Leadership Summit

Coursework within Career Basics is designed to prepare participants for the NAFOA Leadership Summit.

Youth ages 22-27 years old participating in Career Basics are invited to apply for the NAFOA Leadership Summit. Interested applicants must be registered and making active progress in the current Career Basics session.

If you have participated and completed Career Basics within the past two years, you may use that to fulfill the requirement. Participants who registered for a past Career Basics but did not complete the program must re-register and participate for the current year. Please email education@nafoa.org to verify your Career Basics completion.

NOMINATIONS FROM ALUMNI AND PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

Alternatively, NAFOA invites Summit alumni and a select few eligible partner organizations to nominate individuals for the Leadership Summit. NAFOA will contact you if you have been nominated by a partner organization. We encourage nominees to register for Career Basics, but this requirement will be waived.

Nominated individuals must still submit a full application to be considered for the Leadership Summit. Please note, nominations are not a guarantee that you will be accepted into the program.

The Leadership Summit is designed to benefit:

• Undergraduate students studying business, finance, economics, or related topics;
• MBA graduates or students interested in pursuing an MBA;
• Young professionals interested in pursuing a career in finance, accounting, business, or related fields;
• Young professionals interested in tribal governance, finance, and/or administration.

ELIGIBILITY

To apply for the Leadership Summit, applicants must:

• Be a tribally enrolled citizen or descendant of an enrolled citizen with American Indian, Alaska Native, and/or Native Hawaiian ancestry;
• Be between the ages of 22-27 years old at the time of the Leadership Summit;
• Be located within the United States at the time of application and during the program dates;
• Be enrolled in the current session of Career Basics and making active progress/have completed a past Career Basics within the last 2 years, or be nominated by an alumnus or eligible NAFOA partner organization; and
• Demonstrate a strong interest in learning more about the importance of tribal economies and the policies that impact tribal finance.

The application form will ask you to provide the following:

1. Provide a clear and personal response to the following essay questions in 250 (min) -500 words (max)
   • “Why is tribal economic development important? Provide your ideas and/or observations of tribal economic development and its impact on your community.”
   • “How do you expect attendance at the NAFOA Leadership Summit to benefit you on both a professional and a personal level? What are your networking goals for the program?”
2. Provide a recent transcript and/or list any relevant coursework in business, finance and/or economics;
3. Current resume, preferably highlighting paid or volunteer experience in finance, accounting, business tribal administration, and related fields;
4. Letter of recommendation (optional, but highly suggested)

REMINDER: To be considered a complete application, you must be enrolled and participate in the current active session of Career Basics, have completed a past Career Basics session within the last 2 years, or be nominated by a Summit alumnus or NAFOA partner organization.

Applicantss will be scored based on:

1. Strength of essay responses in the submitted application;
2. Academic performance and professional and/or extracurricular experiences, especially related to business, finance, and related fields;
3. Community involvement;
4. Participation in the NAFOA Career Basics program or nomination status; and
5. If provided, the quality of the letter of recommendation.

Selected Leadership Summit applicants will be notified via email and/or phone by early to mid-March to confirm their acceptance and attendance.