Day 1 | Opening Session

Melonie Boord, Social Services Director, Sitka Tribe of Alaska — Seetlein (Melonie Boord) has served as the Social Services Director for the Sitka Tribe of Alaska for the past 6 years. She is of the Chaak (eagle) moiety and Teikweidee clan (bear), and Kiksadiyadi (child of a Kiksadi). She is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and earned two bachelor’s degrees from Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO (BA) and University of Alaska Fairbanks (BSW), and received a master’s degree from the University of Alaska Anchorage (MSW). She served for 10 years as a hospital social worker at the local Indian Health Services facility prior to working for her Tribe. The Sitka Tribe of Alaska has over 4,000 Tribal citizens who are primarily of Tlingit, Haida, Aleut, and Tsimpsian heritage in the Sheet’ka (Sitka) area of Southeastern Alaska.

Charisse Johnson, Division Director, Division of Community Assistance, Office of Community Services (OCS), Administration for Children & Families (ACF) — Ms. Johnson’s career in social services spans over 30 years in a wide range of roles and leadership positions. Her work in ACF began in 2010 in the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect. Since then, she has worked in the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) in the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood program, as well as the Office of Grants Management (OGM). Prior to becoming a federal employee, Ms. Johnson worked in North Carolina’s child welfare system. Ms. Johnson served as the Deputy Director for Wayne Action Group of Economic Solvency (WAGES), Inc., a Community Action Agency in North Carolina. Ms. Johnson earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Ms. Johnson has two adult children and two grandchildren.

Nicole Oxendine, Vice President, Tribal Training & Technical Assistance Lux Consulting Group, Inc. — With a commitment to empowering women, children, and Native communities, Nicole has held senior positions in several key national organizations over the past thirty years, including the Children’s Defense Fund, the National Women’s Law Center, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Nicole is also the mother of three and a proudly enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.