Grussing
NATHPO Executive Director, ex officio
Our heroes don’t wear capes.
They carry the people on their backs,
Knowledge of the ancestors in their hearts,
And the roots from their steps on the earth extend to the descendants.
NATHPO Staff
As Executive Director of NATHPO, Valerie is committed to protecting Native places through support, guidance, advocacy, and strengthening partnerships among Tribal Historic Preservation Officers. She enjoys group projects and creating collaborative solutions-focused programming. She is passionate about advocating for and elevating Native interests and voices in revitalizing Native cultures and reclaiming places. Valerie is honored to be part of an ongoing paradigm shift of decolonization grounded in sovereignty, self-determination, reconciliation, and healing.
Valerie holds a BA in History from North Carolina State University, an MA in Anthropology from the University of Iowa, and a PhD in Coastal Resources Management from East Carolina University. Based in Silver Spring, MD, she enjoys making jewelry, chalk art, and calligraphy, and spending time with her husband, young son, and daughter.
