News & Events

Native Chair and Native Vice Chair Now Lead Udall Foundation Board of Trustees


Posted: 10/29/2024

In April 2024, the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation’s (Udall Foundation) Board of Trustees (Board) elected its first-ever Native Board Chair, Lisa Johnson-Billy of the Chickasaw Nation. The Board also elected a new Native Vice Chair, Tadd M. Johnson, an enrolled member of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, making this the first time a Native Chair and Native Vice Chair have led the Board together.

"It is truly an honor to serve as the first Native Chair of the Udall Foundation Board of Trustees and support the agency in carrying on the legacies of Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall,” said Lisa Johnson-Billy. “It is also a pleasure to serve along with Tadd Johnson as the first Native Chair and Native Vice Chair combination leading the Udall Foundation Board. How unique it is that Tadd and I are both Tribal citizens and serving in these very important roles."

"We value and support the work of the Udall Foundation as they continue working to promote effective tribal policy, enhance healthcare, and protect natural resources. Lisa Johnson-Billy has a long and impressive record of effective leadership,” said Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby. “She has been an advocate for Chickasaws, First Americans and all Oklahomans throughout her distinguished career as a public servant. I know she will be a great asset to the Udall Foundation."

Denis Udall, Stewart L. Udall’s son and a Udall Foundation Trustee, said, “I am delighted the Board has elected its first Native Chair. This is yet another important step in the agency embracing its mandate from Congress that includes a focus on Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Mo and Stew would be very pleased.”

When the U.S. Congress established the Udall Foundation in 1992, it stipulated a Board of Trustees be created to provide supervision of and direction to the agency. Currently, the Board comprises 13 members nine of whom are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. The additional four Trustee positions serve on the Board because of their office (ex officio positions) and include the Secretaries of the Interior and Education (or their designees), the President of the University of Arizona, and the chairperson of the President's Council on Environmental Quality. The Board has several officer positions (a Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary) as well as an Executive Committee and also establishes ad hoc committees as needed for various purposes.

Among the instructions related to the Board of Trustees, the Udall Foundation’s enabling legislation states in §5603(b),

“(3) Five Trustees, not more than three of whom shall be of the same political party, shall be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, who have shown leadership and interest in—

  • (A) the continued use, enjoyment, education, and exploration of our Nation's rich and bountiful natural resources, such as presidents of major foundations involved with the environment; or
  • (B) in the improvement of the health status of Native Americans and Alaska Natives and in strengthening tribal self-governance, such as tribal leaders involved in health and public policy development affecting Native American and Alaska Native communities.”

To learn more about the Udall Foundation’s mandate from Congress, including the composition of its Board of Trustees, read the agency’s enabling legislation.

For information regarding the Udall Foundation’s current Trustees, visit the Meet Our Board webpage to read their bios.

About the Udall Foundation
The Morris K. Udall Foundation was established by the U.S. Congress in 1992 as an independent executive branch agency to honor Morris K. Udall's lasting impact on this Nation’s environment, public lands, and natural resources, and his support of the rights and self-governance of Native Americans and Alaska Natives. In 2009, Congress enacted legislation to also honor Stewart L. Udall for his half century of distinguished national leadership in environmental and Native American policy. The agency is known today as the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation (Udall Foundation) and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona.

The Udall Foundation is authorized by Congress to:


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