Tovey named CTUIR deputy director

News release from CTUIR:

MISSION — The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR)

announced that its Tribal Planning Director, J.D. Tovey, has been hired as the Deputy

Executive Director, effective October 2, 2023.

As Deputy Executive Director, Tovey will share the responsibility of supervising 16

departments within the CTUIR.

In announcing the development, Executive Director Donald Sampson said, “J.D. Tovey

has done excellent work for the past nine years as the Tribes’ Planning Director and

brings a wealth of experience working in our Tribal government. His knowledge of tribal

departments and programs will allow him to hit the ground running. I look forward to him

joining our team.”

Tovey has served as the Tribal Planning Director since 2014. During that time, he

played a crucial role in the recent development of the reservation, including Nixyáawii

Education Center, Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center, multiple housing projects,

mitigation actions after the 2020 Umatilla River Flood and Pandemic Response, as well

as overseeing the operations of Kayak Public Transit. He has served in several

positions in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors regionally and nationally over the

past 25 years. Tovey holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of

Idaho and a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Washington. He is finishing

a Ph.D. in Urban Design & Planning at the University of Washington with a research

focus on Indigenous planning and rural development.

In March, Governor Tina Kotek appointed Tovey as the Co-Chair of the Housing

Production Advisory Council (HPAC) after signing an Executive Order to establish a

goal of 36,000 new homes being built annually in Oregon. He has previously served on

the Oregon Public Transit Plan Policy Advisory Committee and Statewide

Transportation Improvement Fund Rules Advisory Committee. Currently, he sits on the

Umatilla County Transportation Advisory Committee.

“Being the Planning Director has been a dream job. I have been honored to serve in this

role, and I hope I have served our community and region well. I look forward to

continuing to serve the great nation of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in this new

capacity in defending our sovereignty and furthering the initiatives of the tribal

membership and the Board of Trustees toward ever greater self-reliance,” Tovey said. Tovey joins Jonetta Hererra, who was hired in April 2022 as Deputy Executive Director.

---

Elkhorn Media Group

---

---