JASON M. EDWARDS

My name is Jason M. Edwards. I am of combined ancestry. My maternal grandmother's grandfather, Turner Williams, African, was adopted into the Seminole Tribe of Florida, by virtue of his marriage to Lila Cochran. I have been nominated for the position of Vice Chair. I am honored to accept my nomination to join the Board of Directors because I sincerely believe in SAIGE's mission and value to Native employees throughout the government. I have been associated with SAIGE for more than four years, now. I have been actively involved on the planning committee for all of our National Conferences. Further, I have been actively involved in many of our initiatives such as the development of the Youth Track; as a one of the Committee members that has been engaged in discussions with GSA over the Murals issue at EPA; and perhaps most noticeably as the roving photographer at our conferences.

I have worked for the US Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research (ORD) and Development for more than 14 years. Prior to that, I worked on Capitol Hill for the Committee on Education and Labor and for the Department of Education. Currently, I work in ORD's Office of Science Policy, as the Environmental Justice Coordinator. I have held my current position since September 2002. Formerly, I served as Vice-chair of the EPA's American Indian Advisory Council, Special Emphasis Program Manager for American Indians, and Tribal Programs Coordinator.

My vision for the future of SAIGE is to continue the important initiatives that we have begun, both in terms of the professional development and the expansion/growth of our membership. I see SAIGE's role as not only a voice for the federal government's Native employees, but also assuming a larger role in shaping America 's policy decisions by becoming more active as a voting bloc. Many of our members are active in their Tribal governments. I would like to see a closer working/cooperative relationship between our membership and the various Tribal governments to promote opportunity and development. I would also like to see us establish stronger ties to our fellow Native organizations, such as NCAI and AISES, to learn from one another, and act as resources for each other.