Kennedy Brown - Chairman

Mr. Kennedy Brown is the chairman of the Chickasaw Foundation and has served on the Board since February 1995.  He is a special assistant to Governor Bill Anoatubby of the Chickasaw Nation.  He is the chairman for the Ada American Red Cross Chapter, on the board of directors for Mental Health Services of Southern Oklahoma, a member of the Board of Directors for the Chickasaw Historical Society as well as the immediate past president and a member of the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma.  He is also active with the Ada Masonic Lodge.

Mr. Brown is a past member of the Board of Directors for the Ada and McAlester District Girl Scouts (Tiak), the Board of Directors for the Ada Boys and Girls Club, the Ada Kiwanis Club and the board of trustees for the Ada City Schools Foundation.  He is also a retired member of the Oklahoma Army National Guard and former Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation.

Deanna Hartley-Kelso - Vice Chair

Ms. Deanna Hartley-Kelso is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and currently serves as its Attorney General and Administrator for the Justice Division.  Prior to serving in this capacity, Deanna also served as General Counsel for the Legal Division and was also the first Legislative Counsel for the Chickasaw Nation Legislature.  Her prior employment includes general corporate work as Associate Corporate Counsel for Color Tile, Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas and General Counsel for Marketing Investors Corp. in Dallas, Texas. She is a 1993 graduate of Tulsa University Law School where she earned her J.D. and a 1989 graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington where she earned her B.A. in Political Science with a Minor in Business Administration.

Deanna is licensed to practice law by the State of Texas and the State of Oklahoma as well as the tribal courts of the Chickasaw Nation. She is also a member of the Oklahoma Indian Bar Association, Native American Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association and a fellow of The College of the State Bar of the State of Texas.

As for community activities, she is the Vice Chair of the Chickasaw Foundation Board of Trustees, a citizen appointee to the Arkansas Riverbed Authority, an adjunct professor at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, and a previous volunteer for North Texas Legal Services-American Indian Law Project.  Deanna also serves on numerous other boards and committees within the Chickasaw Nation as well as representing the Chickasaw Nation at the United Nations Working Group on the Draft Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Dr. Judy Goforth Parker - Treasurer

Dr. Judy Goforth Parker is the treasurer of the Chickasaw Foundation and has served on the Board since July 2000. She retired from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, and stepped down from the Chickasaw Tribal Legislature in 2009 to take the role as Administrator for the Chickasaw Nation Division of Health (CNDH). She also serves as vice chair for the board of directors of Bank2 in Oklahoma City, and president of the East Central Oklahoma Blood Institute.

Dr. Parker graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing with a post masters in 2010. She is an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) and practices medicine in the Emergency department of the CNDH and volunteers as an ARNP at the Compassion Outreach Clinic in Ada, Oklahoma. Her past community service includes being the founder of the Moccasin Trails 100 Mile Club.

Kirk Perry - Secretary

Mr. Kirk Perry is the secretary for the Chickasaw Foundation, and has served on the Board since April 2001. He is the administrator for the Chickasaw Nation Division of Policies and Standards. His Chickasaw parents are Johnson and Sophia Perry. His education in general business and mathematics at East Central University has helped his careers that include inspection, land survey, architecture and engineering, contract administration for highway, housing and commercial building design and construction.

As the former deputy director of the Chickasaw Housing Authority during its infancy in the 1970's he helped establish new programs. During this time the Chickasaw's successful programs became recognized as examples nationally on management and development of Indian housing. Chickasaw programs became the second largest Indian housing authority in the nation in the 1970's.

Knowing the need for Indian housing program training on standards and advocacy he helped establish both the Oklahoma Indian Housing Authority and the National American Indian Housing Authority while serving both organizations as an officer and board member. He helped establish needed nationwide Indian programs for counseling, project-based budgeting development practices, housing management training and certification programs and professional certification of housing managers while serving on national coalitions.

For over 25 years, Mr. Perry has operated successful businesses including architectural planning and consulting, oil & gas land man leasing, commercial and residential building inspection, and as a general construction contractor before returning to work for the Chickasaw Nation.

Growing up as a Chickasaw makes his present work especially rewarding working with Chickasaw people toward the preservation of Chickasaw culture and history. The Nation has many new growing programs that preserve and revitalize our language, rich history, repatriation and culture. Preservation requires partnering with many institutions while dealing with a variety of multi-state federal officials and organizations assuring protection of our past.

Dr. Tina M. Cooper - Board Member

Dr. Tina M. Cooper joined the Board in December 2003. She is the great-granddaughter of original Chickasaw enrollee, Wellington Kemp, the granddaughter of Harvey and Verna Kemp Rochelle of Achille, and the daughter of Gene and Wanda Rochelle. She is married to Richard Cooper and they have two children, Ian and Jane, and two grandchildren, Eli and Allison.

Dr. Cooper graduated from Cameron University in 1979 with an associate degree in nursing. She served as a registered nurse from 1979-1991. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in 1983 with a bachelor of science degree in nursing and in 1995 with a medical degree. From 1995-1998, Dr. Cooper performed her post graduate residency training through the University of Oklahoma where she was a resident and chief resident. She has served as Chief of Staff three terms and as a family physician at the Chickasaw Nation Medical Center from 1998 to 2011.  She is now the medical director of the Sovereign Family Medical Center under the Chickasaw Nation Division of Commerce.

Dr. Cooper is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the OK Academy of Family Physicians and a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. She serves on the CN Institutional Review Board for research and is a principal investigator for the Oklahoma Native American Research Centers of Health.  Dr. Cooper is a trustee on the Ada Youth Shelter Board. She is also the medical director for the Compassion Outreach Center, a free clinic under the direction of the Central Church of Christ where she is a member.

Nathan L. Hart - Board Member

Mr. Nathan L. Hart has served on the Board since January 2000. He began a successful art career in 2002. His work in woodturning and sculpture has been featured in national publications and at gallery events. Nathan participates in juried art shows during the year and has placed in major art competitions.

Mr. Hart has worked with the American Indian communities during his professional career. His activities range from being the executive director of the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission to serving as the director of cash management for the Chickasaw Nation. He most recently completed work with Ralph Appelbaum Associates, New York, on the content development phase for the exhibit design of the American Indian Cultural Center in Oklahoma City.

Nathan is Cheyenne and an enrolled member of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.

Sheilla Brashier - Board Member

Ms. Sheilla Brashier has been a member of the Chickasaw Foundation Board of Trustees since February 2006 and has served as a general board member since 1993.  She is also the Special Services director for the Chickasaw Nation.

Ms. Brashier is a member of the International Entertainment Buyers Association, International Festival and Events Association and Country Music Association.  She serves as the Chickasaw Nation's representative for all chambers of commerce in their 13 ½ county service area.

John Fryrear - Board Member

Mr. John Fryrear is the newest member of the Chickasaw Foundation Board of Trustees joining in June 2007 and has been in the securities and investment banking business for 25 years.

He is a founding partner and president of NAFA Capital Markets, LLC, the only Native American owned broker-dealer in the U.S. and Native American Fund Advisors, a Native American owned fee-based asset advisory firm that specializes in fund management for tribal entities. He is the president of TribalCom, LLC, a Native American owned company primarily engaged in sole-source contracting with the federal government in the areas telecommunications and alternative energy. In addition, Mr. Fryrear owns Brothers Bottling Company, a Native American owned purified water bottle supplier to our troops and government agencies, which is headquartered in El Reno, Oklahoma.

Mr. Fryrear holds the following NASD licenses- Series 6: Investment Company Products; Series 7: General Securities Representative; Series 22: Direct Participation Programs; Series 24: General Securities Principal; Series 53: Municipal Securities Principal; Series 65: Uniform Investment Advisor

John has extensive experience with a diverse client base in the areas of portfolio strategy and strategy implementation, cash flow analysis, asset/liability management and public and private (Reg D) finance.  His clients include banks, non-profit foundations, corporations, municipalities, Native American tribes and high-net worth individuals.  He is also experienced in the banking and securities industries in specializing in the markets of U.S. Treasury and Agency Obligations, mortgage-backed securities, CMO's, municipal and corporate bonds.

Mr. Fryrear is a Trustee for First Nations Development, a non-profit specializing educating Indian Country on financial issues and Trustee of the Chilocco Benefit Association, in charge of raising funds to stabilize deterioration of the buildings and restoration of the campus.