25th Biannual CDC/ATSDR Tribal Advisory Committee Meeting 

 

 

February 8, 2023, 9:00 am–4:00 pm (EST) 

February 9, 2023, 8:50 am–4:00 pm (EST) 

Atlanta, GA | Virtual Zoom Hybrid Platform 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 

Registry (ATSDR) hosted the 25th Biannual Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC) Meeting February 8–9, 

2023. 

Contents 

25th Biannual CDC/ATSDR Tribal Advisory Committee Meeting.............................................................................. 1 

CDC/ATSDR TAC Meeting Participants and Attendees .......................................................................................... 3 

TAC Member Attendees..................................................................................................................................... 3 

Wednesday, February 8, 2023 ................................................................................................................................... 4 

9:00 am—Opening Blessing, Welcome, and Introductions ................................................................................... 4 

9:15 am—TAC Business and Housekeeping........................................................................................................... 5 

Facilitators .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 

Roll Call ............................................................................................................................................................... 5 

Acting CDC/ATSDR TAC Designated Federal Official Introduction..................................................................... 5 

TAC Roles and Responsibilities........................................................................................................................... 5 

Presentation of TAC Business Items................................................................................................................... 5 

CDC/ATSDR TAC Membership Update—Navajo Nation .................................................................................... 5 

CDC/ATSDR TAC Recruitment ............................................................................................................................ 6 

Formal Vote on CDC/ATSDR TAC Rules of Order ............................................................................................... 5 

10:00 am—CDC Budget Update............................................................................................................................. 7 

Presenter ............................................................................................................................................................ 7 

Opening Remarks: OA ........................................................................................................................................ 7 

CDC Budget Update: Questions and Discussion ................................................................................................ 7 

11:00 am—Supporting Tribal Data Modernization Implementation................................................................... 10 

Presenter .......................................................................................................................................................... 10 

Opening Remarks: Data Modernization Implementation................................................................................ 10 

CDC Budget Update: Questions and Discussion .............................................................................................. 11 

1:15 pm—Strategies and Opportunities to Identify Children with Developmental Delays in Tribal Communities 

.............................................................................................................................................................................. 12 

1 
Presenter .......................................................................................................................................................... 12 

Opening Remarks: OA ...................................................................................................................................... 12 

CDC Budget Update: Questions and Discussion .............................................................................................. 12 

2:15 pm—David J. Sencer CDC Museum Tour ..................................................................................................... 13 

4:00 pm—Summary, Closing Prayer, and Adjournment ...................................................................................... 13 

Presenters......................................................................................................................................................... 13 

Closing Remarks ............................................................................................................................................... 14 

Day 2......................................................................................................................................................................... 14 

Thursday, February 9, 2023...................................................................................................................................... 14 

8:50 am—Welcome and Roll Call......................................................................................................................... 14 

Facilitators ........................................................................................................................................................ 14 

Opening Remarks ............................................................................................................................................. 14 

9:00 am—CDC Director/ATSDR Administrator Updates ...................................................................................... 14 

Presenter .......................................................................................................................................................... 14 

Opening Remarks ............................................................................................................................................. 14 

CDC Director/ATSDR Administrator Updates: TAC Questions and Discussion ................................................ 15 

10:00 am—TAC Business...................................................................................................................................... 23 

Facilitators ........................................................................................................................................................ 23 

TAC Subcommittee Meeting Update ............................................................................................................... 23 

26th Biannual TAC Meeting Date–Formal Vote ................................................................................................ 23 

27th Biannual TAC Meeting Date–Formal Vote ................................................................................................ 23 

10:30 am—Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country: Forging the Path Ahead ........................................... 24 

Presenter .......................................................................................................................................................... 24 

Opening Remarks ............................................................................................................................................. 24 

CDC Director/ATSDR Administrator Updates: TAC Questions and Discussion ................................................ 24 

1:00 pm—A Community Toolkit for an Indigenous Evaluation Approach ........................................................... 27 

Presenter .......................................................................................................................................................... 28 

2:45 pm—Tribal Testimony.................................................................................................................................. 27 

Tribal Testimony............................................................................................................................................... 27 

3:30 pm—Summary, Closing Prayer, and Adjournment ...................................................................................... 28 

Presenters......................................................................................................................................................... 28 

Closing Comments............................................................................................................................................ 28 

2 
Appendices ............................................................................................................................................................... 28 

Appendix A: Acronym List .................................................................................................................................... 28 

Appendix B: TAC Roster........................................................................................................................................ 29 

Appendix C: CDC Attendees ................................................................................................................................. 31 

CDC/ATSDR TAC Meeting Participants and Attendees 

TAC Member Attendees 

President Alicia L. Andrew 

Native Village of Karluk 

Alaska Area Delegate 

Debra Danforth, RN, BSN 

Oneida Nation 

Bemidji Area Alternate 

DeWayne Crank (Representative) 

Navajo Nation 

Navajo Area Alternate 

Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner (TAC Chair) 

Cherokee Nation 

Oklahoma Area Delegate 

Lisa Pivec, MS 

Cherokee Nation 

Oklahoma Area Delegate 

Absent TAC Members 

Councilman Nate Tyler 

Makah Tribe 

Portland Area Delegate 

Sharon Stanphill, MD 

Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians 

National At-Large Member Delegate 

Legislator Connie Barker (TAC Co-Chair) 

The Chickasaw Nation 

National At-Large Member Delegate 

Councilwoman Herminia Frias 

Pascua Yaqui Tribe 

National At-Large Member Delegate 

Affiliation/Tribal Area Name Title 

Oneida Nation/Bemidji Area Jennifer Webster Councilwoman 

Morongo Band of Mission Indians/California 

Area 

Teresa Sanchez Councilmember 

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians/Nashville 

Area 

Richard Sneed Principal Chief 

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians/Nashville 

Area 

Vickie Bradley, MPH, 

BSN, RN 

Secretary of Public Health and 

Human Services 

San Carlos Apache Tribe/Phoenix Area David Reede Executive Director 

CDC Participants 

Ermias Belay, MD Leslie Ann Dauphin, PhD 

Deputy Director, National Center for State, Tribal, Acting Designated Federal Official (DFO), Director, Public 

Local, and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure Health Infrastructure Center, CDC 

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and Workforce (Public Health Infrastructure 

Center), CDC 

Teresa Durden, MPA 

Acting Director for Office of Appropriations (OA), 

Office of Financial Resources (OFR), Office of the 

Chief Operating Officer (OCOO) 

Debra Houry, MD, MPH 

Acting Principal Deputy Director, CDC 

Daniel Jernigan 

Acting Director, National Center for Emerging and 

Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC 

Jim Kucik, PhD, MPH 

Lead, Data Modernization Implementation Unit, 

Director of Priority Projects and Innovation, Office 

of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and 

Technology (OPHDST), CDC 

Julianna Reece, MD, MPH 

Director, Healthy Tribes, Division of Population 

Health, NCCDPHP, CDC 

Louise Shaw, MA, MFA 

Curator, David J. Sencer CDC Museum, CDC 

Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH 

Director, CDC 

Lisa Wiggins, PhD, MA, MS 

Behavioral Scientist, Division of Human 

Development and Disability, NCBDDD, CDC 

Wednesday, February 8, 2023 

Karen Hacker, MD, MPH 

Director, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention 

and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), CDC 

Robin Ikeda, MD, MPH 

Acting Director, National Center for Environmental 

Health (NCEH)/ATSDR, CDC 

Captain Christopher Jones, MPH, DrPH 

Acting Director, National Center for Injury Prevention 

and Control (NCIPC), CDC 

Jose Montero, MD, MHCDS 

Director, Office of Recipients Support and Coordination, 

Public Health Infrastructure Center, CDC 

Karen Remley, MD, MBA, MPH 

Director, National Center on Birth Defects and 

Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), CDC 

J.T. Theofilos, MBA 

Lead, Partnerships and Education Teams, Public Health 

Associate Program (PHAP), Public Health Infrastructure 

Center, CDC 

Seh Welch, PhD, MBA 

TAC Executive Secretary, Acting Director, Office of Tribal 

Affairs and Strategic Alliances (OTASA), Public Health 

Infrastructure Center 

Stacey Ann Willocks, MS 

Behavioral Scientist and Evaluator, Division of Injury 

Prevention, NCIPC, CDC 

9:00 am—Opening Blessing, Welcome, and Introductions 

• Legislator Connie Barker welcomed TAC members and representatives, CDC officials, and other guests to 

the 25th Biannual CDC/ATSDR TAC Meeting. 

• Dr. Sharon Stanphill provided the opening blessing. 

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• Dr. Debra Houry, Acting Principal Deputy Director of CDC, welcomed everyone to the meeting. She 

reaffirmed CDC’s commitment to work with federally recognized tribal governments and provided an 

overview of the agenda. 

9:15 am—TAC Business and Updates 

Facilitators 

• Connie Barker, Legislator, Chickasaw Nation, Co-Chair, TAC 

• Leslie Ann Dauphin, PhD, Director, Public Health Infrastructure Center, CDC 

• Seh Welch, PhD, MBA, TAC Executive Secretary, Acting Director, OTASA, Public Health Infrastructure 

Center, CDC 

Roll Call 

• Seh Welch introduced herself as the new Acting Director of OTASA. 

• Seh Welch conducted the roll call. A quorum was not present to conduct business. 

Acting CDC/ATSDR TAC DFO Introduction 

• Dr. Leslie Dauphin introduced herself as the Acting CDC/ATSDR DFO, as well as the Director of CDC’s

proposed National Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure and 

Workforce (Public Health Infrastructure Center). 

• Dr. Dauphin discussed CDC’s reorganization under the CDC Moving Forward Initiative. The public health 

infrastructure and workforce activities of CSTLTS and CSELS will be merging into a new National Center 

for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce. Dr. Leslie Dauphin will 

serve as the Director of the new Public Health Infrastructure Center. 

TAC Roles and Responsibilities 

• Legislator Connie Barker discussed the TAC roles and responsibilities, including the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (FACA) Unfunded Mandates Reform Act Section 204 exemption. 

Presentation of TAC Business Items 

CDC/ATSDR TAC Membership Update—Navajo Nation 

• Legislator Connie Barker provided a current status of the TAC membership. She stated that there is an 

active recruitment to fill the remaining vacant seat for Albuquerque, Billings, Great Plains, Navajo, and 

Tucson Areas, and two National At-Large Tribal Member positions. Recruitment period ends March 31, 

2023. She welcomed new and returning TAC members. 

Formal Vote on CDC/ATSDR TAC Rules of Order 

Comment from Seh Welch: 

• Provided recap of Rules of Order, which is a companion document to the TAC Charter. 

Question from Councilman Nate Tyler: 

• We have well over 20 vacancies, and no quorum this morning. For Alaska (and Washington state 

[myself]) it was difficult to travel here. What are we going to do to fill these vacancies? Even the areas 

that are filled are alternates. The business we are going to conduct is important and our hands are tied 

because we don’t have quorum. I’m new to the CDC TAC, but I’m guessing this was the same last year 

and the year before. 

Comment from Legislator Connie Barker: 

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• Thank you for those comments, Councilman Tyler. 

Response from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• Thank you, Councilman Tyler. Anything we can do to help, we want to. 

Response from Seh Welch: 

• With the TAC Charter, we have 17 seats, but we have six vacant seats. If we do not take the vacant seats, 

we have 10 TAC members who are an official delegate. Which means we have eight here, which would 

give us quorum. Georgia Moore and Dr. Montero (previous DFO) provided council on this decision. Dr. 

Dauphin, would you agree? 

Comment from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• I would agree with the council from our policy office and advisement from previous DFO. 

Comment from Legislator Connie Barker: 

• Discussed with TAC members and everyone agreed to move forward with vote on Rules of Order. 

Comment from Seh Welch: 

• Can make the change to “majority of seats filled” – would like to vote to move forward. 

Comment from Councilwoman Herminia Frias: 

• Shared concerns with moving forward, it would be more of a working group of the members present. 

Comment from Ms. Lisa Pivec: 

• Agree with moving forward with language because it’s on us to put alternates in these seats. It’s up to us 

make a commitment to join calls and actively recruit to select an alternate for our areas. I’ve been on 

the TAC for several years and not having enough seats is not enough. 

Question from Councilman Nate Tyler: 

• The last letter that went out was for delegates, will there be a letter for alternates? Some areas don’t

have either filled. 

Response from Seh Welch: 

• Thank you for comments, Councilman Tyler. We have reached out to the Indian Health Service (IHS) to 

assist us in promoting the importance of CDC’s TAC, as well as to seek nominations for both primary and 

alternate seats. As you mentioned, there is a need for our TAC to be fully rostered. CDC relies on the 

TAC for guidance. I personally have made phone calls. As Ms. Pivec mentioned, we should all utilize our 

Tribal Networks to recruit. Your connections and network will likely have the greatest effect. 

Question from Ms. Lisa Pivec: 

• Clarified that we are not electing an alternate before nominating a delegate. 

Question from President Alicia Andrew: 

• Which areas are not filled? 

Response from Seh Welch: 

• Albuquerque, Billings, Great Plains, Navajo, Tucson, and two National At-Large Member seats. 

Comment from Legislator Connie Barker: 

• Vote on the rules of order will be moved to tomorrow. 

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10:00 am—CDC Budget Update 

 

Presenter 

• Teresa Durden, MPA, Acting Director, Office of Appropriations (OA), Office of Financial Resources (OFR), 

Office of the Chief Operating Officer (OCOO), CDC 

Opening Remarks: OA 

• Ms. Durden presented on the CDC’s annual budget, budget highlights, and the new funding for the 

Center for Forecasting Epidemics and Outbreak Analytics. 

• She shared that the FY2023 enacted level is an increase of $760 million above the FY 2022 enacted level 

for CDC. 

Comments from Legislator Connie Barker: 

• Legislator Connie Barker thanked Teresa Durden for her presentation and opened the floor for TAC 

members to ask questions. 

CDC Budget Update: Questions and Discussion 

Question from Ms. Lisa Pivec: 

• Only 0.79% of CDC funding is for programs that benefit tribes. Are there any plans to update us on when 

that number might increase ? Is that all that goes to the care of tribes? What percent of that is going to 

tribes? 

Response from Teresa Durden: 

• Thank you for your question. 

Question from Ms. Lisa Pivec: 

• Does that include dollars that go to non-tribal organizations? 

Response from Teresa Durden: 

• It is my understanding that it does not. 

Question from Dr. Sharon Stanphill: 

• I want to thank Dr. Walensky and CDC for researching flexibilities for the request for 10% set aside. We 

believe CDC has a responsibility. Many tribes have voiced support for tribal set aside throughout the 

agency, including the National Indian Health Board (NIHB), who passed a resolution for a 10% set aside 

across HHS. Will the CDC also commit to policy changes that establish this flexibility for our tribes so we 

can address health inequities? 

Response from Teresa Durden: 

• Thank you for your comments. This is something we’ve discussed in the past, but it is really not feasible 

given the structure of our budget. One of the issues is that our budget is really complex, and it’s highly 

directed. We get a lot of direction on how CDC’s funds should be used and distributed, but even more 

relevant than that is the fact that CDC’s budget doesn’t work in isolation, it’s really part of the larger

HHS budget. So, when we look at some of the funding that came for COVID, for example, CDC received 

funds for social determinants, but there was a specific appropriation that went to IHS. When we look at 

the budget for public health, we have to look at the department holistically. 

Question from Ms. Lisa Pivec: 

• There is a large [amount] set aside to talk about health inequities across the U.S., and there’s no one 

that tops the list more than American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), and we have years of neglect. 

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• Public health infrastructure is one of those areas in which we have not had equitable or any kind of 

funding, and we know more about the health equity issues in our own homes and tribal communities. If 

health inequities are a priority for CDC, why is it not reflected in the agency’s upcoming budget?

Response from Teresa Durden: 

• Equity is a priority for CDC, and we recognize that there are some pretty severe inequities in AI/ANs. The 

public health infrastructure funding that was given to us was specific to providing support for health 

departments across the nation. There are other ways that we are providing support for health of tribes 

and tribal orgs. I will certainly take these comments back and we’ll talk about them. 

Question from Councilman Nate Tyler: 

• I have a question regarding public health emergency preparedness, especially after what we’ve gone 

through during the last two years. Tribes were pretty much set aside. There was a difference in the two 

administrations, the Trump administration and how we were dealt with, and then of course, the current 

administration, how we are dealt with. It’s not going to be the last time we come across a situation like 

COVID, but we have to be treated fairly. 

• As for the CDC’s support for expanding public health, emergency preparedness, the program funding to

go directly to tribes—tribes are self-governed, we’re responsible. We know what our needs are, and we 

need direct funding towards this. The Makah Tribe received $14,000 in funding this past year, but we 

can’t do anything with that amount. So, having equal access when money goes to states is important, 

we shouldn’t have to go through states to get money of the intent for tribes. 

• Is the CDC consulted when deciding who should receive public health emergency funds to administer to 

tribal nations? 

Response from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• We can work with the TAC to think about strategies to address. 

Comments from Teresa Durden: 

• Acknowledged the difficulties tribes faced during COVID. 

Comments from Ms. Debra Danforth: 

• It’s true that CDC did send money out to various tribes, but the hoops you must jump through to utilize 

those funds, and the amount of energy and work that’s expended by the tribes to be able to report as

frequently as required, is one of the reasons why tribes don’t go after those funds, because we’re 

limited in staffing. It is frustrating. 

Response from Teresa Durden: 

• Thank you for those comments, Director Danforth. We appreciate that and recognize there are a lot of 

challenges in trying to report on federal funding. I will take your comments back and I encourage you to 

share this with your project officer as well. 

Response from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• I want to acknowledge, Ms. Danforth, that we are tracking all of the questions and comments and we 

will take them back then review and address as part of our broader strategy and engagement with the 

TAC. 

Comment from Ms. Lisa Pivec: 

• It’s one thing to receive dollars when you’re in the midst of a crisis and public health emergency, but 

there’s no dollars for preparedness. 

• We had applied for some of this money in advance when the larger tribes were able to apply for it, but 

you can’t use any of it to prepare, so even though you’re getting this money in, you haven’t gotten 

anything from the state or anyone else to do preparedness work, so you have to have that in place as 

well. That’s probably a piece of why it was so difficult for us to administer some of those [funds]. 

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• Also, for the source for the 0.79% that I mentioned earlier is from the latest Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) Native American Cross Cut reports, and it’s a calculation of math for the total spent 

closed out in FY 2022. 

Response from Teresa Durden: 

• Thank you for that. 

Comment from Dr. Sharon Stanphill: 

• We work with tribes in Oregon and in the Portland area, and we work wonderfully with our state but it’s

a lot of work to have to push the money through the state or through IHS. 

• Overall, it seems like a lot of steps and the tribes have been asking for a long time—we’re sovereign 

nations who are more than capable of being able to take funds directly from the CDC, and not have pass 

through funding. 

Response from Teresa Durden: 

• Thank you. 

Comment from Councilwoman Herminia Frias: 

• I wasn’t clear on the response earlier regarding the process on the [tribal] set aside. Since there is not a 

process, even when there is a process where formula is developed, sometimes you get it kicked back—

but that’s why we have tribal consultation to develop that process. If you can develop that process for 

states, you can include into that budget process, then tribes need to be included in that process too. 

• We also need our budget to be included because we’re just as important, we shouldn’t be going with 

the states and asking them to include us when it comes to emergency management funding. We need 

that funding directly. I wanted to include that because we’ve already had enough lessons learned. When 

it comes to equity, we need to figure out what that formula is and just do it. We can’t wait until it’s too

late to figure it out. 

Response from Teresa Durden: 

• Thank you, Councilwoman Frias, for that comment. 

• I wanted to clarify what I said earlier, CDC has a pretty complex budget, and we get lots of direction on 

it, including for the PHEP program grantees and how it’s structured—everything is actually specified in 

the statutes. Thus, consultation is done with the whole Department, so you have to consider all of the 

HHS funding to tribal [nations] and organizations, and not just CDC’s. But we do recognize and try to

with tribes and tribal organizations to do what we can, given our budget constraints. 

Question/Comment from Councilwoman Herminia Frias: 

• I understand that and I hear that from some other agencies too, so we have to figure that out. A lot of 

times when we hear that, it gets kicked back to IHS and what we hear is, “Oh, well we put that in IHS.”

So, it just gets kicked back as a default. 

• So, what we need to understand is how do we legislate it so that it’s not a default, and how do we get 

that funding, so it’s not something about how we have a “complicated budget system.” How do we 

legislate it so we do get that 10% set aside? 

Response from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• I want to acknowledge Councilwoman Frias’ comments regarding budget consultation as well as interest

in the 10% set aside and budget overage discussions. 

Comments from Councilman Nate Tyler: 

• CDC awarded $3.2 billion for the Strengthening U.S. Public Health Infrastructure, Workforce, and Data 

Systems grant to help U.S. jurisdictions promote and protect health in their communities, but tribes 

weren’t eligible for any of that money. 

• For decades, you know, tribes have been pushing for funding to help us out—for the last two decades 

easily. We’re asking the CDC to give us the access to treat us fairly. We asked for funding from CDC, but 

9 
 

 

it went to states. Some of the money likely went to the IHS, but we have been asking for direct funding 

when it comes to public health infrastructure. 

• Two years into COVID, people talked about how difficult it was to spend down money. There was red 

tape, there were barriers, not just CDC—that’s across the board—for any money that was intended for 

tribes. We worked with Dr. Stanphill’s tribe to see what they did during COVID, tribes do so much more 

with less. We both got hit hard. So, if we had access to the funding like the states do and have been able 

to draw down with less barriers, have direct funding with less barriers, less reporting, we’re not going to

misuse or misspend the money. We’ve been asking for this 10% set aside for quite some time and we’re 

going to continue asking for it. 

Response from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• Thank you, Councilman Tyler. Acknowledging your comments regarding access to funding capacity to 

draw down, funding, reducing barriers and less burden, and continuing the discussion regarding 10% set 

aside. 

Comments from Teresa Durden: 

• Thank you, Dr. Dauphin, and thank you to all the TAC members. I appreciate being able to talk to you 

this morning. 

Comments from Legislator Connie Barker: 

• Thank you, everyone, for your participation. It’s at venues like this where we need to exercise our

sovereign rights and to be heard by our CDC partners. 

11:00 am—Supporting Tribal Data Modernization Implementation 

Presenter 

• Jim Kucik, PhD, MPH, Lead, Data Modernization Implementation Unit, Director of Priority Projects and 

Innovation, OPHDST, CDC 

Opening Remarks: Data Modernization Implementation (DMI) 

• Dr. Jim Kucik presented on CDC’s support for tribal DMI. DMI is how CDC is responding to the challenges 

we’ve all been dealing with for years, which have been highlighted during the COVID response. CDC is

looking to its partners to help the agency enhance its DMI efforts, specifically advice on how the agency 

can do things quicker and more efficiently while keeping equity and inclusion at the forefront. 

• Since Dr. Dauphin presented on CDC’s DMI efforts at the last TAC meeting in August, CDC has been able 

to invest additional funds for five new DMI-related projects. The focus area for the continuing and new 

projects were determined by the tribes and tribal organizations. 

• Key activities: 

o Establish Tribal Expert Working Group (TEWG) 

▪ Roster expected to be completed in the next 1-2 weeks so the first convening can be 

scheduled later in February. 

o Conduct listening sessions 

▪ To provide input and review drafts as the resources are developed. 

o Develop and conduct pilot test 

▪ Would like to identify a cohort of tribal health orgs who are willing to participate in the 

pilot testing so that we can road test the instruments and make improvements. 

Comments from Legislator Connie Barker: 

10 
• Legislator Connie Barker thanked Dr. Jim Kucik for her presentation and opened the floor for TAC 

members to ask questions. 

Supporting Tribal DMI: Questions and Discussion 

Comment from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• It would be really helpful if we can get the information for the listening sessions and the TEWG so we 

can help with the dissemination plan and we can get as much support and participation as possible. 

Comments from Mr. DeWayne Crank: 

• Providing enough time to respond to those comments and also providing information to tribes to get 

those because a lot of the times, we as tribal members, who are in these capacities, have so many 

consultations that we’re part of. We respond to those, so we could provide us additional time to 

respond, maybe instead of 30 days, at least 45 to 60 days to collect the data. 

Response from Dr. Jim Kucik: 

• Thank you for those really important comments. 

• I think they’ve been taken under consideration in planning for the timeline, your input is essential to the 

success of this project. CDC will be sure to provide time needed to get responses. 

Question/Comment from Ms. Lisa Pivec: 

• Thank you for presentation. 

• I had a question on your last slide, a second bullet which was to promote and disseminate tools across 

tribal public health orgs. I assume that you’re also including tribal governments. 

Response from Dr. Jim Kucik: 

• Yes, that’s correct. Thank you. 

Comment from Ms. Lisa Pivec: 

• Thank you, we need to be clear on this language. 

Response from Dr. Jim Kucik: 

• Agreed. 

Comments from Dr. Sharon Stanphill: 

• Many tribes in the Northwest (specifically Oregon tribes) work wonderfully with the states and the nine 

tribes work together and also collaborate with the Native American Rehabilitation Association (NARA). 

We have an amazing public health assessment. We have designed this, and it is incredibly culturally 

relevant to us, and it includes our medicine wheel. I encourage you to reach out to us in doing this work. 

We’ve included our tribal government and our tribal youth in it.

• Tribe members will share work they are doing around data management and CDC will build flexibility 

into tools to ensure tribes can tell their stories. 

• Sharing previous assessments will help aid in future work and quality improvement. Upcoming 

engagement opportunities will be shared in advance to allow tribes the opportunity to partner more 

with CDC. 

Response from Dr. Jim Kucik: 

• We want to be able to create something that is very robust, and we want to build flexibility into these 

tools and resources so that tribes can adapt it to their specific tribe. 

Comments from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• There are two lessons learned that I wanted to share on the record: 

o From Mr. DeWayne Crank, engaging tribes via feedback in ways that are helpful to tribal 

communities. 

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1:15 pm—Strategies and Opportunities to Identify Children with Developmental Delays in Tribal 

Communities 

 

o From Ms. Debra Danforth, how do we look at ways to capture and document lessons learned 

that were based on things we observed through public health emergencies or crises? When we 

think about the COVID pandemic there were lots of practices that were put in place. When we 

look at guidance that went out, that may not have necessarily been appropriate, or able to be 

easily implemented in different communities, but there were some new ways in which those 

guidelines were adapted to help communities. 

Presenter 

• Lisa Wiggins, PhD, MA, MS, Behavioral Scientist, Division of Human Development and Disability, 

National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), CDC 

• J.T. Theofilos, MBA, Lead, Partnerships and Education Teams, PHAP, Public Health Infrastructure Center, 

CDC 

Opening Remarks: PHAP/NCBDDD 

• 17% of the childhood population have some type of developmental delay and pre- and post-natal 

exposure to toxins contribute to Developmental Disabilities (DD). 

• There is a lack of data about children with DD who live in tribal community, but the data does confirm 

that the number of adults with DD are higher in rural/tribal communities in compared to the general 

population. Approximately 30% of adults living in tribal communities have developmental delays 

whereas 20% of adults living outside of tribal communities have developmental delays 

• Surveillance and screening are both imperative and support us identifying issues early on. 

• CDC has communication materials and collateral for tribes to use and disseminate. 

• The presenters discussed the PHAP Pilot Project, which, is another tool to help support tribes. The 

presenter shared examples of current students who are working with tribes and the work they are 

doing. 

• Environmental scans are a key next step to learning from Tribal Communities how to maintain continued 

partnerships in supporting children with DD. 

Comments from Legislator Connie Barker: 

• Legislator Connie Barker thanked Dr. Lisa Wiggins and J.T. Theofilos for their presentation and opened 

the floor for TAC members to ask questions. 

PHAP/NCBDDD: Questions and Discussion 

Question from Dr. Sharon Stanphill: 

• How can tribes get involved in this good work? Do you have nurses going into the home? 

Response from Dr. Lisa Wiggins: 

• It depends. I encourage everyone to download the app that teaches about childhood development, and 

anyone can utilize the learn the signs act early materials and we understand that they have to be 

adapted to tribal communities. I can connect you with some of our Learn the Signs colleagues. 

Question from Councilwoman Herminia Frias: 

• You talked about not having a lot of data for the children and tribal communities. Is this because the 

data is not being collected or is the data not being identified as Native American? 

Response from Dr. Lisa Wiggins: 

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• Both. In many surveys, AI/AN status is identified but because of the low frequency of numbers, it’s often 

combined with this “other” race and ethnicity category. So, it’s a matter of encouraging participants to 

separate the race and ethnicity categories. 

Comments/Question from J.T. Theofilos: 

• PHAP is the largest training program that we have here at CDC. If you think of your own tribe, how can 

people meet your needs? 

• What can we do differently to make sure we have the breadth and scope to reach those tribal entities 

who could benefit from hosting an associate, not only in childhood developmental disabilities and 

delays, but in other areas as well (e.g., fetal alcohol syndrome, chronic obesity, substance abuse, etc.). 

Does anyone have any thoughts? 

Comments/Question from Councilwoman Herminia Frias: 

• Specific regions throughout Arizona have done a really good job with data in 0–5-year-olds and with 

families and communities. One thing that’s really important is working with our tribal nations and

thinking about our young people, prevention, this data, and of course, data sovereignty and these 

partnerships. 

• How do you collect the information and share it? 

Comment from J.T. Theofilos: 

• Goal of PHAP: build your capacity internally. 

Response from Dr. Lisa Wiggins: 

• Get what is needed in data collection. 

Questions from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• Given that PHAP is the largest training program, what percentage of PHAPs are supporting tribal 

communities and have we seen any increases over time? 

Comments from J.T. Theofilos: 

• Our data has shown that we’ve seen a steady increase in the number of associates placed with tribes 

and tribal related assignments. 

• Five years ago, we had about 2% of our staff working with tribes and tribal related assignments. Now, 

about 15% of our workforce is supporting tribes/tribal-related assignments. We would like to identify 

potentially between 16-18% of our workforce supporting tribes and tribal related assignments. We want 

to partner with you to identify the biggest 

Comments from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• Acknowledged Dr. Remley’s sentiments that this program would not have happened without the TAC. 

Comments from Dr. Karen Remley: 

• Echoed Dr. Dauphin’s sentiments. 

• Is happy to assist with the application process 

Question from Legislator Connie Barker: 

• Out of the 1600 PHAP applicants, how many were Native American? 

Comments from J.T. Theofilos: 

• That is a HR statistic so unfortunately, we do not have that data. 

2:15 pm—David J. Sencer CDC Museum Tour 

TAC meeting was paused for a tour of the CDC Museum. 

4:00 pm—Summary, Closing Prayer, and Adjournment 

Presenters 

• Connie Barker, Legislator, Chickasaw Nation, Co-Chair, TAC 

13 
 

• Leslie Ann Dauphin, PhD, Acting Designated Federal Official, Director, Public Health Infrastructure 

Center, CDC 

Closing Remarks 

• Legislator Connie Barker expressed thanks to the TAC, CDC, presenters, and partners for participating 

and providing input during the meeting and reminded everyone about the second day of the 25th 

Biannual TAC Meeting and the CDC Moving Forward Tribal Consultation. 

• Dr. Dauphin provided summary highlights of the meeting and thanked everyone for attending and 

participating throughout the meeting. 

• Ms. Debra Danforth closed the meeting with a prayer. 

Day 2 

Thursday, February 9, 2023 

8:50 am—Welcome and Roll Call 

Facilitators 

• Bryan Warner, Med, Deputy Principal Chief, Cherokee Nation, Chair, TAC 

• Seh Welch, PhD, MBA, TAC Executive Secretary, Acting Director, OTASA, Public Health Infrastructure 

Center, CDC 

Opening Remarks 

• Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner welcomed everyone to the meeting. 

• Legislator Connie Barker provided an opening blessing. 

9:00 am—CDC Director/ATSDR Administrator Updates 

Presenter 

• Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, Director, CDC; Administrator, ATSDR 

Opening Remarks 

• CDC Director Dr. Walensky provided updates on CDC’s work with tribal communities in the areas of 

health equity and promotion, environmental health, the public health workforce, and tribal funding. 

• Data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) show that the pandemic set American Indian and 

Alaska Native life expectancy further behind other major racial and ethnic groups. The estimated loss in 

life expectancy is now 4.5 years in 2020 and 6.4 years in 2021, relative to 2019. And this is, despite all of 

our successful vaccination campaigns. 

• One of the ways we can better understand the contributing factors to the decrease in life expectancy is 

to increase the transparency of and access to data housed by CDC, which comes from a variety of 

sources and has its limitations, which we are working to improve. 

• CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health partnered with the HHS Office of Minority Health to develop a 

segment of the “Hear Her” Campaign focused on reaching AI/AN women and their communities. 

• During the August TAC meeting in Tahlequah, CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) 

shared their plan to hold several regional tribal environmental health summits throughout the nation to 

address issues raised by tribes during previous convened discussion sessions. NCEH will begin to hold 

these summits in partnership with various tribal health organizations this year. Priority environmental 

14 
 

 

 

health topics include climate and health, solid waste, and safe water. There have been two dates 

finalized for these summits: 

o April 10-13, 2023, in Durant, Oklahoma, Tribal Public Health Conference, Choctaw Casino and 

Resort, Durant, Oklahoma – Southern Plains Area 

o May 1-2, 2023, in Anchorage, Alaska, National Indian Health Board’s 2023 National Tribal Health 

Conference and Public Health Summit – Alaska Area 

• This month, an additional 50 emerging tribal public health professionals will be selected to participate in 

the second cohort of the Indigenous Public Health Leaders Program. Enrollment for the upcoming 

cohort began December 23, 2022, and deadline for application submission was January 30th, 2023. 

There will be a focus on recruiting and enrolling emerging tribal public health leaders from across the 

country for the broadest representation of tribal nations and urban Indigenous organizations. 

• The five-year cooperative agreement, OT18-1803: Tribal Public Health Capacity Building and Quality 

Improvement, is closing on August 30, 2023. The next iteration, TO23-0001: Strengthening Public Health 

Systems and Services in Indian Country, will be released this spring. The estimated post date is in early 

March and applicants will have about two months to apply. 

• This funding opportunity includes eligibility for AI/AN federally recognized tribal nations and/or regional 

tribally designated organizations to strengthen the quality, performance, and infrastructure of tribal 

public health systems, including workforce, data and information systems, and programs and services. 

• Dr. Walensky thanked TAC members for their support and commitment to improving public health for 

all tribal nations. 

CDC Director/ATSDR Administrator Updates: TAC Questions and Discussion 

Comments/Questions from Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner: 

• Thank you, Dr. Walensky. I will now open the floor to the TAC for questions and discussions. TAC 

members attending the meeting virtually, please use the raise hand feature or place a question in the 

chat box, and we will have someone get to that question. So, the floor is open for any questions, 

concerns, or comments to Dr. Walensky. 

• Well, since everybody is being a little shy, I will go ahead and kick us off. I do want to say thank you 

again for everything that we have done. You know we look back into our past, but we do not want to 

cling on to too long to the things that we have, because we're here presently. If you look at tribal 

nations across the Indian Country, we look at directions very sacred. In the Cherokee nation there is 

seven sacred directions, and I always kind of lean into these things. 

• Today, at the present there is no mistake why we are all here and that is looking to the future. I think 

some of the things that you know we always talk about tribal set-asides, we talk about direct funding to 

tribes. I do want to thank you for the efforts that you have made thus far to continue to move. We find 

ourselves today uniquely situated, as you mentioned, as I look at as a way to reset some of the 

government-to-government relationships that we have. We are all the tribes that are listed across the 

United States to further recognized tribe, we are all sovereign governments within the United States, 

and a lot of times I've noticed that...recently, just an example, there was an FOA that came out, and it

required, it was eligible for tribes, but it required us to get a letter from the state in order for us to be 

eligible. Those are some of the things that we see and I think all of us really were very welcoming...we 

love accountability measures. We understand our duty on the other side of that accountability measure 

as well as your CIOs and stuff, and so we always welcome anyone that has questions. 

• How do we increase tribal relations? How do we do this? I think the best step forward is, you know, 

going out and visiting with those tribes. And these formal discussions are necessary. But at the dinner 

table at my house, when the informal discussions come about, my kids’ livestock show, or the next

15 
 

 

wrestling tournament, or whatever, that is where the rubber really meets the road with a lot of tribes, 

and you start to build that trust. So, I would always say, continue those efforts, as the tribes across the 

Indian Country will always continue our efforts, because we all have an invested interest. 

• It is the least of these in our communities. It is the people that may have feel like they have been 

forgotten about. But you can rest assured that your tribal nations will never forget about those 

communities, and we will always hold our federal partners accountable to those measures. I think when 

you look at funding for tribes, there is so many different mechanisms that it may have been used over 

the past. But you know today tribes are more robust than ever, and we are not as far as the road and 

the path that we are on, we are all on that same path, the white path of peace at times to finding good 

health and good care for our community. But we are all at different intervals, so we understand the 

need for organizations, but most of the time tribes, they know direct funding. They know what is best. 

They know who they want to contract with. They know who they want technical assistance with, we 

know who our tribal organization partners are, so we want to be able to be really protective of those 

things. But again, I hope that makes sense. 

• We want you to feel welcome to come visit with us. As you go through this reorganization, know tribes 

and different departments do the same thing, so we understand that those things can be cumbersome 

and everything. But we are always willing to help, and we just want to thank you for the leadership that 

you have put with the tribes, Dr. Dauphin, Dr. Seh Welch. It is very important that they have been very 

welcoming this week, and they have been on the forefront of everything, so I think the future is bright. 

• We hit that reset button, but there is no easy button out there, though, because the difference in our 

tribes is very evident. You know, I wish there was that easy button to push, but it's going to take a lot of 

effort from us, a lot of effort from the CDC and other federal agencies to figure out how do we tailor 

these things uniquely, because as an elected official of the Cherokee Nation, I understand that my 

communities are all Cherokee, but they're very different, just like the Cherokee language. The different 

dialects, as I move from Southern Cherokee Nation reservation through Sequoia County, and into 

Delaware and I get up north, the dialect changes, even comparably to our brothers and sisters of the 

Eastern band. But we are still all uniquely bonded, and we understand that the Creator bonds us all. We 

have ears, we have eyes, but the ears of our heart and the eyes of our heart is what's really important. 

Thank you. 

Response from Dr. Rochelle Walensky: 

• Thank you very much. There is so much I could comment on within what you said. One of the most 

important things I think you said is wherever it is that we are from, we all have a unique similar mission, 

and that is to improve and continue the good help of our people, right? And so, we share that with you. 

That is what we are here to do. 

• One of the pieces of Moving Forward, if you have not heard about it, you will, that I feel strongly about, 

and I know my colleagues to my left do, is partnerships. How to create and foster those partnerships. 

How do we make sure that we are listening to your needs? It is also the case that we will need some 

grace in that process. And that in sometimes our hands are tied too, our hands are tied by legislation, by 

Congress, by whatever ways we might want to provide a mechanism that we are not permitted to 

provide, or capacities that we are not permitted to provide. 

• We do have to recognize we all have our own individual constraints and our own individual challenges. 

They may not come from us specifically. But what I would say in all of that is, we share the same mission 

that you do, and we all want to be a part of it. My heart sinks when I look at life expectancy challenges, 

and it tells us where we need to reassert those efforts because that's unacceptable. That is just simply 

unacceptable. I do not know if Dr. Dauphin has anything to add. But I will say we recognize the need for 

those partnerships, we recognize the need for to invest in places where we have it. We share a common 

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mission, that is what we're doing. We appreciate your being here, and I am glad you see that my 

colleagues to my left are sharing that mission. 

Comments from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• Thank you, Dr. Walensky, and I really appreciate that you mentioned our commitment to partnership. 

That is very much in line with much of what we talked about yesterday in conversations that Deputy 

Chief Warner and I, and Legislator Barker have been talking about. 

• Another thing that came up yesterday that you've mentioned, and I appreciate you emphasizing was our 

support not only for our partnerships, but looking at opportunities to support our tribal communities 

through our funding mechanisms. You mentioned that we have some constraints, and one of the things 

that we're committed to doing is looking across all of our mechanisms, engaging a little bit more 

differently to make sure that we are hearing, committing to additional consultation, so that we can work 

together to figure out the best ways that we can address some of the barriers that we've identified. 

• I appreciate your leadership as a member of your team and your commitment to health equity, and as a 

part of CDC Moving Forward, highlighting where we are committed to move forward with support for 

our tribal communities. We have great opportunities here, and I appreciate our TAC members for being 

very open about where there are opportunities for us to work together. So, thank you for your 

commitment and for your leadership. 

Comments from Councilman Nate Tyler: 

• I am Councilman Nate Tyler, Makah Tribe and vice chairman of the Portland Area Indian Health Board 

(PAIHB). I appreciate you being here. It means a lot to me as a tribal leader, and I am sure to everybody 

else at the table. As far as having access and true consultation, I think it does go a long way that you are 

willing to come to the table, that has to happen. That is a very important piece of any puzzle. 

• I think one thing just to hit on what Chief Warner talked about, I think it would be really important if you 

can get out to Indian Country. I do not know if you have. You know I have seen the Secretary of 

Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, go to different reservations. It would be nice to go. We are all unique. 

We are so unique, like in Washington State. We have 28 tribes. Our needs are different than Navajos. 

Everybody is going to the same tribes, instead come to Makah. We are remote. We are a small tribe, five 

hours from the largest metropolitan area. We are on our own. If anything happens, we are on our own 

and we know that. It has been that way for quite some time. 

• As far as true partnerships, we need to know what we can do to help you. What can we do? We have 

been asking the same things for quite some time as far as set asides, and some of the things that Chief 

Warner talked about as far as funding and whatnot. I think it is important for us to know exactly what 

we can do. 

• You know there are a number of issues that you are saying your hands are tied. There is only so much 

that you all can do. But let us know what those issues are, so we can make these Hill visits, address 

these issues and try and move forward, in a good positive way. 

• Once again, I do appreciate you bringing up the life expectancy report from five months ago. Since that 

report’s come out, has there been any funding going into tribal communities because of that report? 

Some of the issues that we know is that we got away from our traditional foods and then some of the 

issues we faced in the past administration, making changes to water quality standards, and all these 

other issues within the Environmental Protection Agency that affects us as tribes. We are a fishing 

community. We depend on the ocean. We depend on salmon, halibut, traditional foods. I am curious if 

there has been any movement towards getting money into the tribe’s hands to address the life

expectancy issue through that report. 

Comments from Dr. Rochelle Walensky: 

17 
• I will start and say I had the great privilege of being at the Secretary's Tribal Advisory Committee in 

Albuquerque over the summer, and was able to pay some visits, and was duly impressed. Truly. What I 

will say is there are over five hundred of you. There is only one of me, but I will do my best to be on the 

road. There are demands on my time that are not entirely in my control. But your point is well taken, 

because I do think that being on site is where you see, it is where you learn, it is where you see the 

commitment. 

• One of the things I would encourage for all of you, I so very much believe in the next generation, and we 

are not necessarily going to fix all the problems that are ahead of us, but our next generation will help. 

And so, feeding, fostering, developing that next generation in areas of public health through our training 

programs. Please do encourage your young people to get engaged, because we are leaving this planet to 

them, and it is critically important that we leave them, if it is not perfect when we give it to them, let's 

just give them the tools that they need to make it better. So that is one thing I would ask of you I do. 

• I want to highlight in response to needs that have been asked of us on tribal data. We did launch the 

Tribal Epidemiology Center (TEC)/HHS actions needed to enhance data access. There is a new CDC data 

report that is online plus. Les, do you want to share? 

Response from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• We can share the link. 

Comments from Dr. Rochelle Walensky: 

• Okay, we can share the link. It facilitates how you can receive access to more, better, different data, 

because that was a clear ask of us. 

• The other thing I want to say is after that Life Expectancy Report, it does take time for monies to flow, 

for resources to come, and monies to flow, so it wouldn't be necessarily a surprise that there are not 

resources months after, budgets get made a year and a half in advance, for example. 

• I do want to highlight that there are numerous programs that we have enhanced or worked towards, 

either in anticipation about or in response to that report. CDC’s alcohol program, CDC’s overdose datato-action program, which actually shows not only where there are overdose fatalities, but non-fatal 

overdose events, comprehensive suicide program. I already mentioned the Hear Her campaign that 

we're elevating in in tribal nations and then a fifteen-million-dollar investment in Healthy Schools 

Programs, some of which is heading into school systems in tribal nations, and then the Healthy Tribes 

Program. So, there are numerous programs enhanced in response to, or anticipation of, those activities. 

And truly, in many of the places where we see, I mean when you think about life expectancy loss, it is 

oftentimes young people who are passing prematurely that contribute so much to that loss. So many of 

these programs are investing in those young people. Thanks for your time. 

Response from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• I’d just like to add, Councilman Tyler, that I appreciate the invitation to visit. Yesterday we had great 

discussion about some plans for our office. We will be planning visits, so we can hear and learn where 

there are opportunities. 

• Some of the questions that you asked, we are putting together a follow up report on this meeting in 

addition to our summary. So, we will be getting back with all of our TAC members on specific activities 

to address the questions and outcomes that we can address during our visit. So, I want to thank you for 

the invitation. 

Comments from Dr. Rochelle Walensky: 

• You will not necessarily get me, you will get something better. 

Comments/Question from Legislator Connie Barker: 

• Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Walensky, again for coming to meet with us in person. I would like to bring up 

emergency preparedness, and when we see the terrible images coming out of Turkey and Syria, where a 

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terrible, terrible earthquake happened, and you see just the total destruction. And these people are 

trying to deal with no equipment. Of course, no money, and they are digging people out by hand. 

• It makes me think of our Oklahoma tribes, our Southeastern tribes who are dealing with these massive 

tornadoes and things like that. And so, it kind of brings to mind emergency preparedness in planning for, 

responding to, and recovering from artificial or natural disasters and emergencies. And tribal 

communities can pose unique challenges. Among other challenges, these can include a lack of resources, 

the complexity around jurisdiction, and the lack of understanding among partners working with tribes. 

Furthermore, many tribal nations are in rural or isolated areas, making them the first and only 

responders to an emergency. 

• One of the things that we would like to ask is for increased funding for tribal nations to increase 

emergency preparedness and response capabilities. Investments in tribal emergency preparedness and 

response has not been on the same level as state and local jurisdiction. Funding is needed to ensure 

tribes have sufficient staff, training, and equipment to plan and respond to disasters and public health 

emergencies. 

• And also, I’d just like to give a shout out to the Oklahoma tribes. During COVID, they outworked the 

State of Oklahoma. Being a proud O'kee, like Deputy Chief Warner is, you know we're very proud of our 

state, but I have to tell you that if it was not for the tribes coming and setting up, drive through tents 

and things like that to help the tribal citizens, we would have had more deaths from COVID than we had 

in the state, and so I would just like to see where we are, maybe with additional funding for those tribes 

that don't have the type of revenue that maybe some of the larger tribes have. Thank you. 

Response from Dr. Rochelle Walensky: 

• Thank you, and I will just even add to what you said. Tribal communities not just vaccinated tribal 

communities, but other communities, because of how well you set them up. You were not only saving 

lives in tribal communities, but you also were saving lives in the communities around your community. 

So let me just say thank you to that. That was very well recognized. 

• Your note about emergency preparedness, I think, is key. As part of CDC Moving Forward, we have not 

only recognized CDC as a science-based agency, we have recognized CDC as a response-based agency 

and we have not, until COVID-19, flexed our muscles in response as much as we previously should have. 

We have not had to. Frankly, we have never had a pandemic in the history of this agency, in 76 years 

since we have been around, we have not had a pandemic. We have been able to respond to foodborne 

outbreaks and other things on a much smaller scale. But when you talk about the things that you are 

referring to, we even as an agency, have to flex our muscles and become stronger in our response-based 

work that includes workforce development, that we're spending a lot of time in CDC Moving Forward on 

our own CDC workforce. 

• And so, I would encourage, and we can talk more about how we could collaborate in this. How do we 

take everybody who works at CDC and recognize that they have a role in response. Whatever it is they 

do, whether they are an administrator, or a logistician, or a public health person, or a subject matter 

expert. Everybody has a role in a response. So, when there is a response, everybody feels ready to chip 

in. We are doing workforce training in a lot of that. That is something that I think we all around the 

country need to do, not just workforce development here at CDC, but around the country, and that, I 

think, is among the ways that we are working to upscale our workforce here, not just here, but across 

the country, public health workers, so that we can all be better response based. And that is not just at 

CDC, but in districts and states, but also in tribes. 

Comments from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

19 
 

 

 

• I really appreciate you sharing the great work that was done in Oklahoma to support tribes during an 

emergency, and Dr. Walensky highlighting that building up our workforce is a priority so that we can 

better flex and respond to support communities during a response. 

• One of the things that came out of yesterday's discussion that I thought was really helpful, and we're 

looking forward to and moving forward was a discussion about how we can work together to share 

some of those lessons learned during the response. Ms. Danforth and I had a conversation where we 

looked at, through the TAC members, we have opportunities to work together, put together those 

stories about lessons learned, and then go back to tribal communities and share those, and we want to 

support those. So that is one of the ways in which we can continue our work together to support how 

we are learning through these various emergencies. So, I just wanted to add that that was one of the 

nice outcomes from yesterday's discussion. 

Response from Dr. Rochelle Walensky: 

• Maybe one more thing, if I could add, is one of the things that's really helpful to me when I go advocate 

for our collaboration, and our partnership, is to hear those success stories, so I can feed them back when 

I’m in a Congressman's office and say, you know, in Oklahoma, you all really did an amazing job. Your

tribes did a really amazing job when I’m talking to Tom Cole. Right?

• Those kinds of success stories, they do not always bubble up to me, and so it's really helpful for me, 

through Dr. Dauphin, through wherever, to say this was a win, and this was a really successful because 

of our work together, because of our workforce training grants, because of our leadership development 

grant, we now have three new public health leaders in three different tribes. 

• Those success stories lead to more resources to promote more success stories, so to the extent that you 

have them, where those partnerships, those investments have really paid off, where you've done 

something above and beyond, which so often I know you are, I would love to hear about them. 

Comments from Ms. Debra Danforth: 

• Good morning, Deborah Danforth. I am the Division Director for the Oneida Nations and Representative 

for Councilwoman Jennifer Webster. I just want to take a minute to echo some of the sentiments that 

have been shared here today, and just say thank you all for taking the time to come and meet with us 

face to face. That is a statement just in and of itself, with showing the importance of all of our nations, 

and the significance that it means to you as the director of the CDC, so thank you for that. 

• I just wanted to share a little bit. One of the discussions that we had yesterday was about the 

collaboration that needs to take place, and I think you know, as TAC members, it's also our responsibility 

to make sure that we are sharing that information with you and use CDC as a platform for us to be able 

to get out and share that information, even among all of us and all of our nations. So, I just want to say 

thank you for that and look forward to having you come and visit us in Oneida in August. Thank you. 

Questions/Comments from Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner: 

• Dr. Walensky, just thinking about this and listening to everyone. And I start thinking about the work 

Cherokee nation within our public health team, our Executive Director, Lisa Pivec and her A-Team, that I 

call them. Everything really is public health related. And I think I've mentioned this before, we've been 

working with Red Star International and other leaders in public health across indigenous tribes, whether 

they’re on another continent or whatever. I think one of the keys is when you talk about, how do you 

help tribes understand public health, and for us it has been through our language. We have, tied 

something together called Working Together, and we're trying to break down barriers and silos within 

our own tribe to help them understand what we've just been through, and what we're going to continue 

to go through, and how public health is that other eighty percent of healthcare. But that is the 80% you 

spend most of your life hopefully outside of a clinical institution of health. 

20 
 

• We've decided to pinpoint the language and it tethers in our cultural likewise, tethers into whether it's 

career services, education services, human services, and really, in our Speaker Services group. I am not a 

Cherokee speaker, my grandfather he would be considered conversational, and his grandmother, she 

would be considered a first-language fluent speaker, and our languages are dying. But as tribal nations 

start to focus on these languages, it starts to really get into the recesses and the weeds of public health. 

And just to give you an example, so tomorrow's Friday, and it is always fun to say, “it's Friday.” Well, in 

Cherokee it's tsunagilosdi (ju-nah-gee-losdi)! It's Friday! Well, that means it is washing day. 

• So, you start to think back to our traditional ways, and that language is so poetic because it is a language 

of what you see and how you understand. And you know I love to go into our areas and listen to the 

elders, just talk about it. They saw a turtle the other day cross on the road, and they start talking, but 

they tie everything in that. This is not just unique to the Cherokee nation, and I always will say you're 

always welcome. I know Dr. Stanfield had a great time on Lake Tenkiller when she was out. 

• You know, when we say, “come and visit,” I would always say, you know, if you ever, if they give you

time to go, relax and get some R&R, hey, just go out to our tribal nations into our areas because you can 

go anywhere in the United States and find tribes and hey, just go, go, live and be! That's what our elders 

would say, why, don't you let her live and be, and let her come in and see and feel, and then and then 

we come back, because many, many times, as we try to explain different things about and get to the 

heart of the matter of why these? Why, the things are important to us. We always go back to our 

language, and when our Speaker Services group and our language. Executive directors come in to talk 

when they leave everybody is like, “oh, I understand it. How come you all could not put it that way?”

• I was just talking to Dr. Giann about a situation where you look and an accidental pregnancy, and the 

different things, and how all these things affected. But our doors have been open. We are an IHS facility 

where Cherokee Nation has taken over. But we still have the major issues. I listen to a former student of 

mine about his fragmented ancestry. He knows he's Cherokee, he's Ponca, he's Mississippi, Choctaw. 

He's Shawnee. But helping him reconnect with those other things, he said. I am ready to put my head 

back together. This young man is in a wheelchair and had that bad accident. But, he said, my ancestors 

and my grandfather helped me put myself back together. But how do I do this? This is historical trauma. 

• There are so many times that we quantify everything, but, living in Indian Country and being native, 

there's no quantification to that. It is tethered into our DNA, into our heart. So, I hope that helps to 

understand more about our efforts. Not just at the Cherokee nation. Other places. But it is a big 

education effort, you know. I am a long-time educator and I think it's important that we help people 

understand what public health is, and every day that they walk they are living out public health. 

Response from Dr. Rochelle Walensky: 

• I will not say anything nearly as beautiful as what you just said, but I will comment that what I often say 

is, you know public health is working when you don't hear about it, right? You know your water is clean 

and safe when you do not hear about it. You know that your children are safe when they are in school, 

and you do not hear about it, and so that is hard to promote, right? But it is the truth that when 

someone is in the hospital it is, whatever it is that led to that, it is their disease process, or their public 

health that failed. And so that is something. You know, public health is working most of the time. 

• I do think that it takes a huge amount of effort and resources, and expertise, in order to make that 

happen. And so that is where, and it is tireless, and sometimes, oftentimes, generally it's thankless, 

because you know it's working when we don't hear about it. When I talk to young people, I say there will 

be nothing more fulfilling, but you know it is working when you do not hear about it happening. 

Comments from Councilwoman Herminia Frias: 

• Thank you, Chairman, and thank you, Dr. Walensky, for joining us today. I apologize for not being there 

in person. I am Councilwoman Frias, from the Pascua Yaqui tribe, and a delegate at large. I wanted to 

21 
 

 

share with you since you mentioned the stories of bringing back to Congress, and also speaking of public 

health. I also have a background in public health. I have a master's in public health, and I’m in politics

and a lot of people ask what do you do? What is public health? And nobody really understood public 

health until the pandemic. But for me, being in tribal leadership, public health was just how I viewed 

public policy, and it is about social justice and about equity. 

• It was very easy to combine what I do in my leadership role and equity and justice of you know. How do 

we build our tribal nations? How do we get that equity? It is all about equity. And so, speaking of that, 

and I appreciate everything that has been done to improve our tribal communities and bring us to that 

equity. We still have a long road to get there, right. And yesterday, you know part of our conversation 

around the budget. This is not just with CDC, but this is with a lot of the bureaucracy that we see in 

Washington, in the administration, and the feedback that we continue to hear when we say we want 

10% set aside, or when we want direct funding, and how important that is to tribal communities, 

because when we have pandemics, or when we have catastrophes, or when we need things on an 

emergent basis, we need them on an emergent basis, because we need them on the ground, and we 

can't wait for the state to respond. We cannot wait for a local municipality to respond, we need them 

now, and we need to be working directly, government-to-government, and we are not getting that. 

• So, I think that with this pandemic, that is proof that the tribes have the capacity to get it done. We have 

shown that we will figure it out and we figured it out. I would, say we figured it out first, because we 

write our own laws, we self-govern, and we didn't wait around until someone else told us what to do. 

We figured it out, and so we were moving before somebody told us do it. We were taking care of our 

communities, and part of that reason is because we understand our people the best, and we understand 

our people the best because we are with them every single day. There is no degree of separation, and 

that is so important to us. 

• So, I think that you know, sending those messages back to congress is very important, because that 

direct funding to the tribe and not having to compete for grants, and not having to wait for the state to 

figure it out, or not waiting, having those things that the state automatically gets, hearing that it’s a 

complicated process, and we have to figure out the formula, and we have to do this, and we have to do 

that. Well, we all have to figure things out, but we figure it out, and we all know that lives are at stake, 

and we all want to improve our community's lives in our people's lives, and it's about equity. Thank you. 

Response from Dr. Rochelle Walensky: 

• I don't have much to add to what you said, except, Hear! Hear! Equity has been a key focus of mine 

before CDC Moving Forward. I have insisted, although I have to say it wasn't a hard sell, the agency is 

very much interested in all of our equity missions. But even our vaccination data, we have wanted it by 

social vulnerability index. We have demonstrated at the county level by social vulnerability index, 

Environmental justice index. 

• One of the things I will say, you know you have my commitment to equity here. I will say, is among the 

things that has been most reinvigorating for me, is when you have an agency that has been working as 

hard as we have over the last three years, and I know as hard as you all have as well, and you ask them 

to do a little bit more, if it's around equity you have everybody at the table. It's been really, it's been 

really inspiring. Their tanks are empty, and yet when you say, but we need something for the Equity 

Mission, they're all at the table. Please know you have partners in that with us. 

Comments from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• I just want to thank Councilwoman Frias for her comments and feedback, and Dr. Walensky for your 

leadership around health equity. It is true, that from her very first day at the agency, she made very 

clear that health equity would be at the forefront of all of our priorities, and thread it through all of our 

work across the agency. 

22 
 

 

• So, I really appreciate that. I also want to share again our commitment from our new National Center for 

Public Health Infrastructure, which will focus on our government-to-government relationships with 

tribes, that this is among one of our top priorities, and we will be considering health equity in the 

planning, the implementation, evaluation, and support of every program that we have in our center. 

• So, I really appreciate your comments, Councilwoman Frias, we are committed to continuing to work 

with you, and especially on getting those stories, so that we can share them with our director when she 

is on the Hill. 

Comments from Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner: 

• Well, Dr. Walensky, I want to say thank you, and from the TAC delegation to you, we really appreciate 

your leadership. We appreciate everything that that you've been able to help us to move forward, as 

you are moving forward within the organization, and you know I can't say enough about how important 

it is to us tribes for your presence to be here as Councilman Tyler had mentioned, that makes a world of 

a difference, you know, and we learn from our elders, and to become an elder, it's not just to grow old, 

but it's to grow wise. And so with that, I know at this time, we want to go out front with our TAC 

delegation and take a photo. But again, thank you, to you and your family, and we just wish you the 

best. 

Comments from Dr. Rochelle Walensky: 

• Thank you. We are here for you. Thank you very much. Thanks for being here. 

10:00 am—TAC Business 

Facilitators 

• Bryan Warner, Med, Deputy Principal Chief, Cherokee Nation, Chair, TAC 

• Leslie Ann Dauphin, PhD, Director, Public Health Infrastructure Center, CDC 

Roll Call 

• Seh Welch conducted the roll call. A quorum was not present to conduct business. 

TAC Subcommittee Meeting Update 

• Meetings will reconvene Thursday, April 20, 2023. Occurring every other 3rd Thursday of the month. 

• If you are interested in being on the subcommittee, please send an email to tribalsupport@cdc.gov. 

26th Biannual TAC Meeting Date–Formal Vote 

• Quorum not met—next meeting date needs to be voted on at the next TAC meeting. 

• Hosted by Oneida Nation in Wisconsin 

• Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner extended gratitude to Councilwoman Webster for agreeing to host. 

• Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner personally liked August 2-3 because school typically starts the 

second week, and it can be a very busy time. 

27th Biannual TAC Meeting Date–Formal Vote 

• Quorum not met—27th Biannual meeting date needs to be voted on at the next TAC meeting. Option for 

dates: February 7-8, 2024, or February 14-15, 2024. 

• The meeting will be held in Atlanta, GA. 

• Seh Welch requested counsel from the TAC to decide if they want to move forward with a combined 

TAC meeting with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for the 

February 2024 TAC meeting, since the agencies have overlapping topics (e.g., opioids, substance abuse, 

23 
 

 

etc.). Proposed each agency individual TAC meeting on Day 1 and Day 2, and on Day 3 and half of Day 4, 

CDC and SAMHSA hold a combined TAC meeting. Hope to vote on and confirm at the next CDC TAC 

meeting. 

• Councilman Nate Tyler asked if we could have OMB and/or the Treasury at the combined TAC meeting 

to get the proper people at the table to address issues that we’ve been trying to address for several

years? He is on the SAMHSA TAC and one is zeroing out the funding that comes through SAMHSA. It gets 

sent back to the Treasury eventually. 

• Dr. Leslie Dauphin responded to Councilman Tyler by saying that is something we can look into on our 

end to identify a point person to help facilitate and planning for the possibility of a combined meeting. 

10:30 am—Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country (GHWIC): Forging the Path Ahead 

Presenter 

• Julianna Reece, MD, MBA, MPH (Navajo Nation), Director, Healthy Tribes Program, Division of 

Population Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC 

Opening Remarks 

• Dr. Julianna Reece presented on the GHWIC successes, including holding three annual meetings, one inperson in February 2020 and two virtual meetings. GHWIC is excited to hold an in-person meeting this 

summer, in Anchorage, Alaska. 

• CDC is developing the TEC Connect website to link CDC staff and recipients. 

• CDC is developing an external facing website (www.ghwic.org) to showcase successes. 

• Partnership is key to our future and looking forward to our shared vision 

GHWIC: TAC Questions and Discussion 

Questions/Comments from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• I am really excited about what you shared about where you are right now with GHWIC and the 

evaluation data that is coming out of this. I see lots of opportunities for us to work together with our 

tribal cooperative agreement evaluation efforts, if there are opportunities to leverage other existing 

cooperative agreements where we can fund our tribal communities to build upon the successes of 

GWHIC. 

• Have you looked across other grants and opportunities to leverage other activities aligned to what you 

are doing with GHWIC? If not, we would be very interested in doing so. 

Response from Dr. Julianna Reece: 

• I feel like since I started just over a year ago, we have made so many collaborative outreach efforts. 

Collaborating with outside agencies has helped us with identifying resources and sustainability for 

recipients, as often times cooperative agreements can be limiting. So, we’re always looking for ways that

we can collaborate. 

• We’re anticipating that later in the year we will have final data available, but we will get back on the 

timeline. We have copies of the year two report, if interested. 

Comments from Councilwoman Herminia Frias: 

• Thank you for the presentation and everything you shared. 

• This cooperative agreement, this partnership, has been a very, very valuable opportunity. With a lot of 

governments, even within tribal governments, you see a lot of silos. This has been an opportunity for us 

to engage within our community to talk about the key areas mentioned. 

24 
 

1:00 pm—A Community Toolkit for an Indigenous Evaluation Approach 

• I really appreciate the work that has been happening, and the education, it just really hits on the core 

values that are important to us at the community level, and how I feel things should be getting done. 

Response from Dr. Julianna Reece: 

• Thank you, Councilwoman, for your comments, they’re much appreciated. 

Comments from Dr. Sharon Stanphill: 

• This was a great presentation, I believe our tribe at one time had the good health and wellness grant 

funding, and we did some healthy heart work with it. 

• This reminds me of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) program through IHS, and those 

funds come to us through a mechanism of grants. It’s written in through the legislature that we have to 

go through a grant process for the tribes to be able to access the SDPI program. Funding is limited for 

SDPI, we haven’t had increases in many years. A lot of tribes want to expand, and they’ll have to use 

their own funds. 

• So, one thing we’ve discussed is having a center of excellence, by which everyone could put all their 

good work into one place where all tribes could access it, whether we had funds or not to be able to do 

some of this really good work. So, as you were presenting, I was thinking the same thing. 

• This funding comes through CDC, right? So consequently, you only have so many tribes who are able to 

participate in this program. Is there any thought about trying to expand GHWIC so everyone can have 

access to this great work? We would like to include things like this in our tribes. 

Response from Dr. Julianna Reece: 

• I understand how important it is to have technical assistance in the collaborative partnership that CDC 

offers. So, the notion of this cooperative agreement, is ideal in the sense that we get the best of both 

worlds, and it’s our job to figure out how to make that work in the best way. 

• The funding allows us to find evidence-based strategies and best practices to help build infrastructure 

and contribute to public health research and practice 

Comments from Mr. DeWayne Crank: 

• Unfortunately, during the pandemic we saw a lot of tribes struggle through due to lack of connection. 

So, the pandemic for sure exposed the gaps that we often see. So, we understand that, of course, all 

tribes are part of communities, and we say a person is raised by a village, and we continue to see that. 

And a lot of what you've talked about, and I'm so thankful to see that, and to better understand a little 

bit more of what you do. 

• I am appreciative of that also so again, to reiterate a lot of what was said to you, thank you for what 

your research has proven, and also what has given me more introducing me to a broader understanding 

of what's important and not just one portion, but altogether when your research. So, thank you. Thank 

you so much for your comments. 

Response from Dr. Julianna Reece: 

• You mentioned COVID, and there’s often this notion that COVID exacerbated the social determinants of 

health and brought out a number of priorities across the nation, but really for Indian Country, in many 

places it unroofed and magnified the existing problems. So, it really gave us an opportunity to look at 

the gaps, and how important for social connection, it is a valid framework for improving health, so thank 

you for mentioning that. 

Presenter 

• Captain Christopher Jones, MPH, DrPH, Acting Director, NCIPC, CDC 

• Stacey Ann Willocks, MS, Behavioral Scientist and Evaluator, Division of Injury Prevention, NCIPC, CDC 

25 
 

Opening Remarks 

• Tribal nations are heavily impacted by suicide, overdose, homicide, other forms of exposure to violence, 

trauma, adverse childhood experiences, etc. 

• It is through collaboration that we can advance strategies to improve the lives and improve resilience at 

the individual level, at the family level, at the community level, and truly make a difference in tribal 

communities in partnership with you all. 

• CDC wants your honest feedback and key areas that will be a way forward for improvement. Did we 

strike the right tone? How do we need to make adjustments? Are there things we’re missing? 

• The Toolkit for Evaluation Approach captures stories of AI/ANs. Recipients of the 1802 and 1803 

cooperative agreements identified the need for this toolkit to strategically engage partnership and 

collaboration. The toolkit is set to be finalized this month. 

• CDC plans to work with tribes to use the toolkit and document lessons learned. 

• There will be a dissemination plan to share information, including a peer review article. 

NCIPC: TAC Questions and Discussion 

Comment from Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner: 

• Thank you. 

Comments from Dr. Leslie Dauphin: 

• I really like the way the language here was intentional about accessing all forms of knowledge and 

community engagement. I really think it’s fantastic, I also appreciate that this is flexible.

• I saw in your slide deck that there are plans to think about transitioning this toolkit from for other types 

of programs. Can we use this toolkit across a wide range of programs? 

Response from Stacey Willocks: 

• We don’t see the toolkit as a product for dissemination but as a tool for tribal communities to use to 

share their stories. We also want to be able to identify ways to use the toolkit for technical assistance. 

Question/Comments from Dr. Sharon Stanphill: 

• This is amazing. I loved getting to look through it right here. 

• The three tribes and six organizations formed it and created it, and now you’re going to pilot it. We are 

giving our feedback. Are you saying that we’re going to be given the opportunity to use it from Seven 

Directions? Will our inputs be used in the future for grant writing, and will you need the wide range of 

information for other tribes? 

Response from Stacey Willocks: 

• I would love to share the link with this group and follow up with you at the next TAC meeting for your 

ideas on how to do that. 

Comments from Seh Welch: 

• The CDC evaluation office is holding a listening session on the CDC Evaluation Framework specific for 

AI/ANs on February 22, 2023, from 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST. Register here. This will be a 90-minute 

virtual listening session. 

• In addition to getting the links from Ms. Willocks, we will also send the links out for this specific listening 

session. 

Comments from Councilman Nate Tyler: 

• We’re hosting an Opioid Summit through the Washington state governor’s office at the end of May. 

• We’re in a position where we have so many people addicted. Even before it was a national issue, we 

were pressing for funding (in the early 2000s). Some of our people are beyond repair, we are burying 

them. 

26 
• No family is immune from this, so we are hosting a summit through the Washington state governor. The 

Washington Department of Social and Health Services is involved, as well as the Department of Health, 

the Department of Commerce, the Department of Corrections, Department of Children, Youth and 

Families, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. We would like you to take part in this 

summit. 

Response from Councilman Nate Tyler: 

• Thank you, we may be in attendance. I will check and relay the information. 

2:00 pm—Break and Optional Networking 

TAC meeting was paused for optional networking with CDC leadership. 

2:45 pm—Tribal Testimony 

• Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner reminded TAC members that written testimony is due February 24 

and should be sent to tribalsupport@cdc.gov. 

Tribal Testimony 

Testimony from Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner: 

• There is a need for education, and it is important for everyone. 

• Language is imperative to our natives and has been a huge part of our history 

• Please share your feedback so that the CDC staff can take it back and identify ways to support the tribal 

community 

• Thank you so much to Dr. W. for coming and spending time with us and listing to our feedback, that 

made a world of a difference 

• We are excited about our partnership and working towards creating opportunity for tribal communities 

to thrive. 

Testimony from Ms. Debra Danforth: 

• We request the expansion of self-governance to CDC and support for non-competitive formula-based 

funding. Oneida Nation believes that the CDC should move away from grants and competitive funding 

for tribal nations and move to recurring formula-based funding, whether it’s set aside or however they 

can move forward. Reiterated federal government’s trust and treaty responsibility to tribes. Competitive 

grants, which pit tribes against one another for scarce resources, do not fulfill the government’s trust.

• There are over 1000 grants listed on grants.gov that are open to tribal governments, but no tribe can 

apply for that. Many grants, even non-competitive grants, require significant administrative burden. For 

example, the tribal COVID funding (2004) required significant staff time to prepare and support, 

compared with funding through IHS, which allows for maximum flexibility. 

• CDC should maximize flexibility for tribes in all funding and programs. 

• I appreciate that Dr. Walensky was able to join us, and I appreciate all of the comments and work that 

has been done. 

• It will be imperative for us to move forward in a collaborative spirit 

Testimony from Councilman Nate Tyler: 

• We have 28 treaty tribes in Washington, most treaties are the same. It is a big part on how we keep 

documentation of our work. Vaccinations are a part of our Treaty and played a huge role in the 

pandemic. 

27 
• We have audits that help us manage our funding streams. We work towards identifying funding streams 

outside of grants. We want to get away from pass through funding. If money goes through states that’s

intended for tribes, we want that money to go directly to tribes. 

• We encourage CDC to work with the Veteran’s Administration, as they have a strong presence in our 

community. We can help build and sustain on going relationships 

• So, I appreciate the meeting and this platform. I am so thankful for the CDC Director coming and for 

sure, encourage you all to visit to see our communities and meet our people. 

• We believe the executive orders from the President will help bridge some of the gaps and allow us to 

serve our communities to reach optimal health. 

3:30 pm—Meeting Summary, Closing Prayer, and Adjournment 

Presenters 

• Bryan Warner, MEd, Deputy Principal Chief, Cherokee Nation, Chair, TAC 

• Leslie Ann Dauphin, PhD, Director, Public Health Infrastructure Center, CDC 

• Seh Welch, PhD, MBA, TAC Executive Secretary, Acting Director, OTASA, Public Health Infrastructure 

Center, CDC 

Closing Comments 

• Dr. Dauphin provided summary highlights of the meeting and thanked everyone for attending and 

participating throughout the meeting. 

• Deputy Principal Chief Warner thanked everyone for their participation and discussion during the 

meeting. 

• Dr. Sharon Stanphill closed the meeting with a prayer. 

• Seh Welch provided housekeeping updates and thanked everyone for their participation. The next TAC 

conference call is on March 23rd from 2:00-3:00 pm EST. Also, good news, CDC received two applications 

for the TAC—one for the Billings area delegate and alternate, and one National At-Large Member 

delegate. 

Appendices 

Appendix A: Acronym List 

AI/AN American Indian/Alaska Native 

ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

COVID-19 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease 

CSELS Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services 

CSTLTS Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support 

DD Developmental Disabilities 

DFO Designated Federal Official 

DMI Data Modernization Implementation 

FACA Federal Advisory Committee Act 

GHWIC Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country 

IHS Indian Health Service 

28 
 

 

 

NCBDDD National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities 

NCCDPHP National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion 

NCEH National Center for Environmental Health 

NCHS National Center for Health Statistics 

NCIPC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control 

OA Office of Appropriations 

OD Office of the Director 

OCOO Office of the Chief Operating Officer 

OFR Office of Financial Resources 

OMB Office of Management and Budget 

OTASA Office of Tribal Affairs and Strategic Alliances 

PHAP Public Health Associate Program 

SAMHSA Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 

SDPI Special Diabetes Program for Indians 

STAC Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee 

Public Health National Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure and 

Infrastructure Workforce 

Center 

TAC Tribal Advisory Committee 

TEC Tribal Epidemiology Center 

TECPHI Tribal Epidemiology Centers for Public Health Infrastructure 

TEWG Tribal Expert Working Group 

Appendix B: TAC Roster (As of February 8-9, 2023) 

Area Office Delegate Alternate 

Alaska Area 

Term Expires: 

June 30, 2023 

Alicia L. Andrew 

President, Karluk IRA Tribal Council 

Native Village of Karluk 

VACANT 

Albuquerque Area 

Term Expires: 

VACANT VACANT 

Bemidji Area 

Term Expires: 

August 31, 2023 

Jennifer Webster 

Councilwoman 

Oneida Nation 

Debra Danforth 

Division Director 

Oneida Nation 

Billings Area 

Term Expires: 

VACANT VACANT 

29 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

California Area 

Term Expires: 

October 31, 2023 

Teresa Sanchez 

Council Member 

Morongo Band of Mission Indians 

VACANT 

Great Plains Area 

Term Expires: 

VACANT VACANT 

Nashville Area 

Term Expires: 

August 31, 2023 

Richard Sneed 

Principal Chief 

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians 

Vickie Bradley, MPH, BSN, RN 

Secretary of Public Health and Human 

Services 

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians 

Navajo Area 

Term Expires: 

August 31, 2023 

DeWayne Crank (Representative) 

Government and Legislative Affairs 

Associate 

The Navajo Nation 

VACANT 

Oklahoma Area 

Term Expires: 

October 31, 2023 

Bryan Warner (TAC Chair) 

Deputy Principal Chief 

Cherokee Nation 

Lisa Pivec, MS 

Senior Director of Public Health, Cherokee 

Nation Health Services 

Cherokee Nation 

Phoenix Area 

Term Expires: 

June 30, 2023 

David Reede 

Executive Director, Department of Health 

and Human Services 

San Carlos Apache Tribe 

VACANT 

Portland Area 

Term Expires: 

August 31, 2023 

Nate Tyler 

Councilman 

Makah Tribe 

VACANT 

Tucson Area 

Term Expires: 

VACANT VACANT 

National At-Large 

Tribal Member 

Term Expires: 

October 31, 2023 

Sharon Stanphill, MD 

Chief Health Officer 

Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of 

Indians 

VACANT 

National At-Large 

Tribal Member 

Term Expires: 

August 31, 2023 

Connie Barker (TAC Co-Chair) 

Tribal Legislator 

The Chickasaw Nation 

VACANT 

National At-Large 

Tribal Member 

Term Expires: 

Herminia Frias 

Councilwoman 

Pascua Yaqui Tribe 

VACANT 

30 
August 31, 2023 

National At-Large VACANT VACANT 

Tribal Member 

Term Expires: 

National At-Large VACANT VACANT 

Tribal Member 

Term Expires: 

Appendix C: CDC Attendees 

Rasha Al Rawi Noah Aleshire Shoneen Alexander-Ross James Beck 

Randella Bluehouse Kailyn Bostic Sharunda Buchanan Rebecca Bunnell 

AnnMarie Chase Anne-Marie Coleman Pasha Diallo David Gahn 

Anika Garner CheBreia Gibbs Brittany Grear Donata Green 

Mary Hall Annie Hatley Lesliann Helmus Kimberly Hoch 

Katherine Hoffman Kayla Johnson Jacob Kerns Sophia Kiselova-Sammons 

Daniel LaFleur Jennifer Layden Geremy Lloyd Sarah Meehan 

Georgia Ann Moore Jim Nowicki Joanne Odenkirchen Sara Patterson 

Julie Shasteen Angela Webb Andrea Williams Madeline Woodruff 

31 
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