The NTAA is a Tribal membership organization currently with 156 Member Tribes whose mission is to advance air quality management policies and programs consistent with the needs, interests, and unique legal status of federally recognized Tribes. The NTAA’s membership grows yearly.
Left: NTAA Executive Committee at the 2025 NTFAQ hosted by the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians in Rincon, California.
The NTAA serves as a communication liaison and information conduit between Tribes, EPA, and other federal agencies. The NTAA exists to assist Tribes in air quality policy work while respecting and supporting Tribal sovereignty and the Tribes’ rights to a government-to-government relationship with the federal government.
The NTAA is governed by two Executive Committee members for each of the 10 EPA Region as well as the state of Alaska. These EC members are titled as Primary Representative and Alternate Representative. The EC work together to promote policy that will ensure that our descendants will breathe air that is cleaner than it is now. The EC hold a special responsibility to represent their Tribe and Nations. To become an EC Member, the Tribes in each EPA region and Alaska selects both a primary and alternate representatives. If you share an interest and would like to learn more, please email mailto: miranda.oneill@nau.edu.
Region 1
Passamaquoddy Tribe
at Pleasant Point
Marvin Cling, Sr. is the NTAA EC Primary Representative for USEPA Region 1. He is employed by the Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Tribe as an environmental director. Since 2001, Marvin’s past and current work experiences include TSCA-related risk assessments and inspections, water quality sampling, fish toxicity studies, PM 2.5 monitoring, ozone monitoring, meteorological monitoring, woodstove change outs, providing GPS-GIS support for various tribal environmental projects, oil spill response, providing indoor air quality expertise, and educating home owners about energy auditing and how home weatherization impacts IAQ on the reservation. He continues to build capacities for the tribal ecology program and involved with climate-related activities. He strives to bring in additional funding as he has brought in Brownfields and other USEPA media funding. He has an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts from Haskell Indian Nations University, a BS in Business Administration in Information Technology and a MSM in Information Technology Management from Colorado Technical University. Marvin has also assisted NAU-ITEP with course teaching and was the tribal instructor for the AQ Computations course for over a decade. He also represents USEPA Region 1 Tribes in the E-Enterprise Leadership Council and the National Tribal Caucus. He also once served on the TAMS Steering Committee.
Region 3
Upper Mattaponi Tribe of Virginia
Johnathan Oxendine works for the Upper Mattaponi Tribe as an Environmental Technician. In this role, he manages the Air Quality Program as well as the Apiary Program for the Tribe. In his free time, he likes to practice his Spanish and Japanese and try new foods.
Visit the Upper Mattaponi Website
Region 3
Chickahominy Indian Tribe
Region 4
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Siyo (Hello), my name is Amy Smoker, and I am a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, NC. Currently, I’m the Air Quality Specialist for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Air Quality Program. I graduated from Western Carolina University with Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, and graduated from University of Oklahoma with Masters of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law. The EBCI Air Program currently monitors PM 2.5, PM 10, Ozone, and Metrological.
Visit The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Website
Region 4
Poarch Band of Creek Indians
Region 5
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
Brandy Toft serves as the Environmental Director for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, where she oversees the Band’s Environmental Programs, including Air, Water, (both with regulatory authorities) GAP, Superfund, Brownfields, Sustainability, and Environmental Assessments. Leading a team of 12 staff, she provides strategic leadership to advance the Leech Lake Band’s environmental initiatives, ensuring strong protections for natural resources and Tribal communities.
Brandy began her career with Leech Lake in 2001 as the Band’s first Air Quality Specialist, where she built and managed the Air Quality Program from the ground up. Under her leadership, the program has secured and implemented diverse projects and funding for indoor air quality and radon initiatives, alternative energy and conservation projects, diesel retrofit programs, and multiple ambient air monitoring efforts—including PM2.5, BAM, dioxins, wet deposition mercury, mercury speciation, and meteorological monitoring. Treatment as a State (TAS) status was attained in 2008.
She is deeply engaged in rulemaking, policy development, and permitting processes at the Tribal, state, and federal levels, consistently advocating for Tribal sovereignty. Brandy also represents Leech Lake through active participation in numerous local, regional, and national organizations, workgroups, and advisory boards. Brandy served as NTAA Vice Chair for over a decade.
In recognition of her leadership and impact, Brandy received the 2012 Virgil Masayesva Excellence Award, honoring her significant contributions to protecting air quality, public health, and the environment across Indian Country and in 2021 the Taimi Lynn Hoag Award for environmental stewardship.
Region 5
Grand Portage Band of Chippewa
Vallen is the Air Quality Specialust for the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa. Along with being a Region 5 NTAA Representative, he serves as the Chairman of the TAMS Steeting Committee. Vallen is working towards his Ph.D at the University of Minnesota, specializing in Organizational Leadership and Policy Development.
Region 6
Santa Ana Pueblo
Region 6
Muscogee (Creek) Nation
Kristy Lawson, a Cherokee Nation citizen, attended grade school at Berryhill Public Schools, Tulsa Community College for her Associates of Science in Business Administration, and Oklahoma State University for her Bachelor of Science in General Business – with a double minor in Sustainability and International Business. Kristy began her career volunteering with a non-profit organization called The Sustainability Alliance in 2018, and now serves on the Board of Directors for the non-profit organization.
In 2019, she began working for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Office of Environmental Services (MCNOES) in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Kristy has been instrumental in the development of the MCNOES Air Quality Program, managing both Clean Air Act (CAA) 103 and 105 grants. Using CAA 103 funding, she helped to complete an eleven (11) county- level 4 emission inventory for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation (MCN) Reservation. The information gained from the emission inventory, was then used to apply for CAA 105 and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) grant funding. The CAA 105 funding has allowed the program to purchase radon testing equipment, multiple PurpleAir sensors, and a mobile monitoring trailer with the ability to monitor PM, SO2 and NOx emissions within the MCN Reservation.
She also has experience with organizing several solid waste events – such as household hazardous waste (HHW) events, electronic waste (e-waste) events, tire recycling events, paper shredding events, and has assisted with educating citizens regarding what is and is not recyclable. She has helped to track the MCN’s sustainability progress throughout the whole tribe – examining seven key areas (communication & promotion; community resilience; energy; healthy work environment; material management; transportation; and water). Kristy has conducted multiple energy audits on MCN tribal buildings, and recently helped the MCN to apply for the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG).
In her free time, she enjoys gardening, hiking, adventure, art, music, crafting, and spending time with her family, friends, and dogs.
Region 7
Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians
Billie Toledo, Environmental Technician, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation’s Air Program within the Division of Planning & Environmental Protection. My educational makeup includes an Associate in Childhood Development and a Bachelor in Business Management but my passion is in the environment. As current Region 7 delegate, I will use my voice and strength in a manner that represents tribal air needs. I also love to cook and bake.
Visit The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Website
Region 7
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
Region 8
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
Since 2016, Janice has been the Air Quality Program Manager for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, striving to strengthen the air quality program over the Reservation lands that expand into three states in the Four Corners Area. The current program monitors TSP, pm2.5, and ozone in two different Tribal communities along with sensors and an ozone field instrument for other Tribal locations, and addresses indoor quality issues such as radon measurement. As a part of the Environmental Programs Department, Janice comments on and reviews neighboring State, Tribal, and Federal plans and permits and also helps with Tribal initiatives such as Renewable Energy Projects. Janice has a BA in Biology and MS in Health Physics (Radiation Safety). With an array of environmental experience that ranges from nuclear test site cleanup, asbestos inspection, environmental air modeling, and mixed waste compliance, Janice is looking forward to supporting the Region 8 Tribes with the unique regional issues, and assisting the NTAA to strengthen environmental policy and management across Indian Country. Janice lives in Colorado enjoying a variety of outdoor activities with her husband, son, daughter, and dogs.
Region 8
Ute Indian Tribe
Region 9
Jamul Indian Village of California
Syndi Smallwood is the Environmental Director for the Jamul Indian Village of California, located in Southern California. She has worked in the Tribal Education and Environmental field for Tribal Coalition’s, Tribal Programs, and as an Adjunct Professor since 1994. She received her B.A. in Anthropology at Humboldt State University in 1998 and her M.A.S. in Environmental Policy and Management with a minor in Natural Resource Management from the University of Denver in 2011. She is a Region 9 RTOC Representative for Southern California, Region 9 RTOC Representative for the National Tribal Air Association Executive Committee and a Board member for the Native American Environmental Protection Coalition. Past positions include Region 9 RTOC California Representative to the National Tribal Caucus, a member of the Tribal Air Monitoring Support Committee and an appointee to the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee. In 2013, Syndi was honored to receive the Virgil Masayesva Excellence Award.
Region 9
Gila River Indian Community
Lisa Gover has worked with Native Nations across the Americas. She is an enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation and a Comanche descendant. Born in Oklahoma, Both nationally and internationally, she is versed in a wide array of issues of Tribal Government and of Indigenous Peoples in the Americas. She served as the Director of the Campo Environmental Protection Agency during which time she was the Campo Band’s delegate to several State and National Partnership Groups including the National Tribal Air Association (NTAA). Though environmental protection and natural resources has been the focus of her professional career, she researches and provides policy advice in many areas of tribal government, economic development, tribal program administration and inter-governmental relations.
She currently serves as Region 9 Tribal Caucus Policy Advisor under the EPA cooperative agreement with the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and is conducting some important policy work on the Pawnee Nation Governing Documents Committee and Delegate in the Pawnee Nation Constitution Convention (2022).
Region 10
Spokane Tribe
I am a member of the Spokane Tribe of Indians located in Eastern Washington Northwest from the City of Spokane. I graduated from Eastern Washington University with a BS in Geology. I joined our tribal Air Quality Department in March 2013 as an Air Quality Technician working on reports, gathering data, and going to various training through ITEP. In 2017 I became the Air Quality Program Manager for our program. The Spokane Tribe Reservation is a Redesignated Class 1 Airshed which the program maintains and protects as a part of our programs’ main priorities.
Region 10
Yakama Nation
Katie Swan serves as the Air Quality Specialist for the Yakama Nation. Katie studied Natural and Cultural Resource Management at Central Washington University. Her role includes air monitoring, emergency response, and managing grants that support environmental initiatives. Outside of work, she is dedicated to traditional food gathering and bead work, and she cherishes spending time with her children – especially when traveling or enjoying a good baseball game.
Alaska
Native Village of Chitina
Fred currently works for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC). Fred is Athabascan and Aleut, originally from Anchorage, AK. His family comes from the Copper River Basin and Nome regions. He is an enrolled member of the Native Village of Chitina where he has worked since 2010 managing the EPA/GAP and TTP programs.
NTAA Project Manager
Miranda O’Neill is the Program Manager for the National Tribal Air Association. Originally from Washington, Miranda holds a degree in Human Centered Design from the University of Washington. With over seven years of experience in the tech industry, Miranda has worked with Fortune 500 companies driving impactful and high-profile projects. A dedicated advocate for Diversity & Inclusion and Inclusive Design, Miranda continually strives to create with accessibility in mind.
You can usually find Miranda outside with her three dogs exploring, hiking, backpacking, running or rucking in beautiful Arizona. She enjoys tending to her plants, painting or being lost in a good book. She currently volunteers her time with veterans and fostering animals.
NTAA Program Coordinator
Marty Johnson is the National Tribal Air Association Coordinator at ITEP. She originally moved to Flagstaff in 2006 from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, where she grew up, to work as an Americorps volunteer with the Coconino Rural Environment Corps (CREC). This led her to work as a wildland firefighter for two seasons, first on the Kaibab and then the Coconino National Forests. Her love of the outdoors and environmental conservation stemmed from spending time outdoors and backpacking with her family in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of northern New Mexico. Her desire to learn more and become an advocate for the environment prompted her to pursue a Master’s degree in Sustainable Communities from Northern Arizona University. Her coursework at NAU was varied including classes in Foresty, Anthropology, Environmental Science and Policy, and Community Organizing. Environmental Justice was a key theme throughout her studies and became a passion for her.
She previously worked as the Energy and Sustainability Manager for Coconino County and prior to that, advised students at Coconino Community College with their Academic and Career goals.
Marty spends her free time recreating outdoors with her two kids, husband, and their dog. She loves reading, gardening, and watching movies.
ITEP Director
Nikki is the Director for Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP). She is of the Diné Nation by way of Shonto and Blue Gap, AZ, and is of the Towering House Clan, born for the Reed People Clan, maternal grandfathers are of the Water that Flows Together Clan, and paternal grandfathers are of the Manygoats Clan. Nikki received her Bachelors and Masters of Forestry from Northern Arizona University (NAU) with a few years of post-graduate study at Michigan State University. For her undergraduate and Masters studies, she has worked extensively with the Cherokee Tribe of North Carolina, and has worked with various tribes including the Kaibab Paiute tribe. Prior to ITEP, Nikki has worked with the Merriam Powell Center for Environmental Research on a Climate Change Education Program, and at NAU Talent Search working with underrepresented, low-income, potential first generation college students at 10 middle and high schools in Northern Arizona.
In addition, as a river guide and cultural interpreter working on the Colorado River-Grand Canyon and San Juan River, Nikki is the co-founder of the Native American River Guide Training Program and Fifth World Discoveries, was the first Native American President and Vice-President of the Grand Canyon River Guides Association (GCRG), and is a former associate director of the Native Voices Program. She is very passionate about advocating for and education about the protection and preservation of the environment and its resources. Nikki thoroughly enjoys gardening, her Navajo language and culture, and spending time with her large extended family in the southwest and Iowa.
NTAA’s Policy Advisory Committee enhances and strengthens NTAA’s air quality policy support by crafting air policy and climate change policy recommendations for Tribal governments and providing policy advice to the NTAA Executive Committee. The technical and policy experts work with the NTAA Executive Committee and NTAA staff to craft Policy Response Kits, White Papers and other policy support.
Pilar Thomas (Pascua Yaqui) is Of Counsel at Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP in Tucson Arizona, where she provides strategic legal advice to Tribal governments and Tribal enterprises on energy planning and policy, renewable energy project development and finance; federal and state energy regulatory, programs and policy efforts. Ms. Thomas previously served as the Deputy Director, Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she developed and implemented national policy and programs to promote clean energy development on Indian lands. Ms. Thomas also served as the Deputy Solicitor for Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior, where she provided day to day legal advice and counsel to the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, and other officials of the Department on matters related to federal Indian law, Tribal law, and legal issues involving Indian Tribes. Over the course of her career as an attorney, Ms. Thomas was interim attorney general and chief of staff of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and a Trial Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice.
Prior to her law practice, Ms. Thomas worked for fifteen years in the financial services industry for a Fortune 250 company. Ms. Thomas received her J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law, magna cum laude, with a Certificate in Indian Law, and her B.A. in economics from Stanford University.
Laura McKelvey is recently retired from EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, where she worked for over 30 years. In that capacity she worked on a range of issues from Acid Rain Program, State Implementation Plan for implementing the NAAQS, Permitting , Urban Air Toxics Strategy and the development of Maximum Achievable Control Technology Standards. For more than 20 years she worked on supporting Tribal Governments, including service as the lead for the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standard’s, Community and Tribal Programs Group. In this capacity she manages the team, whose responsibilities include supporting: The sovereign Tribal Nations in developing air pollution control programs; and environmental justice and grass roots communities in identifying and addressing risks from air pollution. Other responsibilities include rule and policy development, technical assistance, training and implementation strategies for air quality planning.
Laura has a BS in Natural Resource management from the University of the South; and a Masters in Environmental Management (Forest Ecology) from Duke University, School of the Environment. She also served for 3 years in the Peace Corps working with upland farmers in the Philippines, working on soil erosion control, and sustainable farming.
Dr. William M. (Bill) Auberle is a Professor Emeritus of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Dr. Auberle has more than 40 years experience in environmental engineering and management. His expertise includes environmental policy and permitting processes, air quality engineering, environmental risk assessment and management, and site investigation and remediation.
Bill remains active as a Professor Emeritus at Northern Arizona University. He is co-founder and a member of the Advisory Board to the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP). He also founded EN3 Professionals, LLC, an engineering consulting firm.
Previously, Bill was President of the national environmental consulting firm of Yates & Auberle, Ltd. In this capacity he directed professionals in the disciplines of environmental engineering, industrial hygiene, hydrogeology, and environmental monitoring and analysis.
Bill also has served governmental agencies as an author and administrator of environmental laws and regulations. He has directed programs in air quality management, water pollution control, radiation protection, noise control, and solid/hazardous waste management. In 1978 and 1979, he managed all environmental protection programs for the State of Colorado.
Bill’s baccalaureate degree in industrial engineering and masters degree in environmental engineering were earned at West Virginia University. He continued graduate studies at Columbia University and the University of Missouri and was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters at Northern Arizona University. He is a Fellow Member and Past Vice President of the Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) and is board certified by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers & Scientists (AAEES). He is a licensed professional engineer in Arizona, Louisiana and Ohio. Bill continues to make numerous presentations at meetings and conferences and contributes many publications in environmental and energy policy, science and engineering.
Andrea Gelatt is Of Counsel with Jill Grant & Associates where she provides legal counsel to Tribes and assists with development and implementation of new policies, regulations, and legislation to protect Tribal lands, resources, and sovereignty. In her practice, Ms. Gelatt assists Tribes in developing and enforcing air quality and other environmental regulations. Ms. Gelatt was previously a senior attorney at Midwest Environmental Advocates in Madison, WI, where she represented a Native Nation challenging a frac sand mine and worked with community groups on environmental issues. Before that, she was a senior trial attorney in the U.S Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. She has taught land use law, wildlife law, and natural resources law at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, The George Washington University Law School, and DePaul University College of Law, respectively, as an adjunct professor or visiting instructor.
Andrew Fuller is a Member at Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC in Seattle, WA. An environmental and natural resources lawyer with a background in environmental science and policy, he represents Tribes, municipal governments, and private-sector clients in matters arising under environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA. and their tribal and state counterparts. Andrew assists Tribal governments as they build and implement environmental programs, protect reserved resources, and assert sovereignty. He draws on his scientific training to translate complex data into persuasive legal arguments, working closely with engineers and scientists to ensure legal strategies are grounded in sound analysis. Before practicing law, Andrew conducted field research with the U.S. Forest Service, served as a community liaison for a member of Congress, and worked in criminal division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Andrew received his J.D. from the University of Washington Law School, with a concentration in environmental law. He earned a dual BA/BS focusing in environmental sciences at the Evergreen State College.
