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Task Force Members
"Lady Justice" used with permission from DG Smalling, Choctaw Nation (see reuse policy).
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Executive Assistant Director, Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch, Federal Bureau of Investigation, designee for the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan and Acting Chair of the Native American Issues Subcommittee of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, Department of Justice
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Native American Programs, Housing and Urban Development (Menominee and Brothertown from Wisconsin)
The Task Force is assisted by Executive Director Marcia Good, of DOJ’s Office of Tribal Justice.
Serving as Special Advisors to the Executive Director are Matthew Lysakowski, Senior Advisor for Tribal Affairs, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice; Lori McPherson, Senior Policy Advisor, Sex Offender Investigations Branch, U.S. Marshals Service; and a Senior Analyst with the Indian Country Special Jurisdiction Unit, Violent Crimes Intelligence Unit, FBI.
Tribal Advisory Groups
Within the three departments that comprise Operation Lady Justice – the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Interior and Justice — there are numerous Tribal advisory groups. These groups of Tribal leaders advise federal officials on programs and policies affecting American Indians and Alaska Natives. Below is a listing and brief description of some of these groups.
Tribal advisory groups in HHS include the following:
Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS) – Tribal Technical Advisory Group
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Tribal Advisory Committee
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) – Tribal Technical Advisory Committee
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) – Tribal Advisory Committee
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) – Tribal Advisory Council
Indian Health Service – Five formal advisory committees including:
Direct Service Tribes Advisory Committee (DSTAC)
National Tribal Advisory Committee on Behavioral Health (NTACBH)
Tribal Self-Governance Advisory Committee (TSGAC)
Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee
The STAC’s primary purpose is to seek consensus, exchange views, share information, provide advice and/or recommendations; and facilitate other interactions related to intergovernmental responsibilities or administration of HHS programs, including those that arise explicitly or implicitly under statute, regulation or executive order. This purpose is accomplished through forums, meetings and conversations between federal officials and elected Tribal leaders in their official capacity (or their designated employees or national associations with authority to act on their behalf).
The primary Tribal advisory group in DOI is the Tribal-Interior Budget Council (TIBC).
Tribal-Interior Budget Council
The Tribal-Interior Budget Council (formerly the Indian Affairs Tribal Budget Advisory Council), provides a forum and process for tribes and federal officials to work together in developing annual budget requests for Indian programs in the Department of the Interior. It provides cooperative participation in Indian Affairs budget formulation, justification and information. TIBC meetings also serve as an education forum to better inform Tribes of the Indian Affairs budget process and advise on the status of Indian Country initiatives throughout the federal government.
Tribal advisory groups in DOJ include the following:
Tribal Nations Leadership Council (TNLC)
Office on Violence Against Women – Task Force on Research on Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women
Tribal Nations Leadership Council
The Tribal Nations Leadership Council (TNLC) is composed of elected Tribal leaders representing American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native villages from around the country representing the 12 geographical regions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The TNLC was created in 2010 to facilitate dialogue and coordinate efforts between the Department of Justice and Tribal governments to further government-to-government relationships between the United States and American Indian nations. The TNLC is expected to provide perspective on the Department of Justice’s activities in Indian Country and raise issues that have Tribal implications. Areas of discussion include law enforcement, civil rights, tax issues, environment concerns and issues regarding sacred sites. The TNLC meets regularly to confer with top officials in the Department of Justice, discuss issues of mutual concern and keep the Attorney General abreast of issues in or around Indian Country.
Task Force on Research on Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women
The Task Force on Research on Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women (commonly referred to as the Section 904 task force), is a federal advisory committee that provides advice and recommendations on the Department of Justice National Institute of Justice's program of research on violence against American Native and Alaska Native Women. The Task Force was authorized by Section 904(a)(3) of the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Pub. L. No. 109-162) and is subject to the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The task force provides advice and recommendations on the development and implementation of a program of research that examines violence against Indian women in Indian Country and Alaska Native villages, including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, murder and sex trafficking, and evaluates the effectiveness of federal, state, Tribal and local responses to these crimes.
Inaugural Task Force
The inaugural Task Force members, listed below, served from January 2020 to January 2021:
Katharine (Katie) Sullivan Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, designee for the Attorney General
Tara Sweeney Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Department of the Interior, designee for the Secretary of the Interior
Terry Wade Executive Assistant Director, Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice
Laura Rogers Acting Director, Office on Violence Against Women, Department of Justice
Charles (Charlie) Addington Deputy Bureau Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, Department of the Interior
Trent Shores U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma and Chair of the Native American Issues Subcommittee of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, Department of Justice
Jean (Jeannie) Hovland Deputy Assistant Secretary for Native American Affairs and Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans, Department of Health and Human Services
