The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) announced that Tribal Planning Director J.D. Tovey has been hired as the deputy executive director, effective Oct. 2.
As deputy executive director, Tovey will share the responsibility of supervising 16
departments within the CTUIR.
In announcing the development, Executive Director Donald Sampson said, “J.D. Tovey
has done excellent work for the past nine years as the Tribes’ planning director and
brings a wealth of experience working in our Tribal government,” Executive Director Donald Sampson said. “His knowledge of tribal departments and programs will allow him to hit the ground running. I look forward to him joining our team.”
Tovey has served as the Tribal planning director since 2014. During that time, he played a role in the recent development of the reservation, including Nixyáawii Education Center, Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center, multiple housing projects, mitigation actions after the 2020 Umatilla River Flood and Pandemic Response, as well as overseeing the operations of Kayak Public Transit.
He has served in several positions in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors regionally and nationally over the past 25 years. Tovey holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Idaho and a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Washington. He is finishing a Ph.D. in Urban Design & Planning at the University of Washington with a research focus on Indigenous planning and rural development.
In March, Gov. Tina Kotek appointed Tovey as the co-chair of the Housing
Production Advisory Council (HPAC) after signing an executive order to establish a
goal of 36,000 new homes being built annually in Oregon. He has previously served on
the Oregon Public Transit Plan Policy Advisory Committee and Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund Rules Advisory Committee. Currently, he sits on the Umatilla County Transportation Advisory Committee.
“Being the Planning Director has been a dream job,” Tovey said. “I have been honored to serve in this role, and I hope I have served our community and region well. I look forward to continuing to serve the great nation of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in this new
capacity in defending our sovereignty and furthering the initiatives of the tribal
membership and the Board of Trustees toward ever greater self-reliance.”
Tovey joins Jonetta Hererra, who was hired in April 2022 as deputy executive director.
