2023 Board Candidates

2023 Board Candidate

Shannon L. Erhart

Shannon L. Erhart, (urban), 55, of Fairbanks, Alaska, is the Tribal Development Deputy Director at Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC). She was previously the Culture Camp Manager for TCC, and Executive Director of Tanana Tribal Council.

Erhart has served on the Alaska Dog Mushers Association Board for 36 years, in the roles of President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Board Member. She has also served on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Alaska Native Education Parent Committee, and the Effie Kokrine Charter School Parent Committee.

Erhart is a graduate of Alternative Learning Systems, a public high school in Fairbanks. She received her Associate of Applied Science in Accounting and her Associate of Applied Science in Tribal Management from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Erhart is the daughter of Miranda Wright, a former Member of the Doyon, Limited Board of Directors. 

2023 Board Candidate

Kristi Williams

Kristi Williams, (urban), 51, of Anchorage, Alaska, is the Founder and Principal Consultant of the Alaska Native Chamber. She previously served as Staff Director, General Counsel, and Director of Special Projects at the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. Williams has also worked as a Government Relations Executive at the Calista Corporation; Founder and Principal Consultant of G2G Strategies; Senior Advisor and Consultant at the Alaska Federation of Natives; and Policy/Government Relations Advisor and Consultant at Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker law firm. 

Williams is currently a Member of the Alaska Humanities Forum Board where she previously served as Vice Chair. She served as a Member of the Anchorage Museum Association Board, and Assistant Treasurer and Secretary of the Yukon Kusko Political Action Committee. Williams received her Juris Doctorate with a Certificate in Federal Indian Law from the University of New Mexico School of Law. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology with a double minor in Public Policy and Native American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a D.C. Bar Member in good standing. 

Williams’ paternal uncle, Orie G. Williams, is a current Doyon, Limited Board Member. 

2023 Board Candidate

Melissa Charlie

Melissa Charlie, (urban), 42, of Fairbanks, Alaska, is the Deputy Director of Fairbanks Native Association. She previously worked as a Paralegal Intern with Doyon, Limited. She currently serves as the Fairbanks North Star 

Borough Commissioner of the Early Childhood Development Commission. She previously volunteered with Get Out the Native Vote. 

Charlie graduated with an Associate of Applied Science in Paralegal Studies from the University of 

Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and completed three years of Criminal Justice Studies at UAF. 

2023 Board Candidate

Marvin L. Deacon

Marvin L. Deacon, (rural), 68, of Grayling, Alaska, is retired from the Bureau of Land Management. He previously worked as an Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC), and as a Floorhand with Doyon Drilling, Inc.

Deacon currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Interior Regional Housing Authority Board and Vice Chair of the YKHC Board. 

He previously served on the Governor’s Board of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and on the Boards 

of LifeMed, Yukon Delta Fisheries Development Association, and Iditarod Area School District. He also served as the Chief of the Grayling Indian Reorganization Act Council and as Mayor of Grayling. 

Deacon attended the Wrangell Institute, Palmer High School, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He completed Village Public Safety Officer training with the Alaska State Trooper Academy, and received heavy equipment operator training and task force strike team leader training. He is a certified Alcohol Drug Abuse Counselor and certified Wildland Firefighter Crew Boss. 

2023 Board Candidate

Cheryl Cadzow*

Cheryl Cadzow, (urban), 58, of Fairbanks, Alaska, is a retired teacher with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. 

Cadzow currently serves as a District Representative with Title 1-C, Education of Migratory Children. She previously served as Tribal Chief, Second Chief, and Tribal Council Member for a total of 10 years with the Native Village of Fort Yukon, Member of the Gwitchyaa Zhee Corporation (village corporation for Fort Yukon), Member of the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments, and Fort Yukon City Council Member. She has also served on the Fort Yukon Dog Mushers Committee, volunteered with Mighty Duck Youth 

Hockey, and coached the Fort Yukon girls’ basketball team. She was a small business owner of Cheryl’s Café for 13 years. 

Cadzow has served on the Doyon, Limited Board of Directors since 2020. She is currently a Trustee of   the Doyon Settlement Trust, Director of Doyon Oil Field Services, Inc., and a Member of the Doyon Finance Committee. She previously served as Doyon Natural Resources Development Corporation Director, Shareholder Relations Committee Member, and Shareholder Relations Committee Chair. 

Cadzow holds a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, a Master of Arts in Cross-Cultural Education, and an Alaska Type B Administrative Certificate with a Principal Endorsement. She has also completed seasonal timekeeper training with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry. 

*=incumbent

2023 Board Candidate

Nicole Borromeo

Nicole Borromeo, (urban), 42, of Anchorage, Alaska, is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel at the Alaska Federation of Natives. She was previously an Associate Attorney with Sonosky, Chambers, Sasche, Miller & Munson, LLP and Patton Boggs, LLP; and a Staff Attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Hawai’i.

Borromeo currently serves as Chairman of the MTNT, Ltd. (McGrath, Takotna, Nikolai, and Telida village corporation) Board of Directors; Board Member of the Alaska Redistricting Board; Workgroup Member of Indian Country Energy and Infrastructure Workgroup, U.S. Department of Energy; Committee Member of the National Advisory Committee on Race, Ethnicity, and Other Populations, U.S. Census Bureau; Council Member of the Center for Indian Country Development Leadership Council, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; Member of the Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, U.S. Department of Treasury; Board Member of the Alaska Native Justice Center; Board Member of Clare Swan Early Learning Center; Mentor for the National Association of Women Judges-Color of Justice; and a founding Board Member of Justice Not Politics Alaska. She is a recipient of the Top 40 Under 40 Award from the Alaska Chamber of Commerce.

Borromeo received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Washington School of Law, and her Bachelor of Arts in Justice and Society from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She is a current Member of the Alaska Bar Association and an inactive Member of the Tulalip Indian Tribe, Washington, and Hawai’i Bar Associations. Borromeo and her four children are enrolled Tribal members of the McGrath Native Village Council.

2023 Board Candidate

Dewey Kk’ołeyo Hoffman

Dewey Kk’ołeyo Hoffman, (urban), 37, lives in Fairbanks, Alaska. He is the Native Language Coordinator for Yukon-Koyukuk School District. He previously was the Owner and Principal Consultant of Hoozoonh, which offered professional curriculum design, strategic planning, public affairs, meeting facilitation, and other special projects.

Hoffman previously served as Deputy Director of Tribal Government and Client Services at Tanana Chiefs Conference, as the Doyon Languages Online Project Manager for Doyon Foundation, and as an Associate Educator for Fairbanks Native Association.

Hoffman currently serves as an Alaska Native Advisor for Native Movement and the Fund for Shared Insight. He is also an Alaska Native Cultural Advisor for the Molly of

Denali TV show produced by WGBH Boston. He previously served on the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center Board, as an Alaska Advisor for the Arctic Indigenous Fund, and as a Board Member and President of the Dartmouth Alumni Club of Alaska.

Hoffman holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Native American Studies and Portuguese Studies from Dartmouth College, and a Master of Education in Teaching and Learning from the University of Alaska Anchorage. He graduated from Doyon Leadership Training in 2012.

A Native Village of Ruby Tribal member, Hoffman’s parents are Dee Olin and David Hoffman. He has one child, Telele Iŋmaġana, with his wife, Marjorie Kunaq Nekkon’ Tahbone of Nome.

2023 Board Candidate

Geraldine Simon

Geraldine Simon, (urban), 58, of Fairbanks, is a Compliance Attorney at Tanana Chiefs Conference. She was previously the Senior Vice President of Administration at Doyon, Limited.

Simon currently serves as Board President of K’oyitl’ots’ina, Limited (village corporation for Alatna, Allakaket, Huslia, and Hughes), as a Member of the Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation Board, and as a Member of the Alaska Judicial Council.

She has served as a Member of the K’oyitl’ots’ina, Limited Board since 1991. Other volunteer and community involvement includes local basketball leagues, Foraker Group, Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce, Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation, University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Chancellor’s Advisory Committee, UAF School of Management Advisory Board, and the American Heart Association.

Simon received her Juris Doctorate from Seattle University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from University of Washington. She also attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

From my childhood in Allakaket, I walked alongside my grandma and listened. It was during this time that the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was looming. My grandma

said at that time that we need our own people to help us through the process and help us make decisions that will affect our lives. I took that message to heart and have dedicated my career and my board service to be that voice. I am committed to doing the best job for our people and communities, and humbly ask for your support and vote.

2023 Board Candidate

Audrey A. George

Audrey A. George, (urban), 55, of Fairbanks, Alaska, is the owner of ANC Accounting in Fairbanks. George previously worked as an Accountant for Cindy Shilling, CPA. She also worked as an Accounting Intern and a Coordinator at Doyon, Limited. George currently serves as President of the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center, and Treasurer for Tozitna, Limited (Tanana village corporation), and serves on the Tozitna, Limited Lands Management Committee.

She previously served as President of the Fairbanks Native Association (FNA) and President of the Fairbanks Outboard Association (Yukon 800). She chaired the FNA Head Start Policy Council and was the Cultural Coordinator for the Johnson O’Malley Program. George has been a foster parent for the past 10 years.

George received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and an Associate of Applied Science in Accounting both from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She is also a graduate of the Inspire Leadership Academy.

2023 Board Candidate

Shirley Cleaver*

Shirley Cleaver*, (rural), 46, of Galena, Alaska, is the owner of Yukon Alaska Enterprises. She previously worked as the COVID Administrator for the City of Galena for less than a year.

Cleaver currently volunteers as President of the Yukon Koyukuk Elder Assisted Living Facility; as Eucharistic Minister for St. John Berchman’s Catholic Church; as Treasurer and volunteer for Galena Search and Rescue; and has been elected as a School Board Member for the Galena City School District for a second term.

Cleaver served as a Member of the Doyon, Limited Board of Directors from 2013 – 2016, and was re-elected in 2017. She currently serves as Vice Chair, Doyon Settlement Trust Trustee, Executive Committee Member, Director and Secretary of Doyon Oil Field Services, Inc., and Member and Chair of the Shareholder Relations Committee.

Cleaver holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alaska Southeast and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She is a 2006graduate of Doyon Management Training. She graduated from Galena City School.

*=incumbent

2023 Board Candidate

Harold Attla

Harold Attla, (urban), 58, of Fairbanks, Alaska, is the Owner of Koyukuk River Cargo LLC, a freighting business on the Yukon and Koyukuk Rivers.

Attla was previously an Accountant with Doyon, Limited, and was the General Manager of K’oyitl’ots’ina, Limited (village corporation for Alatna, Allakaket, Huslia,and Hughes). He also owned a general contracting business and worked as the Construction Manager for the Interior Regional Housing Authority.

Attla received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and completed the Carpenter Apprenticeship Program with the Carpenters Local 1243. He is a graduate of Tanana High School.

2023 Board Candidate

Orie G. Williams*

Orie G. Williams*, (urban), 77, of Fairbanks, Alaska, is Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the Interior Regional Housing Authority (IRHA).

He previously served as President/CEO of Doyon, Limited, and the family of companies from 2002 to 2007. He was employed as the Executive Vice President of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation; as an Economic Development Specialist with the State of Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs; and as President of Toghotthele Corporation (Nenana village corporation) and its subsidiaries. Williams previously owned construction and consulting companies, and A to Z Business Services.

Williams currently serves as a Trustee of the Doyon Settlement Trust, Member of the Doyon Executive Committee, and Director of Doyon Natural Resources Development Corporation. He previously served as a Director of Doyon, Limited; Member of the Doyon Finance Committee; Member of the Doyon Shareholder Relations Committee; Chair of Doyon, Limited; Chair of the Doyon Executive Committee; and Member of the Doyon Finance and Investment Committee.

Williams attended Nenana Public School, graduated from Lathrop High School, and attended the University of Alaska and Skadron College of Business. He received a Certificate of Economic Development from the National Development Council, and holds a Financial Professional Certificate.

*=incumbent