Meet the Team
Staff Members
Francene Blythe-Lewis
Executive Director
(Diné, Sisseton-Wahpeton, Eastern Band Cherokee)
Georgiana Lee
Director of Programs & Projects
(Navajo/Dine)
Dawn Amory
Director of Development &
Communications
Gregg Jablonski
Director of Accounting & Finance
OPEN
Digital Media Coordinator
Brittany Grove
Contracts & Accounting Associate
Ann Mckeighan
Administrative Project Coordinator
OPEN
Marketing & Communications Specialist
Meet Our Leaders
Board Members
Joely Proudfit (Luiseño), Ph.D., is the Director of California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center, CSUSM. Dr. Proudfit holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science with emphasis in public policy and American Indian studies from Northern Arizona University and a B.A. in political science with emphasis in public law from California State University Long Beach. As the first member of her family to complete a high school diploma, she serves as a role model for native youth and encourages self-determination through knowledge and education.
Walt is Oglala Lakota and created the logo for Urban Rez. He is Creative Director, owner of Nakota Designs Advertising Designs and Graphics. Executive Director of the Stronghold Society nonprofit dedicated to instilling hope and supporting youth movements through Live Life Call To Action Campaigns.
Franz Joachim is the general manager and CEO of the New Mexico PBS in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Prior to that, he served as the content director at the station and was in charge of all content–local national, web-based and mobile for the station. From 1999 to 2010, Franz was the production manager at KNME Channel 5, managing all production technical and human resources for all local production. He also served as senior editor and television director at WUSF/WGCU, as studio supervisor at KUAT-TV and at KUAT Communications Group. His production credits include documentary work on Desert Reefs and Desert Speaks. He has nearly 23 years of world wide diving experience.
Randal P. Hansen is treasurer for the Vision Maker Media board of directors, serving the organization for the past eight years. His experience in the nonprofit sector includes current positions as assistant general manager of administration and finance for the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission and University of Nebraska Television, and treasurer and assistant secretary for the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission and the NET Foundations for Television and Radio.
Mary Kathryn Nagle is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program. She is also a partner at Pipestem Law, P.C., where she works to protect tribal sovereignty and the inherent right of Indian Nations to protect their women and children from domestic violence and sexual assault.
Paul Allen Hunton is the General Manager of Texas Tech Public Media. He is a 3 time regional Emmy winning director, the vice-chair of Texas PBS, sits on the board of the University License Association, and formerly on the Digital Media Advisory Council for PBS Digital, and the NETA Production Council. He has been at Texas Tech Public Media since 2011.
La quen náay, Haida/Tlingit, is from Ḵéex̱ʼ Kwáan (Kake), Alaska. She is an enrolled Tribal Citizen of the Organized Village of Kake. La quen náay received her BA (BFA Equivalency) from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, and her law degree from Arizona State University College of Law, graduating with a Juris Doctorate and a Certificate in Indian Law. Since coming to First Alaskans Institute, La quen náay has served as the Director of the Alaska Native Policy Center, Vice-President, and now serves as the President/CEO, providing a direct path for service to our Native peoples.
Elizabeth Weatherford is a Board member of Vision Maker Media, and the founder and emeritus director of the Film and Video Center of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and its Native American Film + Video Festival in New York City and Native Cinema Showcase in Santa Fe.
Kate Beane is Flandreau Santee Sioux and Director of Native American Initiatives (NAI) at the Minnesota Historical Society.
