Casey Lozar, vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and director of the Center for Indian Country Development (CICD), is this year’s recipient of the Janet L. Yellen Award for Excellence in Community Development.
The award recognizes those individuals who have demonstrated superior leadership, achievement, and contributions in conducting the System’s Community Development responsibilities. The award honors Janet L. Yellen, the first woman to chair the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Lozar was recognized for his work to support Indian Country and Native American communities. His work as director of CICD, and while on rotation to the U.S. Treasury, has elevated Indian Country issues across the System and nationally.
“Casey is dedicated to the economic stability of Indian Country and has worked tirelessly with tribes to unlock their full economic potential,” said Alene Tchourumoff, senior vice president of Community Development and Engagement at the Minneapolis Fed.
With his deep knowledge of Native nations, Lozar worked with U.S. Treasury staff to ensure that $20 billion of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds were allocated to tribal governments across the country.
Under Lozar’s leadership, CICD surveyed tribal governments and enterprises to fully understand the significant impacts of COVID-19 on Indian Country. Survey efforts highlighted the pandemic’s damaging effects on small businesses in Indian Country and uncovered language in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act that prohibited tribal enterprises from participating in the Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program. Lozar worked with staff from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Board of Governors, and the U.S. Treasury to address the unintended prohibition, ultimately enabling tribal businesses to participate in the program.
Lozar joined the Minneapolis Fed in 2018 and is responsible for leading all aspects of the work of CICD. He is based at the Bank’s Helena Branch and is an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System, the nation’s central bank. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is responsible for the Ninth Federal Reserve District, which includes Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous banking organizations, and provides a variety of payments services to financial institutions and the U.S. government.