Trey Adcock, PhD (ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ, Cherokee Nation citizen), is an Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and the Director of American Indian & Indigenous Studies at the University of North Carolina Asheville. He was named one of seven national Public Engagement Fellows in 2018-2019 by the Whiting Foundation for his work documenting a Bureau of Indian Affairs run day school in the TutiYi “Snowbird” Cherokee Community. He obtained his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was a Sequoyah Dissertation Fellow focusing on technology integration at an American Indian boarding school in Oklahoma. Dr. Adcock’s work has been published in the Journal of American Indian Education, Teaching Tolerance and Readings in Race, Ethnicity and Immigration. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Native Health and sits on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Cherokee Studies.

A current resident of the Big Y community, Manuel has dedicated 15+ years with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians: Public Health & Human Services (EBCI:PHHS) in different capacities. Manuel currently serves as a Training Coordinator at the EBCI: PHHS Regulatory & Compliance department where he is tasked with workforce development, professional development and orients new employees on the culture of PHHS and Cherokee health disparities.  He is a member of the Patient Family Advisory Council at the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority (CIHA) were he advocates for community input on policies, administration recommendations and building better relations with family and care teams.

Caleb Hickman, PhD (ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ, Cherokee Nation citizen), is the Supervisory Biologist for the ᏣᎳᎩᏱ ᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ Eastern Band Cherokee Indians (EBCI). With over 20 years of experience in the field of ecology, he has worked from deserts to mountains to restore, conserve and study a variety of plants and animals and understand their interactions with people. He holds a bachelors and master’s degree in biology from Missouri Valley College and Missouri State University, respectively, and a PhD in zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since 2013, he has worked for EBCI to manage culturally and economically important natural resources for the tribe. His research and interests are primarily concerned with how people interact with their environment, especially related to capturing traditional Cherokee knowledge and weaving humans into the health of the environment for the benefit of future generations.

Tara McCoy (EBCI), graduated from Cherokee High School and furthered her education at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC.  She graduated with a B.S. degree in Sports Medicine. After graduating, she returned to the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, NC and worked in various programs including Cherokee High School/Coaching, UNITY Treatment Center, Dora Reed Daycare and Women’s Health before settling down into a role at Cherokee Choices, a Diabetes Prevention Program, for 14 years. She currently serves as the Right Path Leadership Specialist at the Ray Kinsland Leadership Institute where her role is to help develop selfless leaders deeply rooted in Cherokee culture identity and leadership through teaching Cherokee values, culture, history, and language. She is a 2011 Right Path Program Alumni, a 2011 Remember the Removal Bike Ride Legacy Rider, founder and supporter of the Cherokee Cancer Support Group, artist member of the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc. and promotes Cherokee art by organizing and teaching art shows and classes in her community. 

Kelly Murphy "ᎤᏥᏍᏓᎷᎩ" (EBCI) is a resident of the Wolfetown Community, lives with her fiancé, Eric, and three children, ᏥᎩᎵᎵ, ᎠᏥᎳ, and ᏗᏟᎯ. Employed at New Kituwah Academy, she serves as an Elementary Immersion Instructor, assisting in kindergarten, 5th and 6th grade Cherokee Language Arts. Dedicated to Cherokee language revitalization, Kelly actively pursues fluency as a second language learner.

Ashford Smith (EBCI Enrolled member) is the Sequoyah Fund’s Chief Financial Officer. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science with a concentration in public administration from the University of Tennessee- Knoxville. Prior to joining the Sequoyah fund in 2023, he served as a senior level official at the Cherokee Boys Club before being named the Director of Finance in 2021. Prior to that, he served the Eastern band of Cherokee Indians in an array of positions for 3 years. 

Ashford brings over 10 years of experience in non-profit/governmental finance and has served on a range of boards in the Cherokee community including the Cherokee Boys Club Board of Directors and EBCI Audit and Ethics Committee.  He currently resides in the Birdtown community and is active in the traditional game of stickball.

Micah Swimmer, MA was born and raised on the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, North Carolina. He is an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokees. Micah earned his Associates and Bachelors degrees from Haskell Indian Nations University and his Master’s degree from the University of Kansas. His focus has been Indigenous Studies, with a special concentration in Language Revitalization and Preservation. Micah has utilized his familial knowledge of the Cherokee language and culture along with his western education to serve in several capacities with the Eastern Band of Cherokees, most recently as the Cherokee Language and Culture Specialist for the Human Resources Department. Throughout his career he has worked in language preservation efforts focused on all age groups, from newborns to adults. Micah is an active community member, serving as a youth basketball and football coach and is also a keeper of Cherokee traditions as a member of the Warriors of Anikituwah and the Kolanvyi Indian Ball team. He is also the leader of a dance group for young people, the Aniyvwiyahi Analsgisgi (The real people dancers) who perform traditional Cherokee dances. Micah travels regularly to provide educational workshops on the Cherokee language, dances, and culture. He is often accompanied by his wife Carrah and their children: Dvdaya, Ogana, and Yona-Uweluga who are all also ambassadors of the Cherokee language and traditions.

Katie Tiger (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) has worked in the EBCI Natural Resources Department’s Air Quality Program since 2008. She has managed numerous grants from a variety of funding organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), North Carolina Division of Environmental Quality, Department of Energy, United States Forest Service, First Nations Development Institute and Cherokee Preservation Foundation. In 2021, Mrs. Tiger wrote and received a grant (Native Electric) to replace a diesel school bus with the first electric school bus (ESB) in North Carolina. Since then, she has written 2 additional grants that will replace the Cherokee Boys Club’s entire fleet of diesel school buses with ESBs. Katie is very passionate about bringing alternative energy/fuel opportunities to the Cherokee community, which helps create a healthier environment for Cherokee families and natural resources.
Mrs. Tiger has participated in national organizations and committees including the National Tribal Air Association and the Tribal Air Monitoring Support Center steering committee, where she served as the tribal chairperson. She has been a Region 4 tribal representative on the EPA National Tribal Science Council since 2010 and sits on the EPA Regional Tribal Operations Committee for the EBCI Natural Resources Department (NRD). Katie also represents the EBCI NRD on the Museum of the Cherokee People’s construction committee.

Brett Treadway is an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians and grew up just off the Qualla Boundary in Bryson City, NC. He now resides in Boulder, CO and currently serves as a Program Associate for First Nations Development Institute, a National Tribal lead non-profit focused on strengthening tribal economies and communities through technical assistance, training, policy, and awarding grants. Specifically, Brett works under the Stewarding Native Lands Program, where he helps manage multiple projects focused on climate, environmental justice, community pathways, and ecological stewardship. He received his bachelor’s degree in Sustainability Studies from the University of Florida, along with a minor in American Indian and Indigenous Studies and Organic and Sustainable Crop Production. While completing his degree, Brett was active across multiple campus organizations focused on sustainability, climate activism, and environmental outreach. Brett has been able to work across Indian Country and is dedicated to strengthening and uplifting Native communities within his career. He is passionate about sustainability and environmental protection, and their relationship to Tribes and Native cultures.

Blythe Winchester MD, MPH, CMD, is a board-certified Geriatrician and member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, NC. She practices at Cherokee Indian Hospital and is the Certified Medical Director at Tsali Care Center. She received her MD and MPH at UNC-Chapel Hill and did a Family Medicine Residency in Greenville, SC. Her Geriatrics fellowship was completed through the Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville, NC. Blythe has served on the Ethnogeriatrics Committee for the American Geriatrics Society since 2011. She recently received Fellow status through the American Geriatrics Society. Her presentations often focus on neurocognitive disorders among Tribal communities and her research focuses on Tribal Elders. Blythe is a retired member of the Smoky Mountain Rollergirls roller derby team and lives with her husband, 5 dogs, and a cat who thinks she is a dog. She loves music, animals, and beekeeping.