Board of Trustees

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

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

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

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

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

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

As former deputy director of the Chickasaw Housing Authority during its infancy in the 1970's he helped establish new programs.  During this time the Chickasaw’s successful programs became recognized as examples nationally on management and development of Indian Housing.  Chickasaw programs became the second largest Indian Housing Authority in the nation in the 1970's.  Knowing the need for Indian housing program training on standards and advocacy he helped establish both the Oklahoma Indian Housing Authority and the National American Indian Housing while serving both organizations as an officer and board member. He helped establish needed nationwide Indian programs for counseling, project-based budgeting development practices, housing management training and certification programs and professional certification of housing managers while serving on national coalitions.

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

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

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

Dr. Cooper graduated from Cameron University in 1979 with an AD in nursing. She served as a registered nurse from 1979-1991. Dr. Cooper graduated from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in 1983 with a BS in nursing. She also graduated from the OU Health Sciences Center in 1995 with an MD. From 1995-1998, Dr. Cooper performed her post graduate residency training through the University of Oklahoma. She was a family practice graduate and chief resident. Dr. Cooper, currently the Chief of Staff, has been a family physician with the Chickasaw Nation Health System since 1998.

Dr. Cooper is a member of the Oklahoma Physician Resource/Research Network, the Chickasaw Nation Health Systems representative to the IHS Oklahoma Area Joint Conference Committee, a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the OK Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Cooper is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. She attends Ada’s Central Church of Christ and volunteers for the Compassion Outreach Center.

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

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

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

Dr. Judy Goforth Parker has served on the Board since July 2000.  She is a full professor in the department of nursing at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, and a member of the Chickasaw Tribal Legislature where she chairs the land committee.  Dr. Parker also serves as vice chair for the Tribal Leaders Diabetes Committee, Indian Health Service, vice chair for the board of directors of Bank2 in Oklahoma City, and president of the East Central Oklahoma Blood Institute.  She is a member of the American Nurses Association, National Alaskan Native & Native American Indian Nurses Association, and the Centers for Disease Control, Health Resources and Services Administration AIDS Advisory Committee.  Her past community service includes being the founder of the Moccasin Trails 100 Mile Club.  Dr. Parker also assists with the music team at her church.

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

Ms. Brashier is a member of the International Entertainment Buyers Association, International Festival and Events Association, Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, Country Music Association and Heartland Flyer Coalition.  She is on the board for United Way and Ada Main Street and serves as the Chickasaw Nation’s representative for all chambers of commerce in their 13 ½ county service area.

Mr. John Fryrear is the newest member of the Chickasaw Foundation Board of Trustees joining in June 2007.

Mr. Fryrear lives in Norman, Oklahoma and is the president of NAFA Capital Markets.  He is a partner with Native American Fund Advisors, director for First Nations Development Institute, and a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Riverside Church, Oklahoma Masonic Bodies, Oklahoma Yorkrite Mason and the Native American Chamber of Commerce.  He is also a perpetual member of the Guthrie Scottish Rite.