Wayne D. Garnons-Williams
Board Chair
Wayne is the founding President of International Inter-tribal Trade and Investment Organization
Wayne is from the Moosomin First Nation and got his bachelor’s degree in law from Queens University, a Master of Public Administration from Dalhousie University and his Master of Laws with a specialty of Indigenous International Law from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Wayne’s Master of Law Research thesis was an exploration of the legal history, law and policy of Indigenous trade between Canada and the United States.
Wayne is the Senior Lawyer and Principal Director of the law firm Garwill Law Professional Corporation. Further, he leads an international business entitled Indigenous Sovereign Trade Consultancy Ltd. and the founding President of the International Inter-tribal Trade and Investment Organization. Wayne is also the CEO of the not-for-profit registered charity, the National Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation of Canada.
He is past board secretary of the Council of the Great Lakes Region, past Chair of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Appeal Tribunal, past Chair of the National Council of Federal Aboriginal Employees and is currently on the board of directors of the International Law Association – Canada Chapter and is one of the founding members of the Government of Canada, Global Affairs Working Group on Indigenous International Trade. Wayne was instrumental in advising on the development of Canada’s Indigenous trade policy which led to progress for Indigenous trade in CUSMA/ USMCA as well as being appointed lead Indigenous Canadian negotiator for the Indigenous Peoples Economic Trade and Cooperation Arrangement (IPETCA).
He is also a Research Fellow specializing in International Comparative Indigenous law at the University of Oklahoma, College of Law as well as a Legal Fellow for the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law. He was appointed by Order in Council as a member to the NAFTA Chapter 19 Trade Remedies roster and then appointed in 2020 as a CUSMA Advisory Committee Member on Private Commercial Disputes, Article 31.22.
He is the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business 2019 award winner for Excellence in Aboriginal Relations, the 2020 Queen’s University Alumni Award winner, the recipient of the 2020 International Legal Specialist in Peace, Justice and Governance Award from the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law, the 2024 Canada-United States Law Institute recipient of the Sidney J. Picker Award for contributing to the development of Canada-US relations and 2024 H.R.S. Ryan Law Alumni Award of Distinction in recognition for outstanding contributions to the faculty, university, and legal profession, Queen’s University, Faculty of Law
Professor Lindsay G. Robertson joined the law faculty in 1997. He teaches courses in Federal Indian Law, Comparative and International Indigenous Peoples Law, Constitutional Law and Legal History and serves as Faculty Director of the Center for the Study of American Indian Law and Policy and Founding Director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic.
Professor Robertson was Private Sector Advisor to the U.S. Department of State delegations to the Working Groups on the U.N. Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2004-06) and the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2004-07) and from 2010-12 was a member of the U.S Department of State Advisory Committee on International Law. In 2014, he served as advisor on indigenous peoples law to the Chair of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. He has spoken widely on international and comparative indigenous peoples law issues in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia.
In 2014, he was the recipient of the first David L. Boren Award for Outstanding Global Engagement. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute and serves as a justice on the Supreme Court of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. Professor Robertson is the author of Conquest by Law (Oxford University Press 2005).
Dr. Lindsay G. Robertson
Vice Chair – Education
Dr. James C. Collard
Vice Chair – Business Development
Dr. Collard is the Director of Planning and Economic Development for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation (CPN). In this capacity he evaluates and facilitates business development proposals and tribal franchise opportunities. He also compiled and manages the CPN Economic Development Strategy. He is currently developing Iron Horse, a rail-anchored industrial park that serves as a destination for Foreign Direct Investment and Import/Export Center for U.S. domestic companies. Dr. Collard has initiated and packaged numerous economic development projects and agreements between multiple governmental entities and businesses. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the International Economic Development Council. He is also on the Executive Committee of the International Inter-tribal Trade & Investment Organization (IITO). Dr. Collard is the Past Chair of the OK Governor’s International Team and is a member of the Oklahoma District Export Council. Dr. Collard has traveled extensively internationally on business and as a participant on trade missions and diplomatic delegations. He is also the co-founder and chair of the Tribal-Municipal Dialogue, a group dedicated to increasing cooperation between tribal & local governments. He is currently working with the University of Oklahoma – College of Law on Indigenous Human Rights issues.
Valerie Devol is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, where she received a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She has an MBA from the University of Missouri, where she also accomplished a JD as well as a LLM in Taxation. She has practiced law for twenty years. Since 2013, Ms. Devol has been the owner and managing partner of Devol and Associates, a full-service boutique law firm, in Edmond, Oklahoma. Her fields of expertise include business and personal tax law, estate and tax planning, and resolving myriad state and federal tax controversies. Ms. Devol is also accomplished in tribal, municipal and business development law – for established as well as start-up businesses. She frequently speaks on issues of taxation and government action and is a vibrant contributor to Internal Revenue Service and Small Business Association rule-making efforts affecting business regulations.
Valerie Devol
Treasurer
Donna A. Williams
Corporate Secretary
Donna A. Williams is a founding member of IITIO, the organizer of Inter-tribal trade missions and conferences, and a Board member of IITIO, Inc., the US 501(c)(3) charitable corporation. Donna has worked as a manager (National Council for Aboriginal Federal Employees), as a policy analyst (Racism-Free Workplace Strategy, Human Resources and Social Development Canada), and as English editor at the Office of the Auditor General of Canada. Donna ran a freelance translation business and a tiny English as a Second Language school in Montreal. She has also worked as a post-production translator at a studio, doing subtitling and dubbing to produce English versions of overseas films and children’s cartoons. Donna has cooked up quite the diploma salad, holding a PhD in Translation Studies with a Specialization in Canadian Studies — University of Ottawa, an MA Traductologie (Translation Theory) — Université de Montréal, a BA in Humanistic Studies and a DipEd — the latter two both from McGill University. Donna also started, but never managed to assemble a jury and complete the dissertation for, a combo Film Studies/PhD Humanities degree at Concordia University. Donna is a CT (professionally Certified Translator, with official seal) at the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario. She speaks and writes several languages and is a big fan of Opera and tennis dresses. Donna has a particular interest in how the modern versions of surviving Indigenous languages can be tapped for solutions to a range of current world problems, such as what to have for dinner, how we can all get along, and how we can start properly stewarding our planet’s life. Donna is a proud member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She hopes to see the economies and cultures of North America’s Indigenous nations thrive and prosper in free exchange with their cousins across all borders.
Miranda Pugh is the Executive Director of Advancement for the Queen’s University Faculty of Law, leading fundraising and alumni relations programs and supporting the vision for the faculty’s future academic trajectory. Originally from southeastern Oklahoma, Miranda is a proud member of the Citizen Band Potawatomi Nation. A 2004 graduate of Cornell University with a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations, she began her career in major gift fundraising, most notably serving for more than five years as Director of Development at The University of Tulsa, where she played a key role in the University’s pivotal $700 million “Embrace the Future” capital campaign.
In 2014, Miranda obtained her J.D. with academic honors from The University of Tulsa College of Law, receiving numerous awards, including being named Trial Competitor of the Year. She was called to the Oklahoma Bar in 2015 and, in 2016, launched a successful oil and gas legal title practice before joining Needham and Associates, an Oklahoma-based law firm. Her past roles also include serving for two years as President of a Tulsa technology business, Spectrum Services, growing the company from start-up to more than $1 million of annual revenue.
Miranda relocated to Montreal, Quebec, in 2018 to be with her partner, a French and Canadian citizen. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Miranda has spent years in commitment to volunteer service. In 2005 she served as a middle school English teacher in Ombalantu, Namibia, with Harvard’s WorldTeach program. She continued her commitment to global education and conservation during her long tenure as the Chairman of the Board and Fundraising Director for Think Elephants International.
Miranda Pugh
Fundraising Committee Chair
Scott Freeny currently serves as the Senior Legal Director, Division of Commerce for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. His focus is on assisting the Nation’s business units with ongoing legal needs and analyzing potential transactions the Nation is interested in pursuing.
Prior to joining the Nation, his work centered primarily around business/transactional and gaming regulatory matters for clients ranging from solo entrepreneurs to large-scale, international corporations.
Mr. Freeny has owned his own law firm and also worked for two large, regional firms – one based in Oklahoma City and the other based in New Orleans. His educational experience includes receiving two engineering degrees from Dartmouth College, his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School and his MBA from Oklahoma City University.
Scott Freeny
Board Member
Jonathan Davey is the National Director of Aboriginal Financial Services at the Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank). He works with Indigenous communities and corporations to find banking solutions and wealth management options to help Nations achieve their respective visions for future generations. Before joining Scotiabank Jonathan practiced law for several years as Crown Counsel with the Department of Justice Canada (DOJ) and served as the Special Advisor to the Assistant Deputy Minister of Aboriginal Affairs within the DOJ.
Jonathan is also a Captain with The Queen’s York Rangers (1st American Regiment) of the Canadian Armed Forces Primary Reserve. He has held multiple leadership positions with the unit since receiving his commission and currently serves as the Regimental Operations Officer. In his capacity as an armoured reconnaissance officer Jonathan has been appointed as an Aide de Camp to the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario by Her Honour.
Jonathan holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from Cornell University, where he was a Cornell Institute for Public Affairs Fellow, a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School and a First Class Honours degree in Business Communications from Brock University. He has been inducted into the Pi Alpha Alpha Global Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration and is an Osgoode Hall Alumni Gold Key recipient. For several years he has served as the Vice-Chair of the Equity Advisory Group within the Law Society of Ontario where he is a member in good standing. In 2019 he was selected as an Action Canada Fellow.
Jonathan is a proud member of the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation and now resides in Toronto, Ontario with his wife Caroline.
Jonathan Davey
Board Member
IITIO Inc. Regional Chapter Leads
IITIO New Zealand
Dr. Robert Joseph
Dr. Collard is the Director of Planning and Economic Development for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation (CPN). In this capacity he evaluates and facilitates business development proposals and tribal franchise opportunities. He also compiled and manages the CPN Economic Development Strategy. He is currently developing Iron Horse, a rail-anchored industrial park that serves as a destination for Foreign Direct Investment and Import/Export Center for U.S. domestic companies. Dr. Collard has initiated and packaged numerous economic development projects and agreements between multiple governmental entities and businesses. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the International Economic Development Council. He is also on the Executive Committee of the International Inter-tribal Trade & Investment Organization (IITO). Dr. Collard is the Past Chair of the OK Governor’s International Team and is a member of the Oklahoma District Export Council. Dr. Collard has traveled extensively internationally on business and as a participant on trade missions and diplomatic delegations. He is also the co-founder and chair of the Tribal-Municipal Dialogue, a group dedicated to increasing cooperation between tribal & local governments. He is currently working with the University of Oklahoma – College of Law on Indigenous Human Rights issues.
IITIO USA
Dr. Jim Collard
IITIO Canada
Wayne Garnons-Williams
Wayne is the founding President of International Inter-tribal Trade and Investment Organization, Senior Lawyer and Principal Director of the law firm Garwill Law Professional Corporation and leads an international business entitled Indigenous Sovereign Trade Consultancy Ltd. specializing in Tribal Trade and Sustainable Economic Development.
He is past Chair of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Appeal Tribunal and is currently on the board of directors of the International Law Association – Canada chapter, Council of the Great Lakes Region, Capacity Canada and Board Chair of the 60’s Scoop Healing Foundation.
Wayne was also a research fellow specializing in International Comparative Indigenous Law at the University of Oklahoma, College of Law. He was appointed by Order in Council as a member to the NAFTA Chapter 19 Trade Remedies roster and then appointed in 2020 as a CUSMA Advisory Committee Member on Private Commercial Disputes, Article 31.22.
He is the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business 2019 Award winner for Excellence in Aboriginal Relations, the 2020 Queen’s University alumni award winner as well as the recipient of the 2020 Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) – International Legal Specialist in Peace, Justice and Governance Award. He is Plains Cree from Treaty 6, Moosomin First Nation.
IITIO Australia
Alana Kennedy