Randall Akee is an associate professor in the Department of Public Policy and chair of the American Indian Studies Interdepartmental Program at UCLA. Previously, he served as a David M. Rubenstein Fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution. Akee completed his doctorate at Harvard University in June 2006. He is an applied microeconomist and has worked in the areas of labor economics, economic development, and migration. He also spent several years working for the State of Hawaii Office of Hawaiian Affairs Economic Development Division. Akee is a research fellow at the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Jacqui Baldwin-LeClair is a policy analyst for CICD, where she examines issues and policy solutions in support of the economic self-determination and prosperity of Native nations and Indigenous communities. Baldwin-LeClair’s areas of expertise include Native federal contracting, Native entity enterprise development, and taxation in Indian Country. Prior to joining the Minneapolis Fed, she coordinated disaster services for the American Red Cross of Montana. She holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Montana and a J.D. from the University of Montana’s Alexander Blewett III School of Law with a certificate in federal Indian law.

Elliot Charette is a senior research assistant at CICD. Before joining the Minneapolis Fed, Charette was a staff economist for the Council of Economic Advisers. At the Council, he covered issues related to macroeconomics and international trade.

Charette is currently a Ph.D. student in applied economics at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. He is an enrolled member of the Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

Casey Lozar is a vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and director of CICD, a research and policy institute that works to advance the economic self-determination and prosperity of Native nations and Indigenous communities. Before assuming leadership of CICD, he was assistant vice president/outreach executive in the Bank’s department of Public Affairs, and the leader of our Helena Branch.

Prior to joining the Minneapolis Fed in 2018, Lozar served in economic development and higher education roles for the State of Montana. Additionally, he held executive leadership positions in national Native American nonprofits, including the American Indian College Fund and the Notah Begay III Foundation.

He received degrees from Dartmouth College and Harvard University and an MBA from the University of Colorado-Denver. He serves on the Montana Board of Regents of Higher Education (past chair).

Lozar is the 2021 recipient of the Janet L. Yellen Award for Excellence in Community Development and a 2022 recipient of the Honorary Leadership Award from the Native American Finance Officers Association.

A Montana native, he was raised on the Flathead Indian Reservation and is an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

Tralynna Sherrill Scott, citizen of the Cherokee Nation, is Cherokee Nation Businesses’ chief economist. She serves as the Cherokee Nation’s special envoy to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. She also serves as a CICD Leadership Council member.

Prior to assuming her role as chief economist at Cherokee Nation Businesses, Scott served as treasurer and chief financial officer of the Cherokee Nation. As treasurer, she was responsible for the $3 billion annual budget of the Cherokee Nation, including federal COVID-19 relief funding under the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act. Scott has worked for the Cherokee Nation for nearly 19 years and held various positions in addition to those mentioned above, including financial analyst, investment analyst, attorney, and director of corporate taxation.