OUR BOARD
Board Chair
Angelena Campobasso
Angelena Campobasso, a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, has a passion for working for Indian country to improve the health, safety, and welfare of Indigenous communities. Angelena has over 25 years of experience working for many tribes throughout the western United States. She has planned and implemented millions of dollars in health clinics, community facilities, economic development projects, transit, and transportation projects.
Angelena serves as the program manager of the Small Urban Rural & Tribal Center on Mobility (SURTCOM) at Eastern Washington University. Working with the SURTCOM Team of Urban & Regional faculty and graduate researchers to serve 71 Tribes within the western United States by publishing research on and for tribes. One of her main projects is research on the “The Effects of Climate Change on Tribal Mobility, Sustainability & Resiliency for Tribal and surrounding communities.” Recently published her research on “Colville Confederated Tribes Community Involvement & Citizen Participation Survey for CCT Transit” research project.
Angelena serves as a member of 350 Spokane Climate Change Board and of the Airway Heights Planning Commission.
She earned a master of science degree in urban and regional planning, a master’s in public administration, and an executive certificate in tribal planning from Eastern Washington University. She was a two-time recipient of the Dwight Eisenhower Fellowship in Transportation and served as Tribal Transportation Planning Organization president, American Indian Business Leaders president, American Indian Science & Engineers vice president, and National Center Senior Transit fellow.
Treasurer
Jill Nanpuya Moomaw
Jill is a member of the Colville Tribes, descending from the Colville, San Poil and Methow Tribes. With over 20 years of experience working in tribal legal affairs and leadership, Jill brings considerable valuable contacts to her board position. Notable is her position as a gaming commissioner for the Colville Tribal Gaming Commission.
Her valued experience of years sitting on two previous boards for the Native Vote Washington and the Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling will bring great collaborative works. Jill has worked with profit and nonprofit organizations, Tribes, and local, state and federal governments. Jill earned a bachelor of arts degree in law and diversity from Western Washington University in 2005.
Board Member
Paula Gibson-Smith
Paula Gibson-Smith began teaching in a Montessori elementary classroom in 1986. After spending her 20’s trying out various degrees (pre-law, accounting, human services) and occupations (legal secretary, sales, ski instructor, radio disk jockey) Paula completed her Bachelor’s degree in Child Development and Elementary Education, with a minor in Mathematics, from Eastern Washington University, where she received the Mary Shields Wilson Award, in 1985. She went on to receive her Association Montessori Elementary (AMI) teaching diploma for ages 6-9 from the Ohio Montessori Training Institute and her Master’s degree in Education, Curriculum and Instruction, with a Montessori emphasis from Cleveland State University.
After four years at Woodland Montessori in Spokane, Paula joined the small but growing Montessori program in the Spokane Public Schools in 1990. Her leadership in Montessori developed through serving on the board of the AMI-Elementary Alumni Association as Publications Coordinator and Chair. She deepened her understanding of Montessori by earning an AMI Primary teaching diploma for ages 3-6 from the Montessori Institute Northwest and interning at the Montessori Institute of Minnesota in the AMI Elementary Training of Trainers Programme.
Her passion is to bring Montessori education to more children and families through attracting more teachers. Her classroom is the setting for college students to experience Montessori both as student teachers and in her Methods in Elementary Social Studies class taught through the Whitworth University Masters in Teaching program.
Board Member
Lois Hart
Lois is a member of the Colville Tribes, and is affiliated with the Moses Columbia, Wenatchi and Entiat tribes. She is a small-business consultant, specializing in organization, productivity and efficiency. She has done business management for 40 years in the fields of construction, retail, and nonprofit, medical and financial services. As part of this work, she has successfully implemented new systems while working closely with staff and has hired and trained new agents for financial planning.
Lois has been closely involved with Hearts Gathered for more than two years, doing bookkeeping and financial consulting. She helped establish a new bookkeeping and recordkeeping system as a consultant, and currently serves on the board as well as volunteering her financial services to the school. She plans on staying involved with the school well into the future.