Board of Trustees
Nicole Schultz | Chair
Ms. Nicole Schultz serves as chair for the Chickasaw Foundation. She has been employed for the Chickasaw Nation for more than 15 years and serves as the executive officer of public affairs.
Josh Bess | Vice-chair
Joshua Bess, Chickasaw citizen, serves as Secretary of the Chickasaw Nation Department of Family Services. He has served in the Chickasaw Nation for 19 years.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in education and a Master of Science in human resources administration from East Central University.
Debra Gee | Secretary
Ms. Debra Gee serves as a trustee for the Chickasaw Foundation. She also serves as chief counsel for the Chickasaw Nation Office of Tribal Justice Administration. Prior to employment with the Chickasaw Nation, Ms. Gee worked at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., where she served as deputy director of the office of tribal justice and tribal legal counsel for the violence against women office, office of justice programs.
Rachel Wood | Treasurer
Rachel Wood serves as treasurer for the Chickasaw Foundation. She also serves as under secretary of treasury administration for the department of treasury. She has worked for the Chickasaw Nation since 2015. Ms. Wood is a graduate of the gold level of the Chickasaw Leadership Academy. Ms. Wood earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from East Central University and is a certified public accountant as well as a certified fraud examiner.
Jenny Trett | Immediate Past Chair
Ms. Jenny Trett serves as immediate past chair for the Chickasaw Foundation. Ms. Trett is the chief audit officer for the Chickasaw Nation. She was appointed to the position in December 2017, and oversees internal audit activities for Chickasaw Nation departments, programs and business activities. She began her career with the Chickasaw Nation in 1997 as a tribal accountant. In 2000, Ms. Trett accepted the position as director of health system finance.
Wayne Scribner | Trustee
Mr. Wayne Scribner serves as a trustee for the Chickasaw Foundation. Mr. Scribner has been employed by the Chickasaw Nation for 44 years, and serves as the cabinet secretary for the department of community services. The department of community services consists of eight divisions; the divisions of Housing, Grant and Support Services, Social Services, Youth Services, Aging, Chickasaw Employment Access, Support Services and Property and Facilities. More than 100 programs and services offered by the Chickasaw Nation are administered through these divisions.
Leta Burwell | Trustee
Ms. Leta Burwell serves as a trustee for the Chickasaw Foundation. She has worked for the Chickasaw Nation for 35 years and serves as Secretary of Administration. She is a member of Restoration Church in Ada, OK and currently serves as the children’s church teacher.
Ms. Burwell is also a member of the Pontotoc County Homeless Taskforce, Leadership Oklahoma Board of Director’s, and a former member of Leadership Oklahoma Class 35.
Billy McCurdy | Trustee
Mr. Billy McCurdy serves as a trustee for the Chickasaw Foundation. He brings over 35 years of expertise in management and marketing, coupled with a remarkable 40-year tenure collaborating with First American organizations. As the proprietor of Reel Vizon Research LLC and McCurdy Group Inc., Billy oversees thriving enterprises that emphasize helping First American businesses through research and continuous improvement.
Deanna Hartley-Kelso | Trustee
Deanna Hartley-Kelso has served in various capacities as a member, officer and trustee for the Chickasaw Foundation since 1999. She currently serves the Chickasaw Nation in the Judicial branch as a District Judge, being appointed to the bench in 2018, and hears juvenile, family, civil and criminal matters in that role. From 2015 to 2018, she provided services as the Court Advocate for the Judicial branch.
She is also a tenured Associate Professor at East Central University in the Stonecipher School of business, teaching business law, tribal business law and employment law classes.
Jalinda Kelley | Trustee
Ms. Jalinda Kelley serves as a trustee for the Chickasaw Foundation Board of Trustees. Ms. Kelley is the cabinet secretary for the Chickasaw Nation Department of Interior Services. Ms. Kelley oversees many internal operations for the tribe including human resources, benefits, compensation, self-governance, emergency management and training and career development.
John Fryrear | TrusteeMr. John Fryrear serves as a trustee for the Chickasaw Foundation. He is the owner of a full service broker-dealer, Investment Securities of Oklahoma, LLC, and has been in the investment banking/securities business for more than 30 years.