Member Education Sessions: Voting and Civil Rights

Cheryl Ann Kary (Hunkuotawin) is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from the University of Mary, as well as Master’s Degrees in Management and in Business Administration. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication & Public Discourse from the University of North Dakota.

In 2013, Kary was awarded a Bush Foundation fellowship under which she developed and conducted a survey of off-reservation American Indians in the Bismarck-Mandan area. This work helped her establish the Sacred Pipe Resource Center (SPRC), a non-profit organization serving the American Indian population in Bismarck-Mandan. Kary has previously served as the Curriculum Development Specialist at the Native American Training Institute, the Research Director at United Tribes Technical College, the Executive Director for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and as a newspaper columnist for three regional newspapers.

Kary currently serves as the Executive Director of the SPRC. She has worked in and with Tribal communities and populations for the majority of her career and, in addition to professional responsibilities, Kary advocates for Native people and Tribes in a variety of volunteer efforts. Kary was named an OTA Builder in 2014, recognized for seeking creative ways to build civic and community engagement for American Indians in the Bismarck-Mandan area. In 2016, she was recognized as a Leading Lady by the Center for Technology in Business and she received the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition’s Arc of Justice Award for her work in civil and human rights. 

While she is an introvert by nature, Kary enjoys peopling in moderation. She is the mother of four children—Dalayne, Trevan, Tayson, and Tallon—and enjoys going to movies and reading in her spare time.

Ginny Underwood (she/her) is a communications consultant with more than 20 years of experience helping nonprofit organizations at the intersection of faith, social justice, and bettering the human condition to develop and implement strategic communications plans. She has a successful track record for blending social and traditional media for big impact.

She has helped organizations such as the Indian Law Resource Center and the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference of The United Methodist Church raise the visibility of their work and critical issues impacting Indigenous communities. The impact of those strategies resulted in policy change, new partnerships, and increased funding.

In 2021, she oversaw the marketing and communication launch of the world-class First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City.

In addition, Ginny is a multimedia journalist focused on capturing authentic perspectives of Native communities through storytelling in print, video, and photography. She is passionate about improving the narrative about Native peoples in the United States through multimedia platforms.

Ginny is a citizen of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma and is also a Kiowa descendant.

Senior Staff Attorney Jacqueline De León is an enrolled member of the Isleta Pueblo. She co-led field hearings across Indian Country on Native American voting rights and co-authored the subsequent report, Obstacles at Every Turn: Barriers to Political Participation Faced by Native American Voters. She has testified before Congress on multiple occasions detailing voting rights issues in Indian Country and serves as the Chair of the Advisory Committee of the American Bar Association’s bipartisan Standing Committee on Election Law.

At Native American Rights Fund (NARF), Jacqueline leads the voting rights practice group, which engages in nationwide litigation, advocates for Native American voting rights legislation, conducts research, crafts policy, encourages and protects civic engagement, and assists Tribes advocating for greater voter access for their communities.

Prior to her work at NARF, De León focused on international antitrust and litigation at WilmerHale. She holds a J.D. from Stanford and a B.A. from Princeton University in Philosophy. De León clerked for Judge William H. Walls of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and Chief Justice Dana Fabe of the Alaska Supreme Court.

Bobby “Trae” Trousdale (he/him), a proud citizen of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, is a descendent of the Toupin family and was raised in Tecumseh, Oklahoma. Before joining NAP, Bobby “Trae” worked in student programming, advancement, and leadership within higher education. He also brings experience from the private sector in event planning, employee engagement, and executive operations.

Bobby “Trae” received a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Oklahoma City University. He holds an M.P.A. specializing in nonprofit administration and a graduate certificate in Native American Studies from the University of Oklahoma. His areas of research focused on issues of organizational diversity, community development, and Indigenous strategic planning.

In his free time, Bobby “Trae” volunteers with several local organizations including Sisu Youth Services, both Oklahoma City Pride organizations, and serves on the Board of Directors for the ACLU of Oklahoma. He also enjoys stickball, pickleball, antiquing, and exploring Oklahoma City’s local breweries with his spouse.. He is married to his college sweetheart, Taylor. Together they live on the Southside of OKC and have a dog and a cat, respectively named Timothy Gunnderson (à la Project Runway’s Tim Gunn) and Tamale.