President Barack Obama today announced his appointment of Jodi Gillette as senior policy advisor for Native American Affairs. As a member of the Domestic Policy Council, Gillette will advise the White House on issues impacting Indian Country.
"She has been a key member of my administration's efforts for Indian Country, and will continue to ensure that Native American issues will always have a seat at the table," he said in a statement.
An enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota and South Dakota, Gillette was previously a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of Interior. Before that, she worked as Deputy Associate Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Associate Director of Public Engagement, where she was responsible for the communication and interaction between tribal nations and the White House.
Gillette has a bachelors degree in government and Native American studies from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and earned her masters degree in Public Policy from the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs in 2003.
