Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 18, 1999
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Debora Juarez to leave Governor's Office of Indian Affairs

OLYMPIA — Gov. Gary Locke will conduct a nationwide search to find a replacement for Debora Juarez, the director of the Governor's Office of Indian Affairs, who will leave in May.

Juarez, 39, and a member of the Blackfeet Nation of Montana, will depart after almost four years as executive director. The office acts as a policy adviser to the governor, other state agencies and the Legislature on relationships with Washington's 27 federally recognized Indian tribes and associated organizations. This group includes regional and national representation.

Juarez said she would continue to pursue her interests in economic development on tribal lands and rural areas, as well as federal Indian law. Her background includes several years as an attorney for Evergreen Legal Services, where she represented tribes. She also served as a King County Superior Court judge in 1995, following an appointment by then-Gov. Mike Lowry.

"Debora will be hard to replace," Locke said. "She and her staff have created greater unity among the state's tribes and brought increased attention to their concerns."

The most recent accomplishment, the report Economic Contributions of Indian Tribes to the Economy of Washington State, noted the annual $1 billion financial impact of the state's tribes. Juarez was instrumental in creating the study, the first of its kind nationally in which tribes worked with a state government to produce a financial portrait of tribal communities.

Juarez also organized the statewide Tribal Economic Vitality Initiative. This effort continues to focus on improvements between tribes and state government on technical, financial and policy decisions that affect tribal-state relations.

The search for a new director of the Office of Indian Affairs will be conducted by Executive Search Services at the Washington Department of Personnel. Contact Ted Koska, manager, Executive Search Services, 600 S. Franklin St., P.O. Box 47530, Olympia, WA 98504-7530 for more information.

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