Jay is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Currently he serves as the Executive Director of the Self-Governance Communication & Education (SGCE) Tribal Consortium.
He has more than a decade of experience in program evaluation, primarily as a Senior Analyst in the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Natural Resource and Environment team.
While at the GAO, Jay led work and developed reports focused on federal management of programs that serve tribal nations and their citizens, including federal management of trust resources, implementation of self-determination mechanisms, and federal efforts to effectively collaborate in administering programs to tribes. Several of his reports resulted in Congressional oversight hearings before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the House Appropriations Committee, and others.
Jay actively sought opportunities to increase AI/AN representation within GAO and brought in numerous speakers to educate GAO employees on federal trust responsibility, tribal sovereignty, and building effective working relationships with tribal nations. In 2014, 2017 and 2018 he received GAO Awards for sustained service to numerous committees and congressional clients.
Jay has served two terms on the SAIGE board of directors and served as co-chair of the 2016 National Training Program. He most recently completed a term as a Board Director. Jay routinely presents on various topics at conferences across the country, including the 2015, 2016, and 2017 SAIGE National Training Programs. He is a Lifetime member of SAIGE. Jay earned a Master’s of Jurisprudence in Indian Law from the University of Tulsa and a Master’s of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Dallas.