Day 1, Key Note 1
Loni Grinnell-Greninger (“yúčciʔə”) was appointed to Tribal Vice Chair in January 2020 and elected in November 2020. She graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Pacific Lutheran University in 2012, and her Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in Tribal Governance from The Evergreen State College in 2016. Her professional experience includes four years of working with the Washington State Department of Social & Health Services as an Office of Indian Policy Regional Manager, and then as a Statewide Tribal Liaison in the Department’s Division of Behavioral Health & Recovery. Both positions led to help create systems and policy that increases access to state services for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Additionally, another role was to educate state workers in the government-to-government relationship that the State has with its Federally Recognized Tribes.
In 2017 she moved back home to her Tribe, serving her people and greater community. Since this time, she has held three positions: Deputy Director, then Director, of the Social & Community Services Department, and now the Director of the Culture Department. Her work includes local, state, and federal relations and education, as well as cultural leadership. To make resources more available to Indian Country, she assists in facilitating relationships that help non-native governments to understand Indigenous values and needs, which translate to trained staff to work with tribes, increased funding for tribes to use for serving their communities, and increased consultation with the other non-native governments.
As Vice Chairwoman, her tribal, federal, and state roles of representation include:
• S’Klallam language, song, dance teacher, and ceremonial leader and teacher since 2017.
• Chair, and Portland Area Alternate Delegate, for the Administration for Children, Youth & Families Tribal Advisory Committee since 2020.
• Co-Chair of the Washington State Governor’s Tribal Leaders Social Services Council, since 2020.
• Co-Chair of the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families Tribal Policy Advisory Committee since 2020.
• Chair of the Washington State Department of Social & Health Services Indian Policy Advisory Committee since 2020.
• Advisory Member for the Peninsula College Tribal Advisory Committee since 2020.
• Chair of the Washington State Department of Corrections Indian Policy Advisory Committee since 2021.
• Board Member for the Dungeness River Nature Center since 2021.
• Board Member for the Clallam County Homelessness Task Force since 2022.
• Board Member for the Sequim Food Bank since 2025.