HOME   WHO WE ARE   TAKE A STAND   PROGRAMS   GRANTS   RESOURCES   NEWS   DONATE   • WHO WE ARE     • MISSION    STATEMENT       • BOARD      • STAFF        • EMPLOYMENT      • CONTACT       Staff Rebecca Adamson – President and Founder Ms. Adamson, a Cherokee, has worked directly with grassroots tribal communities, and nationally as an advocate of local tribal issues since 1970. She started First Nations Development Institute in 1980 and First Peoples Worldwide in 1997. Ms. Adamson's work established a new field of culturally appropriate, values-driven development which created: the first reservation-based microenterprise loan fund in the United States; the first tribal investment model; a national movement for reservation land reform; and legislation that established new standards of accountability regarding federal trust responsibility for Native Americans. Ms. Adamson is active in many non-profit organizations and is currently serving on the Board of Directors for Corporation for Enterprise Development, The Bay Foundation, Josephine Bay Paul and C. Michael Paul Foundation, The Bridgespan Group, and First Voice International. She is on the Board of Directors for the Calvert Social Investment Fund (the largest socially responsible mutual fund), serves on the Calvert Group Governance Committee, and Co-chairs the Calvert Social Investment Fund Audit Committee. Ms. Adamson served as an advisor to the United Nations on Rural Development, U.S. delegate to the United Nations' International Labor Organization for International Indigenous Rights, the U.S. Catholic Conference's Campaign for Human Development on strategic planning for economic development, and the International Labor Organization for International Indigenous Rights. Over past two decades, Ms. Adamson has received numerous awards for her work with Indigenous peoples, most recently including the 2004 Schwab Outstanding Social Entrepreneur and a Doctor in Humane Letters degree from Dartmouth College. Ms. Adamson holds a Masters in Science in Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University (formerly New Hampshire College) in Manchester, New Hampshire, where she also teaches a graduate course on Indigenous Economics within the Community Economic Development Program. Neva Adamson – Managing Director Neva is Cherokee and Skokomish. She has 6 years of experience working with both government and non government agencies. She has provided grant training and conference planning for the Federal Government. She has also worked as an advocate for American Indian Gaming tribes. She found a second home when she joined First Peoples. She is passionate about providing Indigenous Peoples with a voice in the global forum. She currently holds a bachelor's degree from University of Mary Washington and plans on pursuing her doctorate in International and Economic Development. Her greatest joy is being a mother to her two wonderful boys, but following not too far behind is the excitement and satisfaction she feels with her career in making a difference for others. Jaymie N. Gerace – Office Manager Jaymie is a highly dedicated and technically skilled business professional with a versatile administrative support skill set developed through twelve years of experience as a Human Resources Generalist. Jaymie earned her Bachelor's Degree from Radford University in 1998. Her years of experience include leading front- and back-office administration; serving as a trusted assistant to senior executives; well-honed office management skills to include event planning, preparing reports, administering records management systems, anticipating executives' needs, follow through on all details and tactfully handling sensitive situations. Her Human Resources experience includes HR department start-up, benefits administration, employee relations, alternative dispute resolution, organizational development, orientation and on-boarding, training and development, performance management, employment law as well as policy and procedure development. Her working environments include Federal Contractors, Private Corporations, Non-Profit Organizations as well as County, State and Local Government. Jaymie has demonstrated success in negotiating win-win compromises, developing team-building programs, writing personnel manuals to include corporate policies and procedures, job descriptions and management reports. Her cumulative administrative and human resources experience allows her to excel in resolving employer challenges with innovative solutions as well as systems and process improvements proven to increase efficiency, customer satisfaction and the bottom line. Jacqueline Tiller - Grants Coordinator Jacqueline Tiller is Tlingit Indian and Filipino. She was born and raised in Southeast Alaska where she began her professional life working as an assistant for her tribal economic development office. She joined First Peoples Worldwide in 2007 as the office coordinator where she helped bring structure and systems to First Peoples' Keepers of the Earth Program and Fund. She is currently the Grants and Internship Coordinator. Prior to joining First Peoples Worldwide, she worked in various positions in the grantmaking department of the US-based First Nations Development Institute where she learned about grantmaking in general and more specifically, grantmaking to meet the needs of Native American tribes and nonprofit groups. As the Associate Director of Training and Technical Assistance, she provided training, technical assistance, and referrals to Native community projects across the US. She is a past board member of Native Americans in Philanthropy and the Community Food Security Coalition, where she actively worked toward greater organizational effectiveness and diversity. She has also served on several Federal grant review panels advocating for Indigenous community projects to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in Federal Government grants. Her educational background is in business management and administration. Katie Cheney – Communications Assistant Katie is a recent graduate from Penn State University and joined the First Peoples Worldwide team in June 2011. She graduated with a Bachelor's of Arts in Anthropology and two minors in Religious Studies and Women's Studies. Her experience in the collegiate activist world inspired her to begin working in the NGO-sector, and she has found further inspiration in her work as Communications Assistant at First Peoples Worldwide. Originally from Houston, TX, Katie works on communications, political advocacy, and social media development. Duane Hillian - Administrative and Technical Coordinator Duane joined the First Peoples Worldwide team in September 2011 as the Administrative and Technical Coordinator. Duane has many years of computer experience as an administrator, help desk technician, technical support specialist, and software support analyst. His computer knowledge as well as his customer service experience adds to an already talented team. Born in Fredericksburg, Duane earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Radford University in 2005 in the field of Information Science and Systems with minors in General Management and Business Administration. Consultants Juan Carlos Bonilla holds a MBA degree from the Edinburgh Business School (Heriot-Watt University, Scotland) and is currently a member of the doctoral program (PhD/DBA) at the International University of Monaco and the Université Nice Sophia Antípolis in Southern France. For 15 years he has led projects and programs, first in his native Guatemala, then in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. He is now an international consultant applying a businesslike entrepreneurial approach to the social sector. Peter Poole, PhD - Field Advisor Dr. Poole has over 25 year experience in use of remote sensing and related geo-spatial technologies to map land rights, and natural and cultural resources. He has extensive experience training and assisting Indigenous peoples to create and use maps to document their lands and other assets. Dr. Poole has worked on scores of mapping projects from the Arctic to the tropics in the Americas, Asia and Africa. He is currently training Saramaka in Suriname to use aerial photography to produce maps for planning and assessing impacts of logging on their lands. Recent projects include: capacity-building in aerial photography with local non-government organizations and Indigenous communities in Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela; training Inuit environmental technicians in light aircraft aerial environmental monitoring in Nunavut, Canada; and building a network of community-based mapping groups in Asia. Dr. Poole received his BS from London University in Sociology and Economics, Advanced Diploma in Photo Interpretation, ITC, The Netherlands, MA from Columbia University in Geography, and Ph.D. in Geography from McGill University. Interns Christina Lambert is a senior at the University of Mary Washington. She is a double major in International Affairs and French. She learned about First Peoples Worldwide in her Political Science class. She aspires to work with Indigenous Peoples around the world, as well as work toward finding solutions to global poverty and starvation. Benjamin Brown is from Bergenfield, New Jersey, and currently a junior at the University of Mary Washington studying International Affairs. In 2010, Ben lived in India and worked with an NGO focused on developing literacy among nomadic youth who migrate to the city to find work. In his spare time, he enjoys playing tennis, basketball, and fishing. While at First Peoples Worldwide, Ben is furthering his knowledge about Indigenous Peoples' issues from an Indigenous perspective in order to facilitate positive change for the benefit of the Indigenous People of the World. Caroline LeJeune is a foreign exchange student from Paris, France. A senior student at Université Paris 8 Saint-Denis, she is currently studying at University of Mary Washington. Her areas of study include English literature, civilization of the Anglo-Saxon world, and linguistics. She is also taking classes in the Science of education in order to become a teacher. Her involvement at First Peoples Worldwide allows her to work on her translation skills as well as develop her knowledge about Indigenous peoples. In her free time, Caroline loves sports, spending time with friends and working with children. First Peoples Worldwide   857 Leeland Road • Fredericksburg, VA 22405 • USA   info@firstpeoples.org • (540) 899-6545      © Copyright 2007-2011, First Peoples Worldwide