Brandy Tomhave, JD

BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE

At the Tomhave Group Brandy’s responsibilities include: political and legal analysis of complex social justice issues in rural and tribal communities; multidimensional strategies for public policy change and implementation, including targeted media communications, legislative advocacy, and community education; lobby U.S. Congress and State Legislatures for necessary earmarks and authorizations; writing legislation, testimony, briefing packets, grant proposals, and reports; facilitate national conferences on public health, criminal justice, economic development, telecommunications and community infrastructure initiatives; consult multi-jurisdictional stake holders on how to design and implement sustainable collaborations for mutual benefit, minimum cost and maximum effect; and train local governments, federal agencies, and national organizations about social entrepreneurship, the Federal budget process, and Federal Indian Law.

Prior to the Tomhave Group, Brandy represented the Navajo Nation President before Congress and Federal agencies; presented legislative updates to the Navajo Nation Tribal Council about how Congressional decisions impacted economic and cultural interests of the Navajo people; trained the Navajo Nation’s Executive and Legislative Branch about how the annual federal budget and legislative process work; and organized historic tribal energy development event at the World Bank.

Brandy also served as Criminal Justice Director at the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors where she directed the mental health component of the Mental Health Consensus Project, a landmark initiative coordinated by the Council of State Governments to help local, state, and federal policy makers and criminal justice and mental health professionals improve their response to people with mental illness; facilitated group authorship of the mental health section of Consensus Report; and trained Directors of State Mental Health Programs about the criminal justice system.

Brandy also served as a Legislative Assistant to U.S. Congressman Ted Strickland (D-OH), now the Governor of Ohio, where she wrote and shepherded to passage H.R. 2594 , America’s Law Enforcement and Mental Health Project, which became Public Law 106-515, the enabling legislation that authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice to fund counties and tribes to create Mental Health Courts; wrote the Congressman’s opinion editorials about mental health and criminal justice issues; represented the Congressman in town hall forums on mental health and criminal justice; and staffed the Congressman to support his membership on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Brandy’s Public Presentations:

National Press Club, February 2007. Spoke at the on behalf of the Indigenous People’s Task Force to help announce historic new advocacy coalition dedicated to educating Congress about how the HIV/AIDS epidemic is disproportionately impacting minority communities.

Equal Justice Works Conference, October 2006. Spoke to Law School Administrators about “Careers in Legislative Advocacy.”

U.S. Dept. of Justice Community Capacity Development Conference, August 2005. Presented at two separate sessions: Mental Health Courts in Indian Country and Infrastructures for Economic Development in Indian Country.

Sequoia Seminar for Native American Women Leaders, May 2005. Conducted workshop for elected tribal officials on how to penetrate the federal budget process.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, November 2001. Presented tribal recommendations for toxicology and public health communication to the Board of Scientific Counselors.

National Association of State Mental Health Directors, December 2000. Spoke to Medical Directors Council about how to achieve better treatment outcomes by coordinating local public health, social service and criminal justice services through data sharing and other collaborative protocols.

American Bar Association, July 2000. Spoke on panel about “Mental Health Courts: A Jurisprudent Therapy Perspective.”

Brandy’s Writing:

Testimony on Tribal Road Maintenance, before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Oversight Hearing on Transportation Issues In Indian Country, July 2007, by the Navajo County Board of Supervisors of Navajo County, Arizona.

Testimony on the Needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives with HIV/AIDS, before the
House Energy and Commerce Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, January 2006., for the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center.

Testimony on the Tribal Energy Self-Sufficiency Act and the Native American Energy Development and Self-Determination Act, before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, March 2003, by the Director of the Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources, Arvin Trujillo.

Testimony on Tribal Transportation Needs, before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, June 2003, by Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr..

Testimony on the Challenges of the Indian Reservation Road Program, before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, October 2002, by Navajo Nation Council Delegate Andrew Simpson.

Jeff Tomhave, J.D.

Jeff founded the Tomhave Group to facilitate education and partnerships between Indian tribes, Indian organizations and Indian owned businesses with their local, state, federal and private sector counterparts to develop the foundation for sustained fiscal growth and government accountability by utilizing federal land and resource policy and administrative law to promote opportunities for regional economic partnerships, knowledge development, and long range planning for the shared interests of all rural farmers, ranchers, and entrepreneurs.

While a Legislative Advisor at the Navajo Nation Washington Office, Jeff created a federal legislative strategy for the Public Safety, Judiciary, and Social Services committees of the Navajo Nation Tribal Council. Jeff developed national media campaign to promote improvements in tribal health care, education, and economic priorities through local initiative. Jeff also wrote the Navajo Nation’s responses to Department of Interior’s proposed restructuring, which was the consequence of a pending settlement in the Cobell trust fund class action litigation. Drafted testimony and speeches for Navajo officials to present before the United States Congress and selected tribal events.

As the Executive Director of a national tribal environmental protection organization, Jeff created a national research, policy and advocacy organization dedicated to reducing the human health effects of hazardous waste impacting tribal and neighboring communities. Jeff has extensive knowledge about hazardous waste contamination of tribal communities by active or abandoned municipal landfills, as well as manufacturing, mining, defense and energy activities.

Some of Jeff’s accomplishments there included:

A membership base of over one hundred federally recognized tribes that worked together to reduce the local burden of federal regulation upon solid waste management systems in Indian Country;

Inclusion of tribes in the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act; and

Integration of tribal concerns in the Department of Defense’s Base Realignment and Closure implementation plan and Formerly Used Defense Site program.

Jeff’s Public Presentations:

The Seeds of Legal Infrastructure session at the U.S. Dept. of Justice National Weed and Seed Conference. August 23, 2005. Los Angeles, CA.

Sequoia Seminar: Breaking Through: Celebrate the Emergence of Indian Women as Elected Tribal Leaders a two day seminar aboard the historic Sequoia Presidential Yacht, a how to break through institutional barriers to progress in Native American communities for Indian Women leaders. May 23 and 24, 2005. Washington, D.C.

What Has Been your Professional Experience as a Minority Attorney or Representing the Interests of a Minority Group? to the Native American Law Students Association of Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. April 19, 2004.

Information Technology and Financial Growth for Indian Tribes and Tribal Businesses presented at the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s 18th Annual National Reservation Economic Summit and American Indian Business Trade Fair. Feb. 11, 2004. Las Vegas, NV.

Tribal Economic Development and the Environment in the New Millennium presented to The Tribal Executive Institute at Georgetown University. March 7, 2000. Washington, D.C.

Environmental Protection in Indian Country presented to the Indian Law Students Association at the University of Wisconsin Law School Conference. Feb. 10, 2000. Madison, WI.

Jeff’s Writings:

Testimony on the Inclusion of Rural Transportation Needs to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing of November 19, 2008, for Navajo County, Arizona and San Juan County, Utah.

“Op-Ed: Calling on Tribal Leaders to Join Fight Against AIDS Epidemic” Ghost written as Yvonne Davis, President of the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center. Indian Country Today, December 14, 2005.

Testimony on Improving Housing Opportunities for Native Americans, House Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, May 2004 field hearing, for the Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council, Lawrence T. Morgan.

“Op-Ed: Senate Energy Bill Exploits Indian Resources” Ghost written as Joe Shirley, Jr., President of the Navajo Nation. Albuquerque Journal, July 18, 2003.

“Race, Sacrifice, and Native Lands” Co written with Jonna Higgins-Freese. EarthLight Magazine, Summer 2002.

“Op-Ed: Baltimore City Should Make Recycling Mandatory” Baltimore Sun, May 21, 2001.

“Answering the Call: Solid Waste Disposal on Tribal Land” Winds of Change Magazine, Summer 2000.

jeff@tomhavegroup.com

brandy@tomhavegroup.com