AKIPTAN
WHO WE ARE
Akiptan is proud to bring you the team of people who are helping to make a change in Native agriculture finance. Below you can meet our team of staff and the professionals from across the country that make up the staff and board of directors.
AKIPTAN STAFF
ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
Administrative Officer
Patty@akiptan.org
605-301-0466
LOAN DEPARTMENT
Loan Officer
(Blackfeet)
kole@akiptan.org
406-450-8704
Loan Officer
(Oglala Lakota)
whitney@akiptan.org
605-685-4608
Loan Officer
sarah@akiptan.org
605-301-0413
Loan Officer
(Cheyenne River Lakota)
phannette@akiptan.org
605-301-0441
Loan Administrator
(Oglala Lakota)
stevie@akiptan.org
605-301-0433
Loan Officer
garrett@akiptan.org
605-301-0526
Loan Officer
jami@akiptan.org
605-301-0667
PROGRAM DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
HARLAN BEAULIEU
Board Chair
Harlan is a member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. Mr. Beaulieu is currently the President of the Intertribal Agriculture Council, he has served in this capacity from 2000 to the present. Prior to that time, he served as a board member and vice president starting in 1990. Mr. Beaulieu’s service with the IAC provided him with a platform to educate politicians associated with agriculture at the Tribal, County, State and National levels. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and lobbied for American Indian inclusion in the Farm Bill. Mr. Beaulieu advocated for recognition of Native people as America's first farmers. Over the years the IAC has made significant advancement in recognition of the agriculture issues of our Tribes and individual members. Mr. Beaulieu is a former Tribal council representative for the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians and has served in this role for 8 years. He is currently the Realty Officer for his Tribe and has had this position for the past 32 years. Mr. Beaulieu served 8 years as the Minority Advisor on the Minnesota Farm Service Agency, USDA. Mr. Beaulieu is a graduate of Assumption Abbey Preparatory School in 1967. He is a veteran of the United States Army serving 1969 - 1972 with an honorable discharge. Mr. Beaulieu graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree Industrial Technology/Business Administration from Bemidji State University. He obtained a Farm Management Certificate from Bemidji Technical College. Mr. Beaulieu is a farmer & rancher. He is a proud father and grandfather.
CHRIS BEYERHELM
Vice Chair
Chris Beyerhelm is the Vice President of Enterprise Portfolio Management at the Universal Services Administration Company (USAC) which works with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to help provide broadband and internet services to America particularly in rural areas. Prior to working at USAC, Mr. Beyerhelm served as the Associate Administrator for Operations and Management with the Farm Service Agency (FSA, part of United States Department of Agriculture). In this position, Mr. Beyerhelm was responsible for overseeing the Farm Service Agency's budget, finance, administrative, management and internal control functions. Mr. Beyerhelm previously served as Deputy Administrator for Farm Loans Programs where he oversaw a $20 billion loan portfolio and managed the direct and guaranteed lending programs at FSA. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in business administration from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, Beyerhelm began working with FSA where he served in various capacities for 38 years.
Before coming to Washington, DC, he served as Farm Loan Chief for the Iowa Farm Service Agency from 1991 to 2006.
Beyerhelm grew up in Iowa and now resides in Virginia with his wife Barb. They have two adult children and nine grandchildren.
LAKOTA VOGEL
Board Treasurer
Lakota Vogel is the Executive Director at Four Bands. In this role, Lakota provides leadership for Four Bands, establishes new and fosters existing partnerships, and leads and manages efforts to reach organizational goals. Prior to becoming the Executive Director, Lakota served as the Assistant Director at Four Bands for five years. Lakota is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology. Upon graduation, she joined Teach for America and taught on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation at Todd County High School. Lakota obtained her Masters in Social Work Degree from Washington University in St. Louis with the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies. Lakota individualized her course of study to concentrate in economic security and social development through the life course of American Indians.
In addition to her educational experience, Lakota has completed a summer fellowship with National Congress of American Indians. She has served on the Native American Alumni Board of Directors at the University of Notre Dame. Lakota initiated program evaluations at the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management and Washington Internships for Native Students to develop program components for American Indian participants. Lakota is excited to be back home on Cheyenne River and to be able to spend time with all of her family, especially her nieces and nephews.
ZACHARY ILBERY
Board Member
Zachary Ilbery is the Agricultural Education Instructor and FFA Advisor at Elmore City-Pernell Public Schools in Oklahoma within the Chickasaw Nation. Ilbery previously served as the National Leadership Development Specialist for the Intertribal Agriculture Council. Ilbery grew up on a cow-calf operation in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma in Checotah, Oklahoma where he is an enrolled tribal member. Ilbery currently owns a cow-calf operation and partners in his grandfather’s operation as well. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University in Agricultural Education and holds a teaching certificate in the agricultural education area. While at Oklahoma State he developed a curriculum in regards to Native Agriculture within Oklahoma. Ilbery serves on the Board of Directors for the Intertribal Agriculture Council as well as currently serving as the Eastern Oklahoma Board of Director for the Native Youth Food Sovereignty Alliance. Ilbery was a founder of the Seminole State College Agricultural Degree Program in Seminole, Oklahoma and a Farm Credit 100 Fresh Perspectives honoree for beginning farmers and ranchers. Ilbery was actively involved in the FFA as a high school student, and continues to do so still. Ilbery has won several awards in the FFA, including earning his America FFA Degree. Ilbery’s passions include advocating for youth involvement in agriculture and the promotion of agricultural literacy on a national scale.
PADGLEY GONZALES
Board Member
Padgley (Akimel O’Otham and Pii Paash) is a member of the Gila River Indian Community from Sacaton, AZ. Currently, she is the Western Region Technical Assistance Specialist for the Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC). In this role, she serves the Tribes, Tribal producers, and youth in Arizona and Utah. Gonzales graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Agribusiness Economics and Management. Throughout her college career, she interned with the IAC and within her Tribes ag development program and Tribal farm. Those experiences offered valuable insight into land development and commercial agribusiness practices.
Lacey Swaney
Board Member
Lacey Swayne grew up on a family ranch near Gordon, Nebraska, six miles from the South Dakota/Nebraska border. Lacey began working at the First National Bank of Gordon in 2003 while still in high school. After graduating from Chadron State College in 2008 with a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and Economics, she began working at the bank full time as an agricultural loan officer. She is currently the Senior Lender at the First National Bank of Gordon. Her family ran cattle in the summers on the Pine Ridge Reservation with a Native ranching family for over 20 years beginning in 1990 when she was just 5 years old. She developed many life-long friendships with tribal members, with the most influential being with Wesley "Hot Shot" Jacobs, who taught her how to do leatherwork. In 2016, she launched her own western leather purse making business, Wild Lace Beadwork, and grew it into a nationwide brand. Her bags have been featured multiple times in Cowboys and Indians Magazine and were also included in a fashion photoshoot with Cowgirl Magazine. Lacey appreciates her ongoing connections and friendships with tribal members and is excited for the opportunity to give back by providing support to Native Ag producers across the Nation.
TRENTON KISSEE
Board Member
Trenton is the Secretary of Interior Affairs for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, with oversight of the Nation's agriculture and natural resources programs including a 700 head cow-calf ranch, feeding operation and Looped Square Meat Co., a USDA-inspected Meat Processing and retail facility in the heart of the Muscogee Reservation. Prior to joining the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Trenton was an agricultural education instructor and FFA advisor and worked on various purebred and commercial cow-calf operations. Trenton holds a BS in Natural Resources ecology and management with an emphasis in Animal Science from Oklahoma State University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma. He currently resides in Claremore, Indian Territory with his wife Casey and two children, Reata and Henry. Trent serves on the Board of Directors for the Intertribal Agriculture Council and is the Chairman of the USDA Tribal Advisory Committee.