Carolyn DeFord Eden, Trafficking Project Coordinator/MMIP Advocate, Community Domestic Violence Advocacy Program, Puyallup Tribe of Indians — Ms. DeFord is a member of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians. She works under the Puyallup Tribe’s Community Domestic Violence Advocacy Program as the Human Trafficking Coordinator. Her journey with missing and murdered Indigenous women began in 1999 when her mother, Leona LeClair Kinsey of La Grande, Oregon went missing. Her personal experiences have inspired her to create Missing and Murdered Native Americans, a grassroots, survivor-led, volunteer organization focused on supporting families and advocating for change. She believes that healing and culture combined with domestic violence and human trafficking advocacy, are steps to MMIWP prevention. Carolyn, and Missing and Murdered Native American’s goal is to relieve some of the helplessness families feel when a loved one goes missing, collaborate with service providers to bridge the gaps, leverage the resources needed in search effort, and hopefully reunite families with their missing loved ones. Working through her tragedy, Carolyn, has found personal healing and a sense of purpose through helping others. She believes that everyone has a gift to contribute or a role to play in becoming a part of the solution.

Mirtha Beadle, Senior Policy Advisor, Administration for Native Americans (ANA), Administration for Children & Families (ACF) — Ms. Beadle serves as Senior Policy Advisor to the Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) where she provides strategic advice on ANA’s efforts to improve the well-being of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native American communities. She is charged with contributing to the Commissioner’s extensive consultations with Tribal Leaders, collaboration with Tribal leaders on the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Tribal Advisory Committee, and leadership of the ACF Native American Affairs Advisory Council to ensure these efforts yield improvements for Indigenous communities. Ms. Beadle contributes to ANA’s efforts focused on responding to the tragedies of missing and murdered American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Americans and human trafficking. She is also charged with advancing ANA’s collaborations with urban Indian organizations and coordinating ANA’s policy and program internal think tanks.
Prior to joining ANA, Ms. Beadle held several roles at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), including serving as the first Director of the Office of Tribal Affairs and Policy, Deputy Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, and Deputy Administrator for Operations, SAMHSA. Before that, she served as the Deputy Director of the Office of Minority Health within the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this role, she was the principal advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health in planning, developing, and implementing policies, programs, and activities to achieve the Secretary’s goals for improving the health of American Indians and Alaska Natives, African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders and eliminating health disparities.
Ms. Beadle emigrated from Cuba at a young age and holds a Master of Public Administration from Western Michigan University and a Bachelor of Science in Management Systems from the College of Technology at Andrews University.