Jacqueline Johnson Pata, Fairfax, VA

• main
• family
• career
• in media
• vision & action

"It is so important now for corporations and tribes to create a synergy of business partnerships by working together and enhancing what the other is doing so that we can reinvest in our communities." ~ Jacqueline Johnson Pata

Jacqueline L. (Johnson) Pata is the executive director of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). She attended Utah State University, Snow College in Utah and the University of Alaska Southeast. She has been a member of the Sealaska Board of Directors since 1999 and serves as chair of the Compensation Committee. She also serves on the Lands Committee and the Finance Committee. She also serves as a director of Managed Business Solutions (MBS), Sealaska Environmental Services, LLC, and on the Elders' Settlement Trust Board of Trustees.

One of her priorities is strengthening Alaska Native economies. "The exodus of families leaving their village communities because of poor economies has a huge impact on those remaining." In response to what she has seen, Jackie has been encouraging Village Corporations, tribes and regional nonprofits to strategize and work together.