Our Staff

The Executive Director & staff shall manage the organizational affairs, carry out the duties as assigned by the Executive Board, and pursue the established goals of the Affiliated Tribes.

Amber Schulz-Oliver (She/Her)

Executive Director

Amber Schulz-Oliver an American Indian (Celilo/ Yakama Descendant) Oregonian and has established firm roots in Portland, Oregon. As Executive Director of Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Economic Development Corporation (ATNI-EDC), she is dedicated to assisting ATNI Member Tribes fulfill their economic development goals and priorities. ATNI-EDC has a subsidiary organization, ATNI Financial Services, that is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and provides loans to Native American entrepreneurs that may not otherwise be able to obtain financing.

Amber graduated from Oberlin College in 2001 and soon after joined the Peace Corps. She then worked at a Native American owned Engineering firm, Akana, where she managed several projects in and for the benefit of Indian Country. She moved on to work for the non-profit organization, Ecotrust on a project to research the economic development needs, goals, and priorities of ATNI member tribes, and evaluated the feasibility of a fellowship model to meet some of those goals. In 2013, Ms. Schulz-Oliver earned her MBA, graduating with honors from Willamette University.
Amber serves as the President of the Potlatch Fund, Co-Chair of newly established Nch’I Wana Housing, and as board members of the Oregon Growth Board, and on the advisory boards of Ecotrust Community Development Entity, and Ecotrust Investments. She is committed to social and economic justice, environmental stewardship, sustainability, protecting Tribal sovereignty, and service to the Native community.

James Alan Parker (He/Him)

Deputy Director

Mr. Parker is an enrolled citizen of the Chippewa Cree Tribal Nation. He has lived in Portland area for over ten years with his wife and three children. Previously, he served in Washington D.C. in an executive management role for one of the oldest native serving non-profits in the U.S.

Upon moving to Oregon, Mr. Parker founded and serves as president of J. Alan Enterprises, LLC, an innovative business based on over fifteen years of experience within the information technology and non-profit management sector. His clients included tribes, government agencies, tribal organizations, and small business across the northwest.

Additionally, he is the executive director of the Oregon Native American Chamber, a non-profit dedicated to providing economic and educational opportunities for Native Americans in Oregon and SW Washington through the pillars of service in Education & Growth, Relationship Building, and Economic Justice & Transformation. A role driven by his passion for community development through investment in an ecosystem that supports private enterprise serving local economies for Native Americans.

• Co-Chair, Oregon’s Governor’s Racial Justice Council (RJC) Committee on Economic Opportunity, the RJC Procurement Committee, & the RJC Infrastructure Committee, September 2020 to present

• Co-Chair, Community Economic Coalition, March 2020 to present

• Co-Chair, Oregon Small Business United, Jan 2020 to present

• Member, City of Portland Economic Recovery Task Force, March 2020 to present

• Member, City of Portland, Budget Advisory Committee, Jan 2022 to present

Chas Jones (He/Him)

Acting Climate Change Program Director

Amelia Marchand (She/Her)

Interim Senior Tribal Liaison

Amelia earned her BA in anthropology from Eastern Washington University, her MA in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School, and has worked for 24 years in the cultural and natural resource fields. She is the co-founder of the L.I.G.H.T. Foundation, a Public Voices Fellow of the OpEd Project at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, and an alumnus of the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program and Presidential Classroom. Amelia has diverse Indigenous heritage and is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Tyrel Ott (He/Him)

Administrative Support Specialist

The Administrative Support Specialist supports Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) by performing administrative functions related to support and project activities, with a focus on providing excellent care to both support staff and tribal members.
Tyrel was born and raised in Southern Oregon, He grew up on a farm where his family focused on being a eco-friendly family. The earth and its occupants needs protection and he plans to spend his life making sure It’s a viable place to live for a safe and prosperous future.

Michel Lenihan (They/Them)

Communications and Membership Coordinator

Michel is a Two Spirit member of the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.

They were raised in Southern Oregon. After spending nearly a decade in the Hospitality field they moved to the Portland Metro Area in 2021 to work in the Indigenous non-profit sector.

Michel handles internal and external communications, as well as event coordination and planning.