Joan Timeche

Joan Timeche is Executive Director of the Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy at the University of Arizona. A citizen of the Hopi Tribe from the village of Old Oraibi, she received a B.S. in Social Work and an M.B.A. from Northern Arizona University (NAU).

For eight years prior to joining NNI, she served as program director of NAU's Center for American Indian Economic Development (CAIED). Additionally, from 1992-1995, she was co-executive director of the National Executive Education Program for Native American Leadership, a joint project of CAIED and Harvard University. Prior to her CAIED appointment, she spent eight years as director of Hopi Tribe's Education Department.

Timeche is currently the interim president of the American Indian/Alaska Native Tourism Association, has served as executive director of the Arizona Native American Economic Coalition, and is a board member and secretary of the Arizona American Indian Tourism Association. She is a regular speaker at both regional and national conferences on topics related to Indian economic development and tourism, and is a recognized expert on doing business on Indian lands.