SANTE FE, NM – The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) has announced the appointment of its newly elected executive committee member. Board member Dawn Houle has been elected Board Chair. Houle succeeds Stephine Poston, who completed her term of office and brought years of experience optimizing business opportunities for Native American tribal governments and individuals.
“The new board members play a big role in supporting and advocating for Native artists and I’m excited to join this world class leadership in shaping how we continue to elevate Native Artists to the world stage,” said Houle. “We have a century of legacy work that we can build upon and I’m grateful to Ms. Poston for the tremendous efforts she provided to the organization. In a world of pressing issues and challenges, the expression of art helps us learn and celebrate. I welcome this new role to strengthen member commitments while bringing in new resources to support SWAIA and the artists.”
New appointments to the executive committee include Michael Trujillo, Vice-Chair, and JoAnn Chase, elected Secretary. Tom Teegarden will remain in the position of Treasurer. Natasha K. Hale, Director of Native American Partnerships for the Catena Foundation, is also a newly elected board member.
“We would like to thank outgoing executive committee and board members for their commitment to SWAIA and to our artists,” said Jamie Schulze, SWAIA’s Executive Director. “The dates for Winter Market are Saturday, Nov. 25, and Sunday, Nov. 26, at the Santa Fe Convention Center. We invite everyone to join us.”
SWAIA’s 2023 Board Members:
- JoAnn Chase – Secretary – Director of the American Indian Environmental Office, Office of International and Tribal Affairs
- Randy Chitto – Artist
- Elias Gallegos – Actor and Producer
- Natasha K. Hale – Director of Native American Partnerships, Catena Foundation
- Andrea Hanley – Curator
- Dawn Houle – Board Chair – President and Founder, SunSinger Consulting LLC.
- Bill Lomax – President & CEO at First Nations Bank of Canada
- Russell Sanchez – Artist
- Tom Teegarden – Treasurer – Vice President of High Water Mark, LLC.
- Michael Trujillo – Vice Chair – Santa Fe community leader and public servant
- Chris Youngblood – Artist
