The Cherokee Preservation Staff may be contacted at 828/497-5550 or 888/886-8524.

Susan Jenkins, Executive Director

Susan Jenkins, an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation (Oklahoma), came to the Cherokee Preservation Foundation (CPFdn) in 2002 from the Hitachi Foundation, where she was Senior Program Officer. Previously she was with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), where she helped establish a partnership between 55 Delta communities in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi and the WKKF. She has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Georgia.
sjenkins@cpfdn.org

Shannon Swimmer, Program Assistant

Shannon Swimmer, an enrolled member of the EBCI, came to CPFdn in 2008 from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino & Hotel, where she was a shift supervisor. Swimmer has a Master’s degree in Human Resources from Western Carolina University and a B.A. degree in English from the University of Kansas. Her responsibilities include CPFdn’s support of efforts to revitalize the Cherokee language and the Cherokee New Schools Project.
sswimmer@cpfdn.org

Ethan Clapsaddle, Senior Program Associate

Ethan Clapsaddle joined CPFdn in 2005 after having been Operations Manager for the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. He earned his B.A. degree in Social Sciences from Western Carolina University and his M.A. degree in Indigenous National Studies from the University of Kansas. His CPFdn responsibilities include a leadership role in Generations Qualla, a community effort to create a sustainable environment on the Qualla Boundary.
eclapsaddle@cpfdn.org

Deborah Grant, Finance Officer

Deborah Grant joined the Foundation in 2002 after serving as Chief Financial Officer for the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and being an accountant at several other organizations. A Certified Public Accountant, she earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Western Carolina University.
dgrant@cpfdn.org

Wanda McCoy, Executive Assistant

Wanda McCoy joined CPFdn as Executive Assistant in 2006, coming from Cherokee Cablevision, where she had been a customer service representative for ten years. McCoy studied library science at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and earned her AA degree at Bacone College, in Muskogee, Oklahoma. She is an enrolled member of the EBCI.
wmccoy@cpfdn.org

Deb Mintz, Program Operations and Grants Manager

Deb Mintz oversees the grantmaking process, performs grantee reviews, facilitates certain types of grants, and serves as CPFdn’s community liaison for the Cherokee Day of Caring. An enrolled member of the EBCI, she came to the Cherokee Preservation Foundation in 2002. She was previously employed with the EBCI Tribal Travel and Promotion program, where she worked extensively in the tourism field for 17 years. She has a Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Montreat College.
dmintz@cpfdn.org

Bobby Raines, Program Associate

Bobby Raines, an enrolled EBCI member, came to the Foundation in 2005 after graduating from Haskell Indian Nations University with a B. A. degree. His major was American Indian Studies, with emphasis on Interdisciplinary Leadership. His CPFdn responsibilities include leading an initiative to create a culturally-based Cherokee leadership program. Previously, Bobby was employed at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and at Cherokee Forestry.
braines@cpfdn.org

Hwineko Walkingstick, Administrative Assistant

Hwineko Walkingstick became administrative assistant in 2006. Hwineko has been trained in the culinary arts and has been involved in the hospitality industry in Cherokee since 2004, most recently as a chef at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel. He is an enrolled member of the EBCI.
hwalkingstick@cpfdn.org