Donald G. Sampson

Donald, a former board member of First Nations Development Institute, is president of Seventh Generation LLC, a Tribal advisory and consultation company that works to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Tribal government and business operations. He formerly was the director of Native programs at Ecotrust, a nonprofit organization founded in 1991 and based in Portland, Oregon.

Donald also served as the executive director of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) in northeastern Oregon, a position he held from 2003 to 2010. He was responsible for more than 1,500 employees and a $194 million operating budget to oversee all business and government operations. The CTUIR is the government of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla Tribes – a confederation formed by treaty in 1855.

He served as the executive director of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission for five years. The commission was established by the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Nez Perce Indian Tribes in 1977 and assists these Tribes with management of the Columbia Basin’s salmon resources. He was also chairman of the Umatilla Tribe’s Board of Trustees, an elected position he held from 1993 to 1997.