Bill Anoatubby
Governor, the Chickasaw Nation
Bill Anoatubby began work for the Chickasaw Nation in 1975 as health services director. A year later, he was asked to direct its finance department. In October 1978, he was promoted to the position of special assistant to the governor and controller. In 1979, he was elected as the tribe’s first Lt. Governor. Governor Anoatubby was elected to his first term as Governor in 1987. In his first term, Governor Anoatubby established goals of economic development and self-sufficiency for the Chickasaw Nation and its people.
Today, the Chickasaw Nation is well on the way to achieving those goals. In 1987, the tribe had about 250 employees. Today, the Chickasaw Nation employs more than 13,500 people. The financial condition of the tribe has been improved tremendously. Funding for tribal operations has grown exponentially. Tribal assets have grown two-hundredfold. Governor Anoatubby is committed to meeting the needs of Chickasaw people through programs and services.
Bill Anoatubby and his wife, Janice, have two sons, Brian and Chris. Chris and his wife Becky have three children, Brendan, Eryn and Sydney. Brian and his wife Melinda have two children, Chloe and Preslea.
Amanda Cobb-Greetham, Ph.D.
Department Chair, Native American Studies, University of Oklahoma
Amanda Cobb-Greetham, Ph.D., serves as professor and chair of the Department of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma (OU). Her efforts at OU contributed to the elevation of the Native American Studies from a program to a department and the establishment of the newly endowed Native Nations Center for research and community engagement.
Cobb-Greetham has received significant recognition for her scholarship, winning the American Book Award for Listening to Our Grandmothers’ Stories: The Bloomfield Academy for Chickasaw Females. In addition, she is the co-editor of The National Museum of the American Indian: Critical Conversations with Amy Lonetree. She has published numerous articles in peer reviewed journals and served as the editor of American Indian Quarterly, for nine years.
From 2007 to 2012, she served her tribe, the Chickasaw Nation, as the administrator of the history and culture division. During her tenure, she was instrumental in launching the state-of-the-art Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur and directed the museums, archives, language programs, as well as the Chickasaw Press. She serves on the board of trustees of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian as well as the board of governors for the Harvard Honoring Nations Project.
In 2018, she received the Chickasaw Nation’s Dynamic Woman of the Year Award.
About the Chickasaw Nation
The NextGen conference is dedicated to providing a safe environment conducive to learning. Appropriate business attire must be worn by all attendees. The use of tobacco, alcohol or drugs in any form will not be allowed. Disorderly conduct such as the use of foul or abusive language, excessive horseplay, theft, misuse or abuse of public or private property or disrespect of other participants or staff members will not be tolerated. Violators of the code of conduct are subject to being sent home.