Rosina DePoe is a citizen of the Makah Tribe and a 2020 MPA Tribal Governance Cohort Graduate. Rosina is currently the Deputy Director for the Washington Indian Gaming Association (WIGA), a non-profit trade association representing 23 Washington tribes. 

Before working with WIGA, Rosina was the Chief of Staff for the Makah Tribal Council. While in this role, she recognized the need to enhance her foundational knowledge of public policy, tribal organizational and operational history; and the intersection of tribal, federal, state and local governments and policies. She soon realized that Evergreen’s MPA program was the perfect place to help her enhance her knowledge, build new skills and connections and prepare for future challenges and opportunities. 

Rosina has been working with WIGA since 2019. Her work and passion are the same—raising awareness and educating the public and all levels of government about tribal sovereignty and gaming issues in Indian country. Additionally, Rosina manages the WIGA scholarship program, which provides higher education and technical degree scholarship funding to native students who are members of federally recognized tribes. This is one of her favorite responsibilities—it gives her a glimpse of our future leaders, educators, historians, doctors, scientists and change makers and she gets to watch them grow and flourish as the result of higher education. 

Rosina firmly believes that if it weren’t for the Evergreen MPA Tribal Governance Program, she would not be where she is now—part of an organization that provides an essential public service, educating the public about the importance of tribes and tribal sovereignty in Washington.

Rosina DePoe