The Wind River Development Fund is pleased to announce we have seated new officers for our board of directors: Roxanne Friday (Eastern Shoshone and Seneca) as President; Scott Ratliff (Eastern Shoshone) as Vice President; and Bryan Neely as Treasurer. Other members of the board include Roy Brown (Northern Arapaho), Heather SunRhodes (Northern Arapaho and Jemez Pueblo), and Clarinda Calling Thunder (Northern Arapaho).

This is the first time in the organization’s history a woman has been elected to the position of President and a milestone worth celebrating as part of Women’s History Month, which is observed every March to honor the contributions, accomplishments, and impact of women in American history.

“We are grateful for the strong commitment that our officers and board members have provided to Wind River Development Fund, as well as their dedication to creating economic opportunity for our community members. Seating the first woman as President of the board is a capstone for our recent accomplishments that highlights the significance of women leaders,” says Paul Huberty (White Earth Ojibwe), Executive Director of Wind River Development Fund.

Roxanne Friday, who will lead our board of directors as President for the next three years, was also the first woman to be ordained to the priesthood of the Episcopal Church in the state of Wyoming. She has been involved with Wind River Development Fund in varying capacities, including as Chief Financial Officer, for the last decade.

“I’m honored to be called upon to be the President of Wind River Development Fund. I have a lot of respect for all of the other board members, and we all work well together. We all respect each other’s opinions and decisions,” says Friday.

Friday’s top priority, working collaboratively with the other board members, will be to focus on economic development through strategies centered on growing small businesses on the Wind River Indian Reservation and surrounding communities.

“I think a lot of it has to do with education and training so people can realize their dreams of having their own business. In the community, I hear people say they wish they could open their own business. Wind River Development Fund can help bring those opportunities to them,” says Friday.

Friday believes the younger generation can have a lot of influence over the Reservation’s economic future. She says, “We have a lot of young people that could get things rolling. We want to see new growth, and education is really the key to help them become entrepreneurs.”

Friday commends the leadership of Wind River Development Fund for the organization’s increasing growth and community impact in recent years. In 2025, we deployed 11 loans totaling $1.8 million and delivered 462 hours of training and assistance to 239 people – all within the boundaries of the Reservation. We now have 34 active loans in our portfolio.

“Wind River Development Fund has a good team that strives to do the best. I’ve seen this team really come together, and we are doing better today than we ever have before,” says Friday with a hopeful outlook for Wind River’s future.

The Wind River Development Fund (WRDF) has extended support to each of its four 2024-25 Native Excellence Scholarship Program awardees with an additional $2,500 scholarship for the 2025-26 school year. The recipients, all Native students attending Central Wyoming College and pursuing degrees in agriculture, have now received a total of $5,000 each through the Native Excellence Scholarship Program.

Erika Warren-Yarber (Northern Arapaho), Chief Operating Officer at WRDF, leads the scholarship program. “We are so proud of these four students and honored to continue supporting them as they work towards their agriculture degrees. They represent a bright future for the Reservation,” Yarber said.

Grace Neubauer (Eastern Shoshone), who is one of the scholarship recipients, will graduate this spring with two degrees – one in health science and one on equine science. She then plans on furthering her education at Casper Community College. Neubauer, who is also a member of the Central Wyoming College Rodeo team, is paying out of pocket for her college education with scholarships and a part-time job. Between school, work, and rodeo, she has an intense schedule, but this scholarship has helped her manage it all.

“I am so blessed to have been awarded this scholarship where I am now going to graduate with two degrees, going deeper into my studies, and being able to finish out my college rodeo career properly,” says Neubauer.

With the average age of agricultural producers trending close to 60 years, Yarber emphasizes the importance of cultivating the next generation of Native farmers and ranchers as a way to strengthen Wind River’s economy. “Investing in our youth is a critical element of WRDF’s strategy to create economic opportunity. It amplifies the work we have been doing with a group of community partners on our $36 million Recompete grant – strengthening our agriculture industry, building local food systems, and developing our workforce.”

Jerel Kohler (Northern Arapaho), another scholarship recipient who is pursuing a career in agricultural leadership, is examining community needs and developing bold ideas on how to implement traditional agricultural engineering into local systems by utilizing tribal knowledge.

Reflecting on this scholarship opportunity, he says, “My scholarship is helping me gather my education to pursue a bachelor’s in agricultural leadership. Agriculture is the lifeline for humanity. We have to come together and think differently about our future.”

Other scholarship awardees include Kaylee Cachelin (Northern Arapaho), who is pursuing a degree in agricultural leadership, and Kalijah Day (Northern Arapaho), who is pursuing a degree in Farm and Ranch Resource Management.

WRDF’s Native Excellence Scholarship Program received funding support from the Native American Agriculture Fund, a private, charitable trust serving Native farmers and ranchers created from the historic Keepseagle v. Vilsack litigation settlement.