Lucille Echohawk, Chairperson

Member since August 2022 
Pawnee Nation

Retired

Lucille Echohawk is a Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma citizen and has worked in the Indian child welfare, non-profit, and philanthropic fields for more than thirty years. She was employed for twelve years as a Strategic Advisor with Casey Family Programs, a national private operating foundation. She served as Executive Director of the Denver Indian Family Resource Center from 2012-2014 and then again in that capacity as a volunteer from 2018 until 2020 and again in 2023. Though formally retired, she continues to participate in community, state, and national endeavors. She holds a BA degree from Brigham Young University and an MEd from Erikson Institute for Early Education, Loyola University - Chicago.

Adrianne Maddux, Treasurer

Member since August 2022
Hopi

Executive Director ⎮ Denver Indian Health and Family Services

Professional Summary: Before her appointment in 2018, she served as the Chief Operating Officer and Acting CEO at DIHFS and has been with the organization since 2007. She has over 35 years of experience working in the medical field. Her current position requires advocacy for health policy initiatives, proficiency in operation oversight, compliance with state, federal, and local laws and regulations, maintaining a sustainable health clinic, and fiscal planning and management.

Sierra Trujillo, Member

Member since November 2022
Taos Pueblo

Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ⎮ Metro Denver Homeless Initiative

Sierra Trujillo serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHI), bringing over a decade of experience in the homeless services field. Before joining MDHI, she held the position of Community Engagement Director at The Delores Project, an organization providing direct services to women and transgender individuals experiencing homelessness. Raised in Colorado, her personal and intergenerational lived experience has fueled her commitment to advocating for the unhoused community and advancing racial justice. She holds a BA in political science from the University of Colorado Denver. Sierra lives in Jefferson County with her partner and two daughters.

Crystal LoudHawk-Hedgepeth, Member

Member since December 2022
Dine (Navajo)

Sr. Program Officer of Research ⎮ American Indian College Fund (College Fund)

Crystal LoudHawk-Hedgepeth holds two master’s degrees in Health Education and Clinical Science and a certificate in Indigenous Research Methodologies. She is originally from Sanostee, New Mexico, but now resides in Denver, Colorado. She is an enrolled member of the Diné (Navajo) Nation and is born for Ta’neeszahnii (Tangle) nisli' Bįįh bitoodnii (Deer Spring) people. Much of her work has focused on bringing awareness, understanding, and access to Native people in rural and urban communities through research, programming, and community service.

Professionally, Crystal works as a Sr. Program Officer of Research at the American Indian College Fund (College Fund), where she helps execute their systematic research initiatives and expands programming efforts at Tribal College and Universities (TCU). Before working at the College Fund, Crystal worked for the Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health (CAIANH) and Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) for over ten years, supporting and managing research projects to reduce the health disparities in Colorado, specifically among urban/rural American Indian Communities.

Kevin Raleigh, Member

Member since December 2022
No tribal affiliation

DOES Associate Director, Outreach, Native American Services ⎮ Colorado Coalition for the Homeless 

Professional Summary: Kevin Raleigh brings 18 years of experience in homelessness intervention and resolution as a practitioner and manager of direct service teams. His core competencies lie in creating and maintaining intensive, relational, frontline, resource connection services and programming for the most vulnerable and disconnected individuals and families experiencing chronic homelessness in Denver.

Chris Lopez, Member

Member since January 2025
No tribal affiliation

Community Relationship Manager for Southwest Colorado ⎮ Colorado Housing and Finance Authority

Professional Summary: Chris Lopez brings a diverse professional background to his role as Community Relationship Manager for Southwest Colorado for the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA), having worked for nonprofits, local government and in the private sector. Chris was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico and most of his career has been focused on community and economic development, affordable housing, land use planning and entitlement work, and natural resources management.

Virginia Ortiz, Interim Executive Director

For nearly 40 years, Virginia has developed, directed, and sustained non-profit organizations. A graduate of the National Community Development Training Institute, she is skilled in affordable housing, community based economic development, and non-profit leadership. In addition to serving as the Interim Executive Director of the Native American Housing Circle, she also serves as the Executive Director of GoFarm, a non-profit that trains and supports local farmers and makes locally grown food affordable and accessible to all Coloradans. Additionally, she’s a Mayoral appointee on the Denver Commission on Aging. Virginia has leadership positions with Bayaud Enterprises, ACCESS Housing, Colorado Foundation for Families and Children, and NEWSED Community Development Corporation and several mayoral and gubernatorial appointments.